It was with mixed reactions that I read Joan Macri’s July 11 letter. I absolutely agree with her thesis that religious freedom is a cornerstone of our American society, and the desecration of a Muslim mosque is an abomination. However, I suggest the writer, and perhaps her student-readers get their history straight.

July 4 is a celebration of our Declaration of Independence in 1776, not the ratification of the Constitution (Sept. 17, 1788).

Actually, it is believed that only John Hancock signed Thomas Jefferson’s final draft of the Declaration of Independence on or about July 4, 1776. Most other delegates to the early Continental Congress, aware of the great significance of their actions, signed during an early “photo-op” on Aug. 2. This event was quickly memorialized in a noted painting by John Trumbull. Over the next months additional representatives, including 14 not even present at the meetings drafting the Declaration, signed on – courageously pledging their lives, fortunes and sacred honor.

Peter Gartner, Bryant Pond