Pro-gun activists protest visit
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/shooting/0413prot4.shtml
April 13, 2000
Chants, bullhorns costumes, placards help make their point
By Jeff Kass
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
Bob Glass milled through the crowd wearing a Bill Clinton mask and speaking in a mocking Southern drawl.
Glass was one of about 225 gun-rights activists who protested President Clinton's Colorado visit, Gov. Bill Owens' position on firearms and gun-control efforts in general Wednesday.
Some demonstrators wore camouflage, others came dressed as 18th century patriots. They beat on a snare drum. And just in case no one got the message, they chanted, waved placards and used bullhorns.
"It's guerrilla theater," said Glass, co-founder of the Tyranny Response Team gun rights group, which helped organize the sometimes ear-splitting protests.
The protests started in the morning outside the Colorado Convention Center gun-control rally where Clinton spoke around 11:30 a.m.
"If the teachers in Columbine had been able to carry concealed weapons, that tragedy would not have happened," one protester shouted on a bullhorn.
Several protesters recited accusations that Clinton had once raped Juanita Broaddrick. They then said that his support of gun-control measures, such as criminal background checks for gun buyers, would make it harder for women and others to quickly obtain guns for protection.
"If a woman is being threatened by her violent, ex-husband, three days is too long," to wait, said protester Ari Armstrong, who edits the journal Colorado Freedom Report.
Several people waiting in line to see the president scoffed at the protesters. Pam Dayton, 40, a state public defender, said rape is stopped by education and anger management.
Her friend Shann Jeffery, 29, added that gun control does not mean gun elimination.
"They're not saying a woman can't get a gun," said Jeffery, also a state public defender.
Police kept protesters behind waist-high barricades in a large area near the convention center driveway. There was little interaction with those lining up to see the president in the morning.
That came after the speech.
Dozens of high school students decided to take on the protesters, shooting arguments back and forth like bullets.
"You want the freedom to kill people?" said South High School student Miriam Zlitni, 15.
After the Clinton rally let out, the protesters marched a few blocks away to the Capitol steps.
They accused the governor of switching stances by pushing for gun control. The governor's spokesman, Dick Wadhams, said Owens was backing reasonable measures that cropped up in light of the Columbine tragedy.
After 45 minutes of chants, the protesters broke for lunch and planned to regroup for another series of demonstrations at the University of Denver where Owens was speaking in the evening.
=============================================
Hurrah for our side!!!
Skyhawk
[This message has been edited by Skyhawk (edited April 13, 2000).]
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/shooting/0413prot4.shtml
April 13, 2000
Chants, bullhorns costumes, placards help make their point
By Jeff Kass
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
Bob Glass milled through the crowd wearing a Bill Clinton mask and speaking in a mocking Southern drawl.
Glass was one of about 225 gun-rights activists who protested President Clinton's Colorado visit, Gov. Bill Owens' position on firearms and gun-control efforts in general Wednesday.
Some demonstrators wore camouflage, others came dressed as 18th century patriots. They beat on a snare drum. And just in case no one got the message, they chanted, waved placards and used bullhorns.
"It's guerrilla theater," said Glass, co-founder of the Tyranny Response Team gun rights group, which helped organize the sometimes ear-splitting protests.
The protests started in the morning outside the Colorado Convention Center gun-control rally where Clinton spoke around 11:30 a.m.
"If the teachers in Columbine had been able to carry concealed weapons, that tragedy would not have happened," one protester shouted on a bullhorn.
Several protesters recited accusations that Clinton had once raped Juanita Broaddrick. They then said that his support of gun-control measures, such as criminal background checks for gun buyers, would make it harder for women and others to quickly obtain guns for protection.
"If a woman is being threatened by her violent, ex-husband, three days is too long," to wait, said protester Ari Armstrong, who edits the journal Colorado Freedom Report.
Several people waiting in line to see the president scoffed at the protesters. Pam Dayton, 40, a state public defender, said rape is stopped by education and anger management.
Her friend Shann Jeffery, 29, added that gun control does not mean gun elimination.
"They're not saying a woman can't get a gun," said Jeffery, also a state public defender.
Police kept protesters behind waist-high barricades in a large area near the convention center driveway. There was little interaction with those lining up to see the president in the morning.
That came after the speech.
Dozens of high school students decided to take on the protesters, shooting arguments back and forth like bullets.
"You want the freedom to kill people?" said South High School student Miriam Zlitni, 15.
After the Clinton rally let out, the protesters marched a few blocks away to the Capitol steps.
They accused the governor of switching stances by pushing for gun control. The governor's spokesman, Dick Wadhams, said Owens was backing reasonable measures that cropped up in light of the Columbine tragedy.
After 45 minutes of chants, the protesters broke for lunch and planned to regroup for another series of demonstrations at the University of Denver where Owens was speaking in the evening.
=============================================
Hurrah for our side!!!
Skyhawk
[This message has been edited by Skyhawk (edited April 13, 2000).]