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After-Action Report - Town Hall on "Gun Safety" - Wexton 6/22/19

Tess

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
Messages
3,837
Location
Bryan, TX
AFTER ACTION - Wexton "Town Hall on Gun Safety"

1. Some time after printing the materials for her "town hall", Mx. Wexton apparently changed her mind. She refused to use the term "gun safety" (who among her staff reads this page, I wonder) and used instead "gun violence prevention."

2. Panelist Brady "I'm not opposed to the 2nd aendment" Heynes recited a personal story about his parents being shot -- by a guy who the went down the street and mowed people down with a car - as a "gun violence" story.

3. Mx. Weston more than once said "the House passed ...." and failed to note that those bills will never make it through the Senate. To wild applause from the antis, I might add.

4. One panelist, a PhD, pediatrician, and psychologist wasn't asked to speak much after she said she wouldn't recommend "legislative" fixes.

5. Wexton took questions from both sides, but quickly limited CITIZEN speech with "keep it to 30 seconds, please" while allowing her hand-picked experts(*) to spout 5 minutes or more of slanted comments and half truths.

6. Wexton cut off questions at precisely 2:30 despite the fact there were at least 10 people left in line to speak.

7. Apparently Wexton's staff is also cowed. The woman who was marshalling the questioners (Tammy something; I'm really sorry I didn't get her full name) remarked to another speaker that I had been the first person in the room and was going to get a chance to speak, but when Wexton shut off the microphones, Tammy didn't even utter a "but..."

8. Staff said they had 380 RSVPs. Far fewer than that showed up. I'd put he crowd at 200.

9. The MDA group is so far ahead of VCDL in fieldwork and organizing it isn't funny. They showed up in uniform, saved seats, told their people where to sit, and took group photos. I may have photobombed one ... darn. In my defense, I *did* tell their photographer my bag was on my seat behind where they were gathered, and I was not going to wait for their photo op before I retrieved it. Gun owners, on the other hand, if they made themselves known at all, wanted to "fly below the radar".

10. I walked around the auditorium handing out GUNS SAVE LIVES stickers. One group of little old ladies took them and *then* read them. Apparently they were under the impression only anti-gunners would be present, I guess. At least when they read them, and began their apoplectic fits, I had the opportunity to say "If you're not going to wear them, give them back rather than vandalizing the auditorium by leaving them around."

My takeaway is exactly what I thought going in. Wexton does not want to hear from CITIZENS. She wants only to hear from those who are going to spout her lines.

(*) My grandmother often said an EX is a has-been and a "spert" is a drip under pressure.
 
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