San Diego County Gun Owners (SDCGO), a political action committee (PAC) promoting Second Amendment rights, has released a scathing two-minute video titled “An Open Letter to San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.” The video appears on the PAC’s website www.sdcgo.org, and can be viewed here (https://youtu.be/OKBJV5B5KAY).
The video, critical of Fletcher, features Fletcher’s own comments from previous press conferences, including his statement that gun shops are not allowed to be open during the coronavirus-related lockdown and subjecting gun shop owners to possible fines and jail time.
The video shows Fletcher stating at a press briefing: “It is not our belief that gun stores are essential businesses based on the governor’s executive order and, so, therefore, they should not be open in the County of San Diego.”
Fletcher’s comment is in contrast to federal guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) that includes “workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors and shooting ranges” as essential critical workforce, as well as the opposite of guidance from Governor Gavin Newsom.
The video, narrated by Michael Schwartz, executive director, SDCGO, said, “Trump, Governor Newsom, Sheriff Gore and even your County Board colleagues disagreed with you. Gun shops are essential.”
The video also shows Fletcher saying in February the coronavirus had not arrived in San Diego, followed by TV news broadcasts reporting on the first person in the county diagnosed with COVID-19 arriving in San Diego on the same day Fletcher made his statement. “And you were wrong,” said Schwartz in the video.
The video also shows Fletcher saying visiting Wuhan, China, was the only way to become infected with the virus. “Wrong again Nathan,” said Schwartz in the video. “Being in China is not the only way people can get infected. But, Nathan, you had to put politics before facts.”
Schwartz concluded the video by saying, “We aren’t through this crisis yet. Now is the time for facts, not your politics, not opinions. A lot of people are struggling across the county. Make things better, not worse. Put your politics on hold and make better decisions for the health and safety of everyone in San Diego.”
Schwartz said he believes that some politicians, such as Fletcher, have used the coronavirus pandemic as a devious opportunity to exert their political stances rather than concentrating on the facts of the infection.
“This is not the time for overreacting politicians to stroke public outrage with their incendiary and reckless comments as they flex their egos in the name of safeguarding public health,” he said. “During this crisis when people are trying to make sure they remain safe and secure is not a time to advance a political agenda. We’re watching ambitious politicians use this situation to issue extraordinary and unconstitutional orders in the name of public health and safety, and it has to stop.
“As we’ve seen in the past with other national events, Americans are serious about providing for their safety and security. Thousands of San Diegans have purchased firearms in recent weeks, many of them for the first time, and hundreds of thousands of gun owners across the country want to buy ammunition or need a gunsmith. Depending on how long this emergency continues, many Americans may find themselves facing situations where they will need to be their own first responders.
“People are raising questions about their own safety and trying to comply, but we all lose trust in government when bad players, like Fletcher, give false information based on his own personal prejudices and biases. During a crisis as big as the coronavirus response, and no matter what your opinion is on the response, people need clarity on issues like their own safety. All the rhetoric from gun control groups about guns somehow being dangerous to own and all the distorted statistics used to control the narrative turn into background noise. People understand that their safety is crucial and a firearm is one of the most effective self defense tools. That clarity is why two million firearms were sold across the country and over 70,000 were sold in San Diego County, to mostly brand new gun owners. People understand that their own personal safety is essential.”
Schwartz also said, “Our members have asked us to encourage all elected officials and health professionals to consider their words carefully and proceed with caution when considering public policies that trample on freedoms central to the people’s security. Fletcher is the most junior member of the five-member County Board of Supervisors. He already has made enormous mistakes. He appears to be unprepared and out of his league at press conference after press conference. It’s time for the other four County Supervisors to step in and replace him as the voice of our county’s policy. We need competence, experience, and professionalism that Fletcher has proven he lacks.”
While every U.S. state has a Second Amendment PAC, along with several nationwide gun rights PACs, SDCGO is believed to be America’s first strictly local, countywide Second Amendment advocacy organization. The local PAC features a diverse and inclusive membership with representatives from the LGBT, Latino, African American, Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
Founded in 2015, the San Diego County Gun Owners is a registered political action committee (FPPC ID #1379388) and advocacy organization focused on organizing the gun industry and community and protecting the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment right to bear arms. With a membership exceeding 1,800 individuals, the PAC provides news and information on new gun laws and Second Amendment advocacy. Its sponsored events include gun safety classes, small gun shows, sporting clay shoots, social gatherings and pistol, rifle and shotgun experiences taught by professional instructors. For more information, visit www.sandiegocountygunowners.com.
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