This letter to the editor by Diane St. Germain was published in The Laconia Daily Sun on May 17, 2019.
To The Daily Sun,
In March of this year 74 of our N.H. state representatives voted in favor of allowing the people of New Hampshire to vote on the N..H. Community Rights state constitutional amendment, affirming the right of local self-government. Two-hundred eighty-two representatives voted to effectively undermine the efforts of New Hampshire communities that have enacted local ordinances saying no to corporate harms and yes to environmental and social justice.
Barnstead residents watched for years as sludge, laced with carcinogens from Monsanto and other toxic industries, was dumped on farmlands impacting groundwater. We then looked on as our neighbors in the town of Nottingham fought the USA Springs takeover of their water resources. Barnstead residents subsequently enacted a rights-based ordinance asserting our right to control and protect our water resources. And recently Barnstead enacted a freedom from religious identification ordinance in response to burgeoning religious intolerance.
To read the rest of Diane St. Germain’s letter at its original source click HERE.