‘Wing nuts knew their place,’ says MAIG Georgia associate

Examiner – by Dave Workman

A Georgia woman associated with Mayors Against Illegal Guns confirmed to Examiner Tuesday afternoon that she did author a controversial e-mail relating to yesterday’s “No More Names” bus stop in Atlanta, in which she noted that at earlier stops, pro-gun protesters did appear but “the ‘wing nuts’ were present (and) they were fairly passive and knew their place.”

Today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution has several images taken at the capitol, where it appeared gun rights activists and anti-gunners were about evenly matched.  

The e-mail, dated last Saturday but exposed Monday, was authored by Lissie Stahlman, who told Examiner via telephone she is with MAIG in Atlanta, although she would not specify whether she is a volunteer or is employed by the group. She used the message to assure Georgia anti-gunners that “The Sheriff’s Dept (sic) and Capitol Police will be keeping us safe.” The bus visit at the state capitol went off without a problem, she indicated.

Her e-mail is raising eyebrows on at least one popular forum, the Georgia Packing.orgwebsite, which is home to many open carry proponents. She said “it was not really very nice for people, many of whom had been victims, to be seeing people with open-carried pistols and AK-47s…it was tacky.”

Asked what she meant by referring to gun rights protesters as “wing nuts,” she avoided the issue and simply said those who showed up in Atlanta were well-behaved. They stayed in one area, and anti-gunners stayed in another, she said.

The anti-gun Mayors’ group, funded largely by billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is making headlines this week for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are a couple of deflections. As reported by this column yesterday, the mayor of Rockford, Ill., quit the group and today U.S. News is reporting a second mayor, Donnalee Lozeau of Nashua, N.H. also left. Both officials said it was because the group was more interested in gun control than stopping criminals with guns.

But Lozeau said MAIG has gone one step farther, campaigning against members of Congress. She noted Bloomberg’s efforts to unseat New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte because she voted against the Bloomberg-supported “universal background check” bill earlier this year. Lozeau told the Manchester Union Leader Monday that, “I don’t want to be part of something like that.”

Stahlman advised gun control supporters against engaging rights activists in any kind of dialogue.

The “No More Names” bus tour will reportedly stop Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn., followed by a Thursday appearance in Little Rock, Ark., and a Saturday stop in New Orleans, La.

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http://www.examiner.com/article/wing-nuts-knew-their-place-says-maig-georgia-associate