Proven principles apply

I am writing to place myself alongside President Obama in support of the creation of the ground zero mosque. As Obama noted, we as Americans, who place such a high regard in our personal freedoms, should not cower in upholding those liberties that we hold so dear.

While the circumstances are indeed highly sensitive and complex, that doesn’t mean that we should pick and choose the situations in which we wish to apply First Amendment principles.

Innocent people are killed every hour in this nation by guns, yet the Second Amendment still protects the right to own as many guns as a law-abiding citizen wants. Building the mosque would not show the world that Muslims had “won” – whatever that means – it would show that we stand united with the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world who believe in peace. It would show that we as Americans acknowledge that to truly honor those who died almost nine years ago, we must stand by those principles for which millions of Americans have died for past wars and in which we as a nation have rallied behind since our country’s conception.

Jason Keedy

Spokane