No one knows just how unfriendly towards guns Connecticut is than people who live there. They see the good and bad every single day, and for gun rights advocates, they’re behind enemy lines trying to keep up the good fight when the deck is stacked against them. I have a lot of respect for their efforts, and I pray I never get to experience that firsthand.
But one city council meeting, where the topic was gun rights, stemming from a local ordinance that was later repealed, got heated, and people got stupid.
A tense debate about gun rights and a related ordinance in Coventry that was repealed earlier this month boiled over into antisemitic comments at a town council meeting.
The comments came during a heated exchange after Council Chair Lisa Thomas, who is Jewish, told Republican Town Committee Chair John French that his five minutes to speak during public comment were up. The meeting was jam-packed with individuals who were angry about the ordinance, despite it later being repealed, Thomas told the Courant.
French used most of his time to express frustrations with the ordinance passing in March and the town council in general. The ordinance had put restrictions in place for home shooting ranges.
When Thomas told French he needed to wrap up his remarks, another individual in the audience offered to give French his five minutes of public comment, but Thomas informed them “That’s not how it works.” Multiple members of the audience then began speaking from the gallery, leading to Thomas calling for a recess.
Moments later, an unidentified man in the audience can be heard on a video of the meeting saying “Heil Hitler” three times. When the meeting resumed after the 15-minute recess, Thomas warned the audience that expletives and antisemitic speech would not be tolerated and that anyone who partook in such behavior would be escorted out. She also identified herself as the granddaughter of Holocaust refugees.
A member of the audience could then be seen giving what appeared to be the Nazi salute, at which point Thomas turned to a police officer and pointed the man out.
The man was warned, and while he debated about free speech–understandably–he wasn’t removed or anything.
Now, let’s talk about this whole thing.
First, Thomas alleges there’s a history of antisemitism coming from local Republicans, which may or may not be true, but I don’t think this intonation of “Heil Hitler” is actually antisemitic. While Thomas might be Jewish, I think this had nothing to do with her ancestry, faith, or anything of the like, but was instead likening her to the most horrific tyrant in human history.
It wasn’t about anyone being Jewish, but about not respecting freedom, as some people saw it.
Now, with that said, it was still absolutely moronic.
First, the ordinance, which dealt with shooting in your backyard and mandated distance from other people’s property and a proper backstop, was repealed. They’re gone. While I get that people don’t want to see a repeat, freedom prevailed here. There’s no reason to invoke the whole “you’re literally Hitler” thing here.
Claiming someone you don’t like is Hitler is such a tired line, even if you’re just trying to flip the script, that it’s beyond asinine at this point. The fact that Thomas is the descendant of Holocaust refugees is definitely going to put her in a certain kind of mood, and what that means is that you’re never going to be anything to her and her allies but terrible human beings.
You might feel better over this, but you didn’t actually win anything. You’ve just given her a reason to never actually listen to you ever again. She might have to let you speak, but that’s as far as it goes.
Plus, look at the story now. It’s not about the repealed ordinance, or any supposed effort to bring it back, or anything else. It’s not about gun rights or anything other than someone slinging the Hitler references.
Guys, the media is never going to be on your side. You know this. We all know this. Why, in the name of all that you hold dear, are you making it easy for them?
Stop. Just stop.
Passion in defense of the Second Amendment isn’t a vice. Idiocy, though, is, and going down this road is really just idiocy.
Yes, even if you do think she’s “literally Hitler” or whatever.
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, conservatives, and the Second Amendment.
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