Stand against discrimination

Recently, I met with a group of local citizens and heard distressing stories describing the fear and harassment that Muslims in our community face every day. Among those in attendance were a health care worker, a casino employee, an electrical engineer, a professor, a stay-at-home mom, and an attorney who is also an Iraq War veteran.

One woman said her children no longer attended weekly prayer services because they were too afraid. Is this the America we want to live in? Is this where the outrageous rhetoric of the current presidential election has brought us?

As an elected official, I support Gov. Jay Inslee’s policy to continue accepting Syrian refugees, and I decry prejudice in our community against American Muslims. Please stand with me in support of our American Muslim friends and neighbors who deserve all the respect afforded other religions in the United States.

In Spokane, the Muslim Americans I encounter are no different than anyone else; they vote, they work hard, and they have dreams for their family’s future. Let’s not start making exceptions to the American Dream.

Jon Snyder

Spokane