Letter to the Editor: Labels sign shooting a sad incident for all

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Oct. 22 and soon after the conclusion of the final presidential debate, I heard two shotgun blasts at the end of my driveway.

I turned off the light in my bedroom so that I could see out to the road. A vehicle was stopped near the entrance to our driveway. It slowly crept forward and another shot rang out.

I called 911 and reached the Charles City Sherriff’s Department, reporting the situation and suggesting that someone might be spotlighting a deer. Then I remembered that someone had destroyed an Obama yard sign at the end of my driveway a few weeks ago and had stolen an Obama/Biden sign soon after I placed it at a nearby intersection last week.

By the end of last week, I replaced the yard sign and erected a 4 x 6 Obama/Biden sign along the road and near our driveway entrance. I mentioned the large sign to the dispatcher and said the responding officer might want to check to see if it had been the target of the shooting.

The dispatcher called back to ask me if I would meet the responding deputy at the end of my driveway. He showed me that buckshot had been shot through the names of President Obama and Vice President Biden and that the third shot had destroyed a permanent sign marking the name of our farm and the year it was established- 1859.

I write so that the public will know that political vandalism, including destruction of private property by gunshot, are occurring on the eve of an election. This is the first time in my family’s 26 years of living in Charles City that we have been made to feel unwelcome or in any way concerned for our safety.

It is a sad day for us, and I’m sure that nearly all of our neighbors will join us in thinking that it is a sad day for our community. Whoever is committing these crimes doesn’t respect or appreciate the First Amendment, the sacred nature of the privilege of voting in a democratic republic, or, for that matter, the responsibilities that come with the rights afforded by the Second Amendment.

Neither do they respect the service and courage of those who serve in elected office, or the sacrifice of men, like my father, who served as a medical corpsman who braved terrifying battle, saving the lives and witnessing the deaths of Marines on Iwo Jima. Whoever destroyed our property and disturbed our peace because he or she so despises our constitutionally elected president and vice president, dishonored himself or herself; but they can never diminish or dim the sacrifices of those who have fought for our rights to speak and vote peaceably and constructively in pursuit of a more perfect union — unless, that is, good citizens and neighbors fail to condemn such conduct and, whenever possible, deter it with justice.

We will leave up the damaged signs along The Glebe Lane just east of Binns Hall, hoping that they will prompt some thinking about citizenship, our priceless rights, and the importance of respecting elections and their outcomes. And we will pray for the person who has done this to us and to our community — pray that they will turn away from their fear, anger and hostility and make peace with self, community and us. Finally, we would like to thank the Sherriff’s Office for their prompt, caring and professional response.

David Ledbetter
Charles City