Ashamed !

From an Angry Reader

I didn't get to attend the Winchester City County online meeting last week (Feb. 9th) due to a prior commitment. But I talked to a friend who filled me in and it was illuminating. 

Nearly 20 speakers spoke out against the proposed ordinance to ban guns on city properties (buildings and parks) and during city events while just one spoke in favor. I too am totally opposed to this measure for a variety of reasons -- namely it's yet another infringement of our 2nd amendment rights -- but I was appalled at HOW the meeting proceeded. 

According to my friend it appeared decided well in advance (shocker!) and was passed along party lines. This despite the heavy opposition at the meeting. Mr. Dan Hoffman introduced the bill and stated that 127 comments had been filed online. Interestingly, he did not give a tally of the votes for the public record. I decided to look for myself and a quick perusal showed the comments were over 2 to 1 OPPOSED to the resolution.

I also found it interesting that Councilor Hill spoke of his many constituents who favored this bill. How they feared for their lives of people carrying guns in public places. Has this been an on-going problem? I assume they were not inclined to speak but did they voice their opinion online? We were left to wonder if perhaps Mr. Hill was embellishing a bit. He too did not give a tally.

Councilor Milstead (or was it Bell?) pointed out that a similar ordinance was being challenged in court in another locality. Yet my friend said Mr. Milstead commented that if it's found unconstitutional there then we will need to 'revisit' it here. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Councilor Herbstritt had a typical emotional response to a non-existent problem. "We need to pass it so nothing bad will happen here." That despite reams of statistics to the contrary. 

Mayor Smith and Councilor Clark had no comment so clearly their minds were made up, public opinion be damned. Couldn't they at least speak to the need of 'why here, why now'?

Worse still may have been Councilor McKiernan who spoke of the need for more information and how she understands the concerns of so many gun owners. Yet when the time came to vote she was a resounding and unhesitating "YES!" How disingenuous and insulting.

I commend Councilors Sullivan and Veach who voted against the measure due to constitutional concerns for which they (and all the other councilors) swore to uphold.

The rest of City Council did not do their jobs. They did not vote in a way that represented the majority of the citizenry. They showed they are not Democrats interested in serving the populace but rather leftists who voted to uphold their ideology. 

And that is a true disservice to our community. I'm glad I wasn't there.