Opinion
Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- The replica Liberty Bell in the Veterans Memorial Park in Port Angeles, Washington, was installed as a private initiative in the bicentennial year of 1976.
For several years, the replica and the park have been subject to vandalism.
PORT ANGELES, Wash. — At Veterans Memorial Park in Port Angeles, a replica of the Liberty Bell is defaced with graffiti. The park is teeming with garbage. Nearby residents say they no longer feel safe.
“This can be a horrific mess of trash and human waste,” said Karen Rogers. “We have needles, illicit sex acts. This is a school bus route, for crying out loud!”
Residents were appalled. They wanted a fence. They lobbied for a fence. They agreed to pay for it from their own funds. They raised the money. A design was sought, selected, and approved of by the City. From mynorthwest.com:
To decorate the iron fence, Stokes and Lucier created 13 stars to represent the original 13 Colonies, along with silhouettes of two Revolutionary War soldiers holding muskets.
“If you go to the original Liberty Bell back in [Philadelphia], there’s a 24-hour armed guard standing guard over it, just like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” he explained to KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.
The city approved the design and the fence went up earlier this autumn.
Now, however, Port Angeles Mayor Sissi Bruch wants the city to remove the silhouettes from the fence because they depict guns.
Here is the memo from Mayor Sissi Bruch. Notice it objects to the mere symbolism of a gun. This is more than a political statement. It is an attempt to deny reality. It is an attempt to deny the existence of guns in a historical context. It is a desire to erase the image of guns because guns are hated, to avoid accepting the reality of the evil of human actions. From cityofpa.us:
Background / Analysis: The Parks and Beautification committee recommended to the Parks and Recreation Director to install an ornamental security fence around the Liberty Bell at Veterans Memorial Park. This fence was installed,and the decorative elements consists of two large outlines of a soldier with a gun and many small stars. There have been many complaints regarding the two large soldiers with guns being used as decorative elements to this fence.Given that our nation is experiencing an outbreak in gun violence in our schools and our communities, it is easy to see why these elements have caused such concern. There are many other symbols that can be used to celebrate our Veterans that will be embraced by our community. Flags, eagles, and anchors could be used. Modifying the soldiers so that the guns are not there would also be less objectionable.
Funding: Cost to remove the two outlines of the soldiers.
The majority of “gun violence” in the United States today is old white men committing suicide. Homicides, and homicides with guns are at lows not seen since the 1960s. Fatal gun accidents are at all-time record lows. When those pushing for a disarmed population speak of increasing “gun violence,” they are speaking of suicides. Most suicides with guns are committed by old white men.
What possible connection is there between the historical reality of the force of soldiers using guns to create the United States, and old white men committing suicide in today’s society? There isn’t any.
It is a bizarre attempt to create a narrative to remove guns from society.
Mayor Sissi Bruch, who was endorsed by the Sierra Club, is a strong champion of using “climate change” to reorder society.
She is getting pushback on the matter of the Liberty Bell fence at Veterans Park. Veterans are saying the fence will not be altered. It is a war memorial.
There was scheduled a City Council meeting on Wednesday, 6 November 30-year 2019. Defenders of the memorial were going to show up. From peninsuladailynews.com:
“The council chambers is going to have a few people on Wednesday,” said Karen Rogers, former mayor, who with Gary W. Velie, president of the Clallam County Veterans Association, led the drive for the fence.
“My phone has not stopped ringing since 8 o’clock yesterday morning,” Rogers said Saturday.
Objecting to the iconic image of the silhouette of muskets, because of hoplophobia (fear of weapons), is not good governance.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Let’s get rid of guns on the Veterans Park ornamental security fence and ignore the criminal behavior that’s going on in the park? Perhaps Mayor Sissi Bruch should focus on ensuring the residents are safe by cleaning out the riff-raff in the area. Residents should demand a 24/7 police presence to patrol the park instead.
@GO – or allow the neighborhood hire some vets to stand guard with ARs. I’m sure crime and violence in the park would drop dramatically and guns could be seen performing their rightful role.
Finnky, people like this Mayor would not hire vets for anything. Their opinion of vets is lower than their opinion of stray dogs. These same people would degrade all vets even eligible for VA health into prohibited persons; a rapidly increasing underclass. They do not even want statues of vets armed.
Let us wish ourselves a happy Veterans Day, honor those no longer with us, and appreciate those who honor our service.
They would be better served to “remove” the mayor.
Agreed.
Another attempt of the left to deny history so they can re-write it in the fashion they desire. Should they erect outlines of junkies using needles instead to depict their new reality?
Why is Washington allowing this to happen?? With a 22.98 voter turnout, any small group could take over your government. Wake up, you are becoming california.
Western Washington and Western Oregon might as well be suburbs of Las Angeles or San Francisco. They are all bastions of anti-American, liberal morons and brain-dead idiots where “feelings” are more important than facts and truth is lost on these ethnocentristic sheep.
Most who vote Democrat are the real life Walking dead, their leaders are not. We should not underestimate the enemy. Their leaders have excellent strategies and tactics being used against us. They acquire substantial resources from the financial elite and siphon our taxes to be used against us.
Since the mayor objects to the mere symbolism of guns I would suggest she disarm the police department as not to have hundreds of bad symbolic guns roaming the city night and day. While she’s at it how about outlawing armed security for the wealthy.
So sad. Makes me more ashamed of being a Washington resident than I was before reading this article. I landed here voluntarily after getting out of Nam and the Army because it was such a great freedom supporting state. I was raised in NYC, and I wanted to get away from it and all it represented WAY BACK. Now, NYC and all it’s misguided evil politics have infested my beautiful home state of choice. Pity. So, some of the folks who would change our heritage would rather have anchors on the fence rather than depictions of the tools that won… Read more »
Chin up!, whodaty. Prior to WWII, America was an isolationist state. It wasn’t until the enemy actually attacked, that common sense once again rose to the fore. What a generation that turned out to be.
Maybe she would also like the soldiers to wear pink “pussy hats”.
Washington is becoming a part of California (God help us) … Oregon is right there as well. PLEASE, those who support the Second Amendment must have 100% of us voting! It is the only way we can potentially override the west side liberals who are controlling our state. VOTE and save us … Port Angeles is on the west side and this mayor obviously sides with the liberal fruitcakes. A symbol of our hard earned freedom should be removed? Hogwash and poopers on you Sissi. Molon Labe …
Just as sure as Confederate statues came down, if but by militant force, this will too. Why? Because the left is motivated, and the right is not. The left is willing to take this knife fight from the street, and into a phone booth if need be. Make no mistake they are driven and motivated. If the right doesn’t actively engage them, blow for blow and then some, you can kiss this country goodbye.
Sad, but well-stated.
Thank you. Sad yes, but I can see the writing on the wall, and it says, “Ask not for whom the bell tolls, for the left is seeing to it that it tolls for thee.” The day quickly approaches where another civil war looms. I can’t imagine the angst our forefathers went through when they came to the same conclusion.
With a name like Sissi, what do you expect?
This mayor and her family are anti American and I will guess none of her family have served to protect this nation because they are cowards.
Sissi, you’re an idjit. If you are going to insist upon defacing this memorial, then go all out. I’d go with a true-to-life theme, one that truly represents what you stand for. Replace the guns with hypodermic needles.
I know it’s probably hard to find good candidates out there on the peninsula. But there are plenty of seagulls, so there’s no excuse for putting this waste of DNA in the position.
I think the liberal progressives have contests to see who can come up with the most absurbed, crazy and off the wall new rule to enforce. Who would ever elect a “Sissi” as mayor or any position dealing with other people. You get what you vote for or don’t bother to vote against.
I looked up photos of Sissi Bruch; she looks like she has Alzheimer’s and/or dementia.
Elect a woman to public office and you will get this nonsense.
@JFC: WRONG! I know plenty of women who would completely disagree with this LUNATIC “mayor” BRUCH! People like them should NEVER be in political offices. I take it she is a certifiable member of the DemoNazi cabal.
Females are the majority of our population. Their wrath should not be sought.
I must ask you if you are pro-freedom or anti-freedom.