Listen, Be Heard At Thursday Forum

Don’t be surprised if the health care forum hosted by U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher early Thursday in Abingdon follows a similar pattern already seen across the country – protesters, anger and jeering.
Those acts have nothing to do with health care reform. Yet the anger that citizens feel over rising debt, fear over losing coverage and general dissatisfaction with elected officials is growing to a fever pitch.
No doubt the “Fightin’ Ninth” congressional district has earned its moniker. But we hold out hope for better behavior from our neighbors than that being broadcast on television and the Internet from meetings held in other parts of the country. We are certain our neighbors can make reasoned points without unreasonable behavior.
On Tuesday, about 1,200 citizens came to Boucher’s town hall meeting at New River Community College. Local press reports said the event lasted until noon and that Boucher, who was elected to Congress in 1982, called it the largest crowd he’s drawn to such an event in his legislative career.
Citizens also are being encouraged to attend Thursday’s meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon. It is a chance to learn more about health care reform and for Boucher to solicit feedback from voters. We urge residents to fill the room; this is your chance to ask questions and voice concerns in person. We also urge you to attend the meeting with respect for others and a willingness to listen to their views.
But make no mistake: The shouting and taunts seen at other town hall meetings are spreading everywhere. Disgruntled voters are angry and frustrated and want a chance to be heard. Health care reform is complicated and personal, and no clear plan has emerged to win broad public support. This week, a key portion of the plan – the single-payer, government option – appears to be on life support.
The muddled message makes these meetings ripe for people who have political agendas. A Pearisburg, Va., member of OpenCarry.org, a group that advocates for people who want to openly carry firearms, posted messages on the group’s Web site starting Saturday that he intended to go to the Dublin town hall meeting and wanted input on openly carrying a gun to it.
“I do not know any law restricting me from doing so for a representative, the President yes, but a representative no,” a person calling themself Neplusultra wrote. “The townhall meeting will be at a community college, which I’m sure bans guns, although I am not a student. I am looking for comments about this. All are welcome, informed and embraced…”
Four responses ranged from supporting the writer in his plan, to reminding him that he might be asked by police to leave campus.
On Monday, a man legally carried an assault rifle at a protest against Obama in Phoenix, Ariz. Another man openly carried a handgun outside a forum where Obama spoke in New Hampshire earlier this month.
What is the purpose to openly carry a gun to a health care forum meeting? Second Amendment rights? To intimidate legislators? To intimidate the crowd? To get attention for the open-carry cause? And what does carrying a gun have to do with health care?
A responder from Loudoun County urged professional behavior. “If you act professional I bet you are barely noticed and this is a non event. I go to townhalls, board meetings, etc. all the time and nobody says a word.”
That’s excellent advice, if your aim is to advance the open carry cause without incident. But the health care debate has raged past the point that a person openly carrying a firearm to a town hall meeting would not go unnoticed.
The subject for the town hall meetings is health care reform, not gun rights. We believe at least some members of OpenCarry.org are using these events to get attention for their political cause, one that could intimidate members of the crowd who want to discuss health care.
Health care is the focus on Thursday, and we are certain people will turn out in droves. We encourage citizens to come to the forum focused, calm and ready to outline their positions, willing to listen to contrasting views and with respect to make sure everyone’s positions are heard.