Editor,

The editorial board of the Whidbey News Group has really shown its hand in this election.

I rely on the paper to provide unbiased information, but when the paper takes sides on initiatives to be decided in the upcoming election it shows a bias which undermines all other reporting in any given issue.

Most recently the paper published an editorial in support of I-1639, under the auspices of “common sense.” It is obvious that the editorship has evidently not read the complete text of the initiative, nor do they understand common firearm-related terms.

If they were more aware, they would realize that this is a poorly written piece of legislation that only affects already law-abiding citizens. It is another knee-jerk reaction that something must be done even if it is wrong, or in this case, unconstitutional. I didn’t ever consider that our local news group may be in cahoots with the Bloomberg Media Group, one of the main sponsors of I-1639. You really want a New York billionaire deciding what is best for mostly rural Washington?

The op-ed piece is under the heading “In Our Opinion.”

Who is the “our?” I’m sure that all the employees don’t share the editors’ opinion on this matter.

I am reminded of a really decent job I once had where the owner of the business put up election signs on the property supporting persons and things I didn’t agree with nor morally supported.

I mentioned my displeasure, was shunned, so left that job. While seeking further employment my family suffered a little, but not as much as my conscience would have suffered to be assumed to support those causes because of my association with that business.

In a perfect world, the media outlets would not endorse any particular candidates and causes, instead choosing to report all sides of issues and letting the readership make decisions based on fact, not opinion.

I’ll wrap up this little rant by saying to vote no on 1-1631 and 1-1639, and yes on 1-1634.

Gary Raste

Oak Harbor