Letters: Suspending lawmakers cheats everyone

As a resident of Shandon, I no longer have two of my elected representatives to represent me and my neighbors.

State Sen. John Courson and Columbia City Council member Moe Baddourah were suspended due to pending criminal charges. Meanwhile, new state and city taxes are being levied. How much longer are we supposed to accept taxation without representation?

Whatever happened to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty? Why are we, and the suspended legislators, being deprived of constitutional rights? This is a travesty of participatory democracy.

This story was originally published August 5, 2017 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Letters: Suspending lawmakers cheats everyone."