Susanna Smith read a letter signed by 57 Neosho residents criticizing Baker's labeling those who opposed the children selling the raffle tickets as "hateful outsiders."
"This is most certainly not the case," Smith read. "This is not the same debate that is going on nationally, although our issue made national news. This conversation is not about the Second Amendment, nor is about gun culture in general.
"It is about the inappropriateness of children holding a raffle for, and thus advertising, an AR-15."
The letter noted that the AR-15 has been used in school shootings.
While some spoke to call for Baker to step down, John Birner defended the mayor, recalling his efforts with flood recovery and noting that more people die from falling out of beds than from guns.
Baker became the focal point of the controversy over the raffle ticket sales when he gave interviews to numerous media outlets, including KZRG in Joplin and KSGF in Springfield, in which he gave the impression that nearly everyone who lives in the Neosho area supported the raffle and that those who did not were trying to cause trouble.
Neosho City Attorney Steve Hays issued a statement saying that Baker, who is running for the state representative seat currently held by term-limited Bill Reiboldt, was speaking for himself and not for the City of Neosho.
The text of the letter is printed below:
Neosho Gun Raffle Issue: Letter to City Council
Neosho Gun Raffle Issue: Letter to City Council
People who can only see one side of any given issue tend to demonize the other side.
This is what is happening in the case of our mayor accusing a group of concerned Neosho citizens of being hateful outsiders. This is most certainly NOT the case. This is not the same debate that is going on nationally, although our issue made national news.
This conversation, is not about the second amendment, nor is it about gun culture in general. It is about the inappropriateness of children holding a raffle for, and thus advertising, an AR 15 rifle.
It is particularly horrifying to a significant part of our population because this is the rifle of choice in school shootings, which are becoming alarmingly more common.
The secondary issue is that the use of the Wildcat school logo implies that the raffle is sanctioned by the R-5 school district, which it is not. Being proud to be a Wildcat is beside the point.
In any discussions of guns, it is time for both sides to tone down the rhetoric, forget the culture wars and try to understand the bigger picture. Don’t accuse folks of saying things they are not, nor accuse them of spouting hateful vitriol or being elitist liberals just because they disagree with you.
When people have different points of view, look to see if their ideas seem to be well-thought-out suggestions for improving our community in some way. We want our schools to be safe, and raffling off a military-style rifle does not send that message to the community nor to anyone who may want to visit here.
16 comments:
The comments made at the meeting tonight presented an opportunity for the mayor to respond in a professional way and say something like “you are absolutely right....I did not think before I spoke and I see now that the people in attendance tonight, representing views which are different from mine, are INDEED GOOD PEOPLE and are certainly not a hate group or loud-mouthed Liberals. Everyone who spoke tonight did so thoughtfully and I can tell that they feel hurt by my comments. I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize. I’d like to grow and improve as your mayor and I want to make all Neosho residents proud.”
INSTEAD he was flippant and dismissive.
His response was DISGUSTING!
MAYOR Baker painted an inaccurate picture of Neosho to a national audience. He should resign.
Well said.
Steve Hayes is known as a crooked lawyer's crooked lawyer. The dopers say that if you give him $5000-10,000 that he will split it with the judge and make the charges go away.
Anyways, whatever Mayor Baker said isn't unlawful but merely his own opinion. If you don't like it feel free to not vote for him.
I for one am glad that there is some politician somewhere who won't wuss out on the Second Amendment.
So 57 people? WOW, how earth-shattering. So a smattering of signatures on a petition should cause this man to resign?
To 7:56, Just because he didn't do exactly what you think he should have done, he is flippant, dismissive and disgusting? SO DON'T VOTE FOR HIM! FYI The majority of the citizens of this town agree with him, so good luck with that.
I DIDN'T vote for him and I never would. He's an idiot. And I'm just SUGGESTING that he might have taken a more open-minded route. As far as the 57 people.....those were the people who were brave enough to sign. I commend them. There are a LOT of Democrats in this town who don't share the conservative opinion, but the conservatives are so noisy and controlling that those who are more liberal wouldn't dare say how they feel for fear of retribution. It's sickening.
No the majority of people of Neosho do not agree with him. This guy has shown himself to be an arrogant ass and he is going to be in for the shock of his life when the votes are counted.
That's the big lie. Everybody does not agree with him however those in disagreement aren't nearly as loud and obnoxious but they do vote.
Biblical Ben is running for the Miz-zur-ree state legislature.
You can bless his little pea pickin heart every Sunday but go down in the hills and yell "Second Amendment" or "Gun Grabbers" and they come runnin to the polls!
Expecting him to pee in his deplorable supporters' lemonade and say anything against assault weapons is like expecting Sarah Palin to win a Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Ain't Gon Happen!
It seems as if the loud mouth liberals are upset. Oh Well.
I agree!
I'm seeing a a whole bunch of snowflakes crying because their feelings for hurt! SMDH. Common people, time to get a spine and quit whining..
Randy at 9:55AM,
How do you know Sara Palin can’t win the Nobel Peace Prize for Chemistry? Obama won it at the very start of his Presidency ( that one IS hard to figure) BTW, your dialect writing continues to entertain.
Harvey Hutchinson 303-522-6622 voice&text 24/7
Harvey, if I have something to say about one of your comments, I will say it in my own voice. I don't need to pretend to be other people and I do not write in dialect. I would have thought you would be intelligent enough to know that.
Randy did not leave that comment Harvey, I did. By the way wiseass, Obama won the Prize for Peace not Chemistry.
@6:48 Poor Harvey. Trying to think again. Sarah Palin can't even spell Chemistry so that answers your question. You being confused about anything is perfectly understandable. We read your rhetoric and instantly know that you should not be trying to think at all. Time to put on your tinfoil hat and go stare at the sun. Kinda like your moron president staring at the solar eclipse.
Post a Comment