Safety law to help miners overdue

I am writing about the law that will help protect miners in West Virginia. It is way overdue. Even before the explosion, there was a risk of something huge like that happening, but no one ever did anything about it. “We can’t afford to wait any longer,” Gov. Joe Manchin said.

But why did they wait until 14 miners died before they considered passing a law that would help keep them alive? The law will require mines to use electronic devices that will help locate trapped miners and stockpile oxygen to keep them alive. If they had approved that law earlier, then 14 people would still be alive. “I just wish that they would have done it before and maybe I’d have my daddy here with me,” Brittany Hatfield, a daughter of one of the 14 miners said.

Caroline Holtgeerts

Everett