Contor letter: Support Constitution

I call upon our congressional delegation and all Idahoans to oppose the ban on entry by refugees and travelers from seven Muslim nations.

First, it is wrong. It is a thinly disguised religious test. We are not cowards to give up our banquet of liberty for a meager crust of security. Even if it would make us safer, violating our Constitution would be too steep a price.

Second, it actually makes us less safe, by three mechanisms:

1) It tells individuals who assist our forces overseas that we cannot be trusted.

2) It is a slap in the face of Muslim ally nations and says that we neither need nor want their intelligence, goodwill and cooperation.

3) It tells all the restless, unemployed and hopeless Muslim youth here and abroad that the extremist recruiters are right — that America hates them and hates Islam. It encourages and justifies all the things the president says he wants to avoid.

Let us rise up in support of our Constitution.

This story was originally published February 19, 2017 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Contor letter: Support Constitution."