Veteran to Kelly, Gallego: End war in Iran

Shelly Burgoyne

Submitted photo/VetsFWD

To contact U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, visit senate.gov and pull down the menu at the top of the page to Arizona, then click on Contact under their names for an email form, office locations and phone numbers.

OPINION — On June 3, the Republican-held U.S. House of Representatives voted 215 to 208 to end the war with Iran. The war powers resolution passed with four Republicans voting with Democrats.

Arizona Congressional District 6 Rep. Juan Ciscomani was not one of them.

The U.S. Constitution explicitly grants the power to declare war to Congress, not the executive branch. By voting against this resolution, Ciscomani chose to surrender that legislative authority to the White House — to Trump.

Young military servicemembers from Arizona are forced to carry out Trump’s Iran war — a war that is costing each taxpayer approximately $750 per household. Rep. Ciscomani’s partisan devotion to Trump and MAGA weakens the foundational system of checks and balances designed to prevent unilateral military actions, placing Arizonans in harm's way.

Southern Arizonans, especially our active-duty military members, deserve a Congressman who prioritizes U.S. stability and their safety over loyalty to Trump. Ciscomani’s refusal to support a common-sense, bipartisan limit on war powers signals a troubling willingness to risk American lives in another undeclared and strategically void conflict.

Let’s face it, Rep. Ciscomani will never choose us first; he will always choose Trump.

Vets Forward urges Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego to vote yes to end the war in Iran, without delay.

Former U.S. Army officer and Operation Iraqi Freedom I and III combat veteran Shelly Burgoyne is Southern Arizona director for VetsFWD, a nonprofit grassroots advocacy group. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.