Damiansar-15
Regular Member
Has anyone seen recent petition activity from CeaseFire? I saw a small group at the entrance areas of Mercer Island's Farmer's Market on Sunday afternoon. I spoke to two of the folks carrying signs with petition information. Apparently, the folks were not even from Washington State from what I gathered in our brief interaction... I was glad to see that towards the end of the market, they had only gathered a few signatures...
First guy interaction:
Me- "Your sign says to ask you about the 'assault gun' ban. Are you trying to ban 'assault weapons'?"
Guy- "That's right. We are petitioning support for the AG's initiative"
Me- "Does this include banning assault rifles for LEOs?
Guy- "....crickets chirping..."
Me- "I am just trying to understand more about your initiative and why you are pushing for it."
Guy- (steps close to my face and shouts)"Because assault weapons shoot 150 F%^n bullets a minute. (steps back quickly when I did not react to his bullying technique) I know what you are about and I don't want to talk to you and you can't see or sign my petition"
Me- "Do you even live on the Island?"
Guy- "...crickets chirping..."
Me-"Your sign said to ask you about your ban. You are putting yourself out here publicly petitioning in my community. Have a nice day."
Second Interaction with lady:
Me- "Your sign says to ask you about the 'assault gun' ban. Are you trying to ban 'assault weapons'?"
Lady-"Yes, we want to ban all of those guns that spew unlimited amounts of bullets with belts...you know??? (pantomimes shooting an imaginary SAW machine gun from the hip with a belt of ammunition)"
Me- "Well you know they passed legislation in the 1980s to ban machine guns defined by the ATF as assault weapons in the early 1980s."
Lady- "No, they had a ban in the 1990s and we want to bring that back"
Me- "Oh, you want to ban semi-automatic rifles with certain ergonomic and safety features. So, does your initiative include banning 'assault rifles' for LEOs?"
Lady- "Of, course not."
Me- "Why not?"
Lady- "Because they need them to defend themselves against criminals and to protect the public."
Me- "So you believe that law abiding citizens should not have the right to defend themselves from criminals or protect their families?"
Lady- "....crickets chirping.... Well, I'm from Connecticut and we don't need guns there."
Me- "Oh, so you come to my community to ban weapons which help me defend myself and family, while not even living here?"
Lady-"....crickets chirping..."
Me- "I think it is great that you have the right to come out to someone else's community and publicly petition for your perspective. Although, I believe you are doing more harm than good by creating defenseless victims in society. Have a nice day."
First guy interaction:
Me- "Your sign says to ask you about the 'assault gun' ban. Are you trying to ban 'assault weapons'?"
Guy- "That's right. We are petitioning support for the AG's initiative"
Me- "Does this include banning assault rifles for LEOs?
Guy- "....crickets chirping..."
Me- "I am just trying to understand more about your initiative and why you are pushing for it."
Guy- (steps close to my face and shouts)"Because assault weapons shoot 150 F%^n bullets a minute. (steps back quickly when I did not react to his bullying technique) I know what you are about and I don't want to talk to you and you can't see or sign my petition"
Me- "Do you even live on the Island?"
Guy- "...crickets chirping..."
Me-"Your sign said to ask you about your ban. You are putting yourself out here publicly petitioning in my community. Have a nice day."
Second Interaction with lady:
Me- "Your sign says to ask you about the 'assault gun' ban. Are you trying to ban 'assault weapons'?"
Lady-"Yes, we want to ban all of those guns that spew unlimited amounts of bullets with belts...you know??? (pantomimes shooting an imaginary SAW machine gun from the hip with a belt of ammunition)"
Me- "Well you know they passed legislation in the 1980s to ban machine guns defined by the ATF as assault weapons in the early 1980s."
Lady- "No, they had a ban in the 1990s and we want to bring that back"
Me- "Oh, you want to ban semi-automatic rifles with certain ergonomic and safety features. So, does your initiative include banning 'assault rifles' for LEOs?"
Lady- "Of, course not."
Me- "Why not?"
Lady- "Because they need them to defend themselves against criminals and to protect the public."
Me- "So you believe that law abiding citizens should not have the right to defend themselves from criminals or protect their families?"
Lady- "....crickets chirping.... Well, I'm from Connecticut and we don't need guns there."
Me- "Oh, so you come to my community to ban weapons which help me defend myself and family, while not even living here?"
Lady-"....crickets chirping..."
Me- "I think it is great that you have the right to come out to someone else's community and publicly petition for your perspective. Although, I believe you are doing more harm than good by creating defenseless victims in society. Have a nice day."