Oregon Town Hall: Senators Burdick and Wagner, April 13th

[tiggers97]

Senators Burdick and Wagner plan on having a town hall.

April 13, 2019, from 1:30-3:00pm
Multnomah Arts Center
7688 SW Capitol HWY
Portland, OR 97219

Have fun, and bring a friend!

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[deadeye]

Probably end up like a previous one and she will be a no show cause something came up except the video of her taking out her garbage at home kinda ruined that excuse .....maybe.

 

[DivCurlGrad72]

I am going. Hope their Q&A isn't prescreened to only allow softball questions .

 

[DivCurlGrad72]

Just a quick update: tiggers97 and I attended the town hall today with Senators Burdick and Wagner. We expressed our opposition to SB 978 as best the format would allow, but both made it clear (unsurprisingly) that they fully support the bill and mean to see it passed.

While speaking afterwards with both Sen. Burdick and several of her constituents, the fear of guns was palpable. My "lessons learned" in this particular setting (a small, informal town hall with a very liberal audience) was to remind yourself that preserving gun rights is the goal of the mission. Don't let ideology get in the way. Do your best to portray gun owners in a positive light: dress properly, don't scare them, be polite. Everything else is counterproductive.

 

[pokey]

I attended as well. Thanks tiggers97 for posting this, because otherwise I wouldn't have known about it. This was my first time at a town hall-style meeting. While I'm sure the format changes between them, here's a quick description of how this particular event was set up:

There were chairs set up in rows in a small auditorium and a table with Sen. Burdick and Sen. Wagner up front. There was maybe 30 people there. At the door when I walked in, there was a table set up that had some sign-in sheets (name/address, reason for being there- I put SB978, but other people put simply "to listen". none of this seemed to be required in any way.). There were slips of paper on the table on which you could write a question and give it to one of the staffers. I showed up late, and the senators were already talking about other legistlation/issues non-related to guns. The staffers were picking questions out of the pile of slips and asking the senators. I don't know how they were deciding which questions to ask, though I did see them shuffling through the piles. It might have been in the order that they were submitted. My question (related to pre-1968 guns) didn't make it, but I was one of the last people to show up. They wrapped up questions around 3PM, thanks everyone for attending, etc. I didn't stick around, so I don't know if the senators stayed around for individual conversations.

Only one question that I was present for was related to guns- "Why do you think gun free zones work?". The answer was nonsense, but not unexpected. Senator Burdick did take some time to pontificate, saying that people were walking the halls of the Capitol with AR15s, and that people should be able to set their own rules for what makes them "feel safe" when at work (regarding the CHL provisions in 978). There was a little bit of noise made when Sen. Burdick was called out to describe any actual incidents that CHL holders had caused, but any anti-978 sentiment was shutdown with calls of "we don't feel safe!" and a bunch of people clapping. That brief minute or two was the only time the meeting got somewhat heated... the rest of the time was uneventfully spent talking about judicial reform, housing reform, election reform, etc.

All-in-all, and I hate to say this, it was really discouraging. I've never been looked at and talked about as "the bad guy" before, and it doesn't feel good. I don't know what I expected. It certainly wasn't some outright acceptance of "yeah, these people have some good points", but I at least hoped there'd be some kind of discourse instead of just yelling over us and refusing to listen at all. I like to think that I'm well-spoken, polite, and even somewhat capable of writing complete sentences, but Sen. Burdick hasn't answered (not even a canned reply) any emails or letters that I've sent her. I have no voice at all in our state government.

This won't stop me from going to events like this in the future though and from trying to get more people to come along.

 

[mrblond]

they key word there is Feel...its all how they feel.. It will not matter if they are safer without the gun free zones.

 

[jbett98]

Was there a metal detector in use, or any other way to determine if someone was carrying?

 

[arakboss]

I attended as well. Thanks tiggers97 for posting this, because otherwise I wouldn't have known about it. This was my first time at a town hall-style meeting. While I'm sure the format changes between them, here's a quick description of how this particular event was set up:

There were chairs set up in rows in a small auditorium and a table with Sen. Burdick and Sen. Wagner up front. There was maybe 30 people there. At the door when I walked in, there was a table set up that had some sign-in sheets (name/address, reason for being there- I put SB978, but other people put simply "to listen". none of this seemed to be required in any way.). There were slips of paper on the table on which you could write a question and give it to one of the staffers. I showed up late, and the senators were already talking about other legistlation/issues non-related to guns. The staffers were picking questions out of the pile of slips and asking the senators. I don't know how they were deciding which questions to ask, though I did see them shuffling through the piles. It might have been in the order that they were submitted. My question (related to pre-1968 guns) didn't make it, but I was one of the last people to show up. They wrapped up questions around 3PM, thanks everyone for attending, etc. I didn't stick around, so I don't know if the senators stayed around for individual conversations.

Only one question that I was present for was related to guns- "Why do you think gun free zones work?". The answer was nonsense, but not unexpected. Senator Burdick did take some time to pontificate, saying that people were walking the halls of the Capitol with AR15s, and that people should be able to set their own rules for what makes them "feel safe" when at work (regarding the CHL provisions in 978). There was a little bit of noise made when Sen. Burdick was called out to describe any actual incidents that CHL holders had caused, but any anti-978 sentiment was shutdown with calls of "we don't feel safe!" and a bunch of people clapping. That brief minute or two was the only time the meeting got somewhat heated... the rest of the time was uneventfully spent talking about judicial reform, housing reform, election reform, etc.

All-in-all, and I hate to say this, it was really discouraging. I've never been looked at and talked about as "the bad guy" before, and it doesn't feel good. I don't know what I expected. It certainly wasn't some outright acceptance of "yeah, these people have some good points", but I at least hoped there'd be some kind of discourse instead of just yelling over us and refusing to listen at all. I like to think that I'm well-spoken, polite, and even somewhat capable of writing complete sentences, but Sen. Burdick hasn't answered (not even a canned reply) any emails or letters that I've sent her. I have no voice at all in our state government.

This won't stop me from going to events like this in the future though and from trying to get more people to come along.

Darn I wish you could have got the pre-1968 question in. About all they could have said is we'll look in to it.

 

[arakboss]

Was there a metal detector in use, or any other way to determine if someone was carrying?

Strip searched

 

[MannyGlocks]

I 'fear' inattentive vehicle drivers, but not guns.

 

[DivCurlGrad72]

Was there a metal detector in use, or any other way to determine if someone was carrying?

No. The auditorium was completely open, you could come and go as you please. There was a cop car parked out front when I first arrived, but I didn't see any police inside the building.

 

[nwslopoke]

they key word there is Feel...its all how they feel.. It will not matter if they are safer without the gun free zones.

How safe do they feel when something bad happens? Do they (especially Portland) want more police or fewer police? Since the answer is more, they should actually feel safer with armed citizens veted by the state.

I wish there was a way to make liberals prove their claims, whether it be how dangerous 30 caliber clips are or gun free zones are safe.

 

[OldTengu]

How safe do they feel when something bad happens? Do they (especially Portland) want more police or fewer police? Since the answer is more, they should actually feel safer with armed citizens veted by the state.

I wish there was a way to make liberals prove their claims, whether it be how dangerous 30 caliber clips are or gun free zones are safe.

I don't know if they actually do want more. If I recall correctly, there has been a recent push to disarm the police in Portland, and the City Council sure isn't doing anything to make these guys feel any sort of appreciated.

 

[SUPER X]

Probably end up like a previous one and she will be a no show cause something came up except the video of her taking out her garbage at home kinda ruined that excuse .....maybe.

These people are all liars . They need t be removed from office

 

[SUPER X]

they key word there is Feel...its all how they feel.. It will not matter if they are safer without the gun free zones.

I don't FEEL safe in gun free zones .

 

[tiggers97]

Just to demonstrate how nervous neilly the other side is, and what their level of fear is:

After the town hall there is usually about 20 minutes of a meet-n-greet. I wanted to get a chance to ask Burdick if she knew of any Oregon State Police reports on CHL's, and their crime rates (i.e. should people be afraid of them or not). And if there were no reports, what could be done to get them generated. (we already know the answer, but I think it would be good for them to discover it themselves and make it official).

A group of gals ahead of me wanted to get their picture with Burdick. Then one of them noticed an individual sitting close by. He wasn't doing anything, and hand not attempted to talk with anyone, just waiting patiently for someone else. But he also had an OFF sticker on his large jacket, and an OFF hat. The gals started getting nervous and whispering to the others. The glances and feinted finger pointing escalated till it got to Burdick. They hurriedly/nervously took the photo and then all quickly shuffled off. Burdick exited thru the closest side entrance she could move to before I got a chance to ask a question and never turned back. I think I heard "we better leave quick". I get the feeling that between the sticker/hat and his large coat, they were scared of him for no other reason than he represented "the other side" and might have been carrying one of those evil CHL guns. (note: no he was not carrying, and he is actually a very kind and friendly guy).

Essentially they saw him as a potential threat, and skittishly reacted accordingly to their prejudice. These are the types of people who don't think twice about calling the police on someone who is "in the wrong neighborhood". It's the kind of prejudice they harbour, as pokey mentioned about being made to feel like he was some type of bad person.

It should give people some idea of how it is we might need to approach people in this type of environment, as well as the maturity level of some of the people we need to talk with. We may find their fear irrational, but they still vote. Some are understandably fearful mostly because the only exposure they have to guns is thru negative stories about crime, or senators saying they get threats from gun owners. It's an ugly stereotype they have of us and this environment seems to be a good setting to let them know we are both passionate, educated on the subject, and do not fit the stereotype they have of us.

 

[jbett98]

If they could focus on their own personal protection responsibilities, rather then relying on law enforcement to always be there when needed, then they would get it.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

If they could focus on their own personal protection responsibilities, rather then relying on law enforcement to always be there when needed, then they would get it.

But the thing is they are quite privileged and pampered, and used to relying on someone else for everything they need. They are the wealthy former public employee class with gardeners and maids. They fit the image described here:

 

[Member 5605]

Yet another flawless town hall by the ruling authority.

 

[nwslopoke]

I don't know if they actually do want more. If I recall correctly, there has been a recent push to disarm the police in Portland, and the City Council sure isn't doing anything to make these guys feel any sort of appreciated.

Look at any footage or video available out of Portland. One minute Antifa is calling police all kinds of Nazi and the next they are pleading with the same cops to remove someone from their safe space in a public area. Kate Brown has had, I don't know if they are still shadowing her, extra security in the secure capital building. Men with guns. The antis love to surround themselves with guns. As long as they don't have to touch them. They play games sending men with guns (police) to people's houses knowing the occupants will likely get killed. They write laws knowing that if you don't comply, the police will possibly shoot you. They love (abusing) authority as long as they have it.