Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter in support of Nancy McArthur, state senator Capri Cafaro's opponent, this November in Ohio's 32nd district.
Why, you might ask, am I a West Virginian sticking my nose into your business?
Here is why:
''What's next?'' Capri Cafaro said. ''We can't put on our lipstick? We can't eat French fries? We can't change the radio? We can't talk to the person next to us?''
These are her exact words as reported by Ann Sanner of the Associated Press, appearing in a May 3, 2012, article in ''The Review'' of East Liverpool. This nonsense was her response to a Senate bill banning usage of cell phones, iPads or other electronic devices by teenagers while driving, except for an emergency.
Texting while driving would be prohibited under this legislation, as it already is in 37 states. No doubt this legislation has already been acted upon in the Ohio Senate as I write this.
Sen. Cafaro is concerned this legislation would open the door to future infringements on personal freedom. This is difficult to accept. Compliance with common sense rules involving highway safety is by no means an infringement on personal freedom. If anyone's personal freedom is violated, it is that of the responsible driver who puts himself at risk every time he gets on the road owing to reckless use of electronic devices by teens.
Has Sen. Cafaro not read the newspapers or any police reports documenting traffic fatalities caused by teens not paying proper attention to their driving while texting or gabbing on a cell phone? These cases are not by any means isolated. Does she think such deaths will stop once teens get more practice playing with their toys? Residents of the 32nd District, are you OK with this? Sen. Cafaro needs to take a course in critical thinking.
The people of Ohio deserve better than Capri Cafaro. That person is no-nonsense Nancy McArthur, who as an experienced legislator and an elected official, has sterling credentials to represent the 32nd District.
If worse comes to worst I won't have a problem with lipstick. Maybe French fries and radios, but not lipstick. As my third-grade teacher long ago said, ''Any old barn looks better with a coat of paint.''
Gail Wickstrom
Newell, W.Va.