Oak Park, Il Official Should Apologize For ‘gangbanger’ Slur

[HK4U]

Another public official with an elitist attitude. What planet are these bureaucrats from?

NEWS RELEASE
Citizens Committee for the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005

OAK PARK, IL OFFICIAL SHOULD APOLOGIZE FOR ‘GANGBANGER’ SLUR
For Immediate Release: July 1, 2008

BELLEVUE, WA – The village manager in Oak Park, IL should immediately apologize for a slur leveled at gun rights activists and organizations, likening them to criminals in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the individual citizen’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment.

National Public Radio quoted Oak Park Village Manager Tom Barwin, an ex-police officer, observing, “It’s just completely befuddling that our Supreme Court would be in alliance with the gangbangers.”

Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, found Barwin’s remarks insulting to millions of law-abiding gun owners, and organizations that represent them.

“Clearly,” Gottlieb stated, “this ‘us-against-them’ mentality is inappropriate and misplaced, and we would hope that it does not reflect the positions of Oak Park residents or their elected village leaders. The Supreme Court is not in alliance with anyone, but the learned majority certainly has issued a ruling that squares with the history of the Second Amendment, and the intent of its authors.

“Comparing us or our good friends and colleagues at the National Rifle Association, the Illinois State Rifle Association, or any of this nation’s millions of law-abiding gun owners to drive-by assassins is despicable,” he observed. “Such a remark shows that some public officials either cannot, or prefer not to differentiate between honest citizens and thugs.”

Remarks such as Barwin’s only adds to the polarization that has existed in America over gun rights, and has intensified since the high court handed down its landmark ruling, Gottlieb added.

“How sad that American citizens should argue over a fundamental civil right,” he stated, “when we should all be celebrating a victory for individual liberty. Mr. Barwin’s comment reflects the view of a bitter, divisive minority of people who believe rights should be privileges, and that everyone who owns a firearm is automatically a criminal. Thankfully, such irrational thinking is far outside the American mainstream, where it belongs.”



With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at CCRKBA :: Homepage or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org

[festus]

Another public official with an elitist attitude. What planet are these bureaucrats from?

NEWS RELEASE
Citizens Committee for the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005

OAK PARK, IL OFFICIAL SHOULD APOLOGIZE FOR ‘GANGBANGER’ SLUR
For Immediate Release: July 1, 2008

BELLEVUE, WA – The village manager in Oak Park, IL should immediately apologize for a slur leveled at gun rights activists and organizations, likening them to criminals in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the individual citizen’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment.

National Public Radio quoted Oak Park Village Manager Tom Barwin, an ex-police officer, observing, “It’s just completely befuddling that our Supreme Court would be in alliance with the gangbangers.”


With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at CCRKBA :: Homepage or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org

Yo Yo Yo Yall
I am declarin' my membership in da biggest most baddest gang dare iz!
Dats Rite!!! I am an American gunowner!!!!!!!!!!

Get real! That yahoo should be beaten with his own shoes and made to drink from a toilet like the dog he is.

Here is the E-mail address to correct Mr Barwins Faux Pas

villagemanager@oak-park.us

PEACE OUT!

[HK4U]

I let the Bozo know what I thought of him and his opinion.

[festus]

Dear Mr. Barwin;
I don't appreciate being lumped in with the Gang Bangers per your comment. I served for 20 years 9 months and 29 days In the USAF. I am a proudly retired military veteran who just so happens to own guns. I am a responsible adult. Not a Gang Banger. When I joined the USAF I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic. You sir are dangerously close to becoming a domestic enemy of the Constitution. The bill of rights are amendments to our Constitution therefore a valid part of it. I understand your apparent inability to understand that those amendments were meant to protect We The People from an oppressive government by the founding fathers. I also understand that your remark is totally uncalled for as an elected official. I would at this time, request a written apology on behalf of every man woman and child who embrace the freedoms granted by our Constitution. In short you are probably looking at some form of censure at a minimum if not an outright lawsuit based on your defamation of character by gun owner's organizations. In the future I would like to ask that you think before you speak as you may be held accountable for every word that you utter as a public servant. In summation if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all.

Very respectfully

[tattedupboy]

Well, he's certainly entitled to his opinion of gun owners. However, myself and other law abiding gun owners are also entitled to our opinion of him. As far as I'm concerned this guy is a condescending, arrogant, foolish blowhard.

[toreskha]

I must be in the most law-abiding and employed gang ever. Maybe everyone else is secretly ordering Cocaine Lattes at Starbucks and I'm missing out on something.

[DarrellM5]

Here's what I sent him:

Mr. Barwin, I am deeply offended by your comments suggesting that all gun owners are gang bangers. The Supreme Court recognized the individual right of law-abiding citizens to own firearms for personal defense and hunting. Your typical gang banger has a criminal record and has forfeited that right. The gang bangers always have and always will possess illegal firearms, regardless of the 2nd Amendment. The recent ruling only confirms my right to protect myself should I have an unplanned encounter with one of them.

[kwo51]

When will these people get of my planet