Organizer was not ‘invited’

Dear Editor,

For the sake of clarity, I would like to address some inaccuracies in the letter to the editor recently submitted by Laura Sutton. I fully respect her right to her opinion. However I feel that some of the gross misstatements need to be corrected for the record.

She stated, “The open carry picnic that our city’s mayor and police chief have invited to Hudson.” I, being one of the organizers of this event, went to the mayor and the chief; they did not “invite” me. Out of respect for the individuals and their respective positions, I met with them on Aug. 30 to discuss our plans with them so they we fully aware of our intentions.

She also says “they called it a picnic instead of a tea party to avoid objections.” It has always been billed as an Open Carry Tea Party. We held an earlier event that was a picnic in Glenwood City on Aug. 23. You can look around town and see any of over 100 flyers that have been posted; they all say Open Carry Tea Party.

And lastly, this is not a Republican event. It is an event for conservative principles and values. There are several Constitutionalists and Libertarians that will be in attendance. Every state legislator from western Wisconsin was invited no matter what letter followed their name. It just happens that liberals and Democrats don’t share those same values so they have chosen not to attend.

Tags: open carry, tea party, opinion, letters