Nearly 350 attend rally

[duhneece]

Source: Alamogordo Daily News

Nearly 350 attend rally
Opposing sides voice their opinions
Alamogordo Daily News
By Michael Johnson, Managing Editor
Posted: 01/03/2010 12:00:00 AM MST


"Holding a rifle in his hand, Jim Kizer participates in an Obama... (J.R. Oppenheim/Daily News)

Saturday's tea party protest that many people feared would morph into a Wild West shootout turned out to be a problem-free event. About 350 people, mostly Republican supporters and less than 10 self-proclaimed Democrats, crowded the intersection of 10th Street and White Sands Boulevard - the busiest intersection in the city - for a protest against the Obama administration and his policies.

There were plenty of handguns and rifles on display, but no violence.

The event was staged by the Otero Tea Party Patriots and the newly formed Second Amendment Task Force. While the tea party group's main focus was to protest the Obama administration, the Alamogordo 2ATF conducted a simultaneous open-carry event..."

Read more: http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_14113406

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In earlier articles, people were invited to protest Obama and healthcare reform while wearing guns. I think protests are not an appropriate time & place to wear firearms. I was verbally threatened, while a man patted his gun, so I think that illustrated my point. My comments got published in the story: Denise L, who called herself a Democrat, was positioned in front of Founders Park, located diagonally from the Alamogordo Airborne Memorial. She said the gun display was not necessary.

"I see it as being juvenile and adolescent," she said. "I'm very much a pro-gun rights person. I come from a military family. My late husband was a gunsmith, but I think gun use is OK in an appropriate time and place. Wearing guns to a protest, to me, is extremely juvenile."

Lang said she also wanted to support the health care reform bill that passed the U.S. Senate on Christmas Eve.

"When I worked at the cancer treatment center in Alamogordo, I saw private health care turn down treatment for people who had pre-existing conditions," she said. "I think the health care industry is providing us with bad health care."

The Confederate flag and the hateful language on some of the signs was very sad to see.