We still have a long way to go on assault issues

To the editor:

The recent letter from Cheryl Robb-Welch, executive director of the Safe House for Women in Cape Girardeau, should be read by every politician in Missouri. Robb-Welch questions, "When did 'even a single slap' become acceptable because a woman is in a relationship with the man who assaulted her?" The answer to her question is undoubtedly that slapping a woman became acceptable to Missouri's male politicians when Missouri males began to be charged with assault for slapping their mates, and they complained to their local male politicians. Missouri politicians' attempts to soften the domestic-abuse laws to allow more abuse of Missouri's women at home is despicable, and it tells us how far we still need to go regarding this issue. Some male politicians just don't get it: Assault is assault. It doesn't matter who the assailant is or who the victim is. Male politicians, why is this so hard for you to understand?

JOE JACKSON

Frohna, Mo.