Letter to the Editor, Feb. 26

To the editor:

I am not one to complain much. I am a proud American, a veteran of the Korean War, and pretty much a homebody. I have voted in every election I could vote in ever since my 21st birthday some 60 years ago. I was even selected to sign up our troops to vote by absentee ballot when I was a young soldier serving in Korea. I haven't always voted for the candidate that won the race or necessarily the one that kept campaign promises, but I voted.

Life hasn't always been kind. My main purpose in life now is to care for my sick wife. She lost a leg a few years ago due to diabetes and requires constant attention. Signs of dementia are creeping up on her. My eyes are not what they used to be and I have a list of ailments common with people my age, but I'm not complaining.

The one thing I can't understand though is the logic behind the new voter law that requires a photo ID to vote. You see the problem is, is that I don't have a photo ID. I never had a need for one. I know who I am and he people at the polling place know me. Now I won't be able to vote because I don't have a photo ID.

This may seem trivial to the lawmakers who passed this into law or to the majority of you who have no problem traveling around to the various centers where the necessary steps could be taken to obtain an ID, but for me this is a major hurdle to overcome.

There has been much said about how this has "disenfranchised" many of the minority citizens who like myself have no ID. I guess being a 82-year-old veteran qualifies me as a minority because I also feel like I am "disenfranchised." I don't expect any sympathy for this. I just feel that one of my basic rights has been taken from me.

I am thankful for my right of free speech is still intact and I can express my feelings. I just hope the lawmakers don't take offense to this letter and take that freedom away, too. Like I said, I'm not one to complain, I just feel slapped away from the table.

Robert L. (Bob) Fullerton

Shelbyville

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