Town Hall on Gun Violence with Congressman Joe Morelle
- Thread starter gunpoliticsny
- Start date
repete
.338 Win Mag
Nothing like starting out with an outright lie,
" Every day, 100 lives are lost due to gun violence. We need to take real, meaningful steps to end this devastating cycle and keep our communities safe:"
" Every day, 100 lives are lost due to gun violence. We need to take real, meaningful steps to end this devastating cycle and keep our communities safe:"
I'm going to have to check my schedule. I'm interested in going.
Cleck
.308 Win
It's right down the street from me. I'll try to go. I think I know what to expect, but I want to "Well, actually" every single thing they say there, cuz I know how much you guys like it when I do it here 
BDinPutnam
.475 A&M Magnum
It's right down the street from me. I'll try to go. I think I know what to expect, but I want to "Well, actually" every single thing they say there, cuz I know how much you guys like it when I do it here
Record it.
Anyone else going to this besides Cleck and me?
Cleck
.308 Win
It was actually too long to record, I didn't have enough to do it, but NF took some pics that he'll throw up later. It was a pretty full room, but definitely more anti's there than anyone, but that doesn't surprise me. The "Moms Demand Action" and "Everytown" women all got special treatment to sit up front so they could clap the loudest when Morelle was talking, not surprised.
For the most part, it was pretty civil. There were a few times when one side would say something out of turn and the other side would tell them to wait their turn or be quiet, etc. but it definitely could have been a lot worse. In the beginning, it was questions via comment cards only and then the mic was passed around. I submitted a question that basically asked what would happen w/ his new "assault weapons ban" when we already have the SAFE Act, and I already legally own rifles like AR's and such under the SAFE Act. What would happen then and why outlaw what I already legally own under strict legislation? His answer danced around "Well, there's lots of different types of semi-auto rifles that have different features that we'd have to make a list of....blah blah blah." He didn't directly answer it. Later it came out that he "thinks" that existing owners will be grandfathered in, it's just that no new guns will be allowed to be manufactured/sold/etc.
It was clear his one big point is universal background checks, because everything came back to that, one way or another. That's all he really really wants, along w/ a few other things, but the checks seem his primary concern. He's not for conceal carry permit holders; he said that he never said he was totally against it, he just wasn't a fan. Someone in the audience in their questions reminded him that he's been in politics for ~30 years and he should have an idea by now. Everyone laughed, and he didn't really have an answer for that. Either way, it seems if he goes anywhere, reciprocity will not be following him, and I wouldn't doubt that CC permits would be tougher if it were up to him.
He got invited by a few people to go to the range, as he admitted that he had never been to the range before or even fired a gun. Color me surprised.
At the end of the meeting, NF and I were approached by a woman who admitted that she wasn't for guns, but she wanted to learn more about them. She had questions that you could tell were some biases she got from the news, some from her old father's biases regarding AR's or "needing more than 1 round to shoot an animal", but she listened and shared her views and I think came away w/ a better understanding. I'd rather talk to people like her all day, as she wasn't yelling at us or shouting us down how we're nuts or anything. She wasn't for guns, but she was definitely way more open than a lot of people there last night. I'm glad she came up to us.
For the most part, it was pretty civil. There were a few times when one side would say something out of turn and the other side would tell them to wait their turn or be quiet, etc. but it definitely could have been a lot worse. In the beginning, it was questions via comment cards only and then the mic was passed around. I submitted a question that basically asked what would happen w/ his new "assault weapons ban" when we already have the SAFE Act, and I already legally own rifles like AR's and such under the SAFE Act. What would happen then and why outlaw what I already legally own under strict legislation? His answer danced around "Well, there's lots of different types of semi-auto rifles that have different features that we'd have to make a list of....blah blah blah." He didn't directly answer it. Later it came out that he "thinks" that existing owners will be grandfathered in, it's just that no new guns will be allowed to be manufactured/sold/etc.
It was clear his one big point is universal background checks, because everything came back to that, one way or another. That's all he really really wants, along w/ a few other things, but the checks seem his primary concern. He's not for conceal carry permit holders; he said that he never said he was totally against it, he just wasn't a fan. Someone in the audience in their questions reminded him that he's been in politics for ~30 years and he should have an idea by now. Everyone laughed, and he didn't really have an answer for that. Either way, it seems if he goes anywhere, reciprocity will not be following him, and I wouldn't doubt that CC permits would be tougher if it were up to him.
He got invited by a few people to go to the range, as he admitted that he had never been to the range before or even fired a gun. Color me surprised.
At the end of the meeting, NF and I were approached by a woman who admitted that she wasn't for guns, but she wanted to learn more about them. She had questions that you could tell were some biases she got from the news, some from her old father's biases regarding AR's or "needing more than 1 round to shoot an animal", but she listened and shared her views and I think came away w/ a better understanding. I'd rather talk to people like her all day, as she wasn't yelling at us or shouting us down how we're nuts or anything. She wasn't for guns, but she was definitely way more open than a lot of people there last night. I'm glad she came up to us.
BDinPutnam
.475 A&M Magnum
Uhm, Joe.
We already have "universal background checks" in New York.
What else ya got?
@Cleck thanks for the report and for having that civil conversation. I wish we could have more of them but the craziest voices are the loudest voices.
We already have "universal background checks" in New York.
What else ya got?
@Cleck thanks for the report and for having that civil conversation. I wish we could have more of them but the craziest voices are the loudest voices.
Cleck
.308 Win
He wants those checks on the federal level. There were a few times people shouted that we already had those, and he said, "Only here" or not everywhere, something to that effect. He's obviously thinking bigger.
Civil conversations are where it's at, even if you don't agree w/ someone. The shouting by both sides just makes people look stupid, whether they're right or not.
Civil conversations are where it's at, even if you don't agree w/ someone. The shouting by both sides just makes people look stupid, whether they're right or not.
gunpoliticsny
6.5 Creedmoor
gunpoliticsny
6.5 Creedmoor
That's the idea.
Saltwater60
20×102mm Vulcan
I
I find a lot of liberals are this way and just don’t know anything about guns. When presented with the facts they think and are open to things. I would have offered to meet her at a range so she could have the experience of shooting a gun and see how it can be done safely and enjoyably.
Cleck
.308 Win
I'm working on that w/ one of my aunt's - blue voting all the way, women's rights and marching and all that too, but getting her pistol permit and first gun. She grew up around them though
Saltwater60
20×102mm Vulcan
Still a victory. Might make her think twice about voting for a far left liberal gun grabber.
I did get a chance to ask Morelle about universal background checks. I brought up the fact that people get delayed/denied erroneously, and they have to spend years and sometimes thousands of dollars to get their rights back. His response was basically, "We can come up with a way to fix that. Next question." I wanted to ask him a few more questions, but there wasn't time.
The lady @Cleck and I talked to after the event was over was very understanding. She came up to me and said, "I never really thought about people being denied mistakenly before." And then someone (Cleck or the woman?) likened it to the "No fly list." By the end of our 10 minute conversation, you could tell that she was more open to the idea and questioning what she knew before. It was a very productive conversation.
The crowd, a few minutes before the event started. The orange shirts were an anti-gun violence group. You can see the Moms Demand Action and the Students Demand Action groups too.
Irondequoit Supervisor Dave Seeley. He spoke for a couple minutes but didn't really get into his views on gun control. For a Democrat, he's actually fairly moderate.
Rochester City Councilman, Willie Lightfoot spoke next. He was definitely anti-gun and stressed the need to control who has them.
Congressman Joe Morelle was the person everyone was there to see. He did a quick presentation on the proposed bills in Congress, going over each one of them for a minute or two. He spoke for a few more minutes on gun violence. He referenced the 30,000 figure but never mentioned almost 2/3rds of them are suicide. Then, he opened it up for pre-written questions that we all filled out beforehand. He answered a lot of them, even pro-gun ones, although he didn't answer mine. I asked about the constitutionality of a 3 day waiting period to buy guns when courts have ruled that 3 day waiting periods for abortion were unconstitutional. One right is enumerated in the Constitution and the law wouldn't pass strict scrutiny.
Morelle did admit that he'd never even shot a gun before. He got a few invites to the range, but I doubt he'll actually take the offers up. His mind is made up on the issue and he won't be changing it. While I don't agree with his position on the issue, I do think that having events like these is important. I do have to give him credit there. Slaughter never engaged her constituents in this way.
The lady @Cleck and I talked to after the event was over was very understanding. She came up to me and said, "I never really thought about people being denied mistakenly before." And then someone (Cleck or the woman?) likened it to the "No fly list." By the end of our 10 minute conversation, you could tell that she was more open to the idea and questioning what she knew before. It was a very productive conversation.
The crowd, a few minutes before the event started. The orange shirts were an anti-gun violence group. You can see the Moms Demand Action and the Students Demand Action groups too.
Irondequoit Supervisor Dave Seeley. He spoke for a couple minutes but didn't really get into his views on gun control. For a Democrat, he's actually fairly moderate.
Rochester City Councilman, Willie Lightfoot spoke next. He was definitely anti-gun and stressed the need to control who has them.
Congressman Joe Morelle was the person everyone was there to see. He did a quick presentation on the proposed bills in Congress, going over each one of them for a minute or two. He spoke for a few more minutes on gun violence. He referenced the 30,000 figure but never mentioned almost 2/3rds of them are suicide. Then, he opened it up for pre-written questions that we all filled out beforehand. He answered a lot of them, even pro-gun ones, although he didn't answer mine. I asked about the constitutionality of a 3 day waiting period to buy guns when courts have ruled that 3 day waiting periods for abortion were unconstitutional. One right is enumerated in the Constitution and the law wouldn't pass strict scrutiny.
Morelle did admit that he'd never even shot a gun before. He got a few invites to the range, but I doubt he'll actually take the offers up. His mind is made up on the issue and he won't be changing it. While I don't agree with his position on the issue, I do think that having events like these is important. I do have to give him credit there. Slaughter never engaged her constituents in this way.
Cleck
.308 Win
Yeah, he did stand up there and take it on the chin from some people a few times, but he probably came out smelling like roses to his people. Luckily, the suicides thing was brought up/clarified later
