To the Editor:

I was pleased to see that The Newtown Bee printed my letter of last week, “Concerns About Letters,” without making any changes or edits. I do hope this bodes well for the future, considering that, as I stated in my Addendum to that letter, The Bee has most unfortunately changed its Letters Policy to now permit The Editor to make editorial changes to letters. I doubt that I am the only reader of this newspaper who has serious concerns that such a policy opens the door to censorship and silencing. I am not saying The Bee would do this (and sincerely hope it would not), but just that this door is now open, an opening that creates a potential suppression of free speech, an intrinsic part of a functioning democracy.

Do you, fellow readers, want your letters, to which you put your name, changed in any way without The Bee first consulting you? (Many newspapers state that they will consult letter writers about any potential edits before printing their letters, a policy I strongly suggest The Bee adopt.) Do you want your name possibly linked to something you did not really say? These are serious and big questions we should all now be considering.

Respectfully,

Sue Kassirer

Sandy Hook

Managing Editor’s note: Editor John Voket has been out of the office this week, on a very hard-earned break. In his absence I remind readers that he makes every attempt to contact letter writers before making any changes to their letters, which he does prudently when something is unclear, misleading, or incorrect. Changes are done with careful consideration, and never with the intent to censor. That has been a longstanding policy of this newspaper.