The La Plata County Republican Party had its assembly recently, and Barbara Ann Smith came from Grand Junction to announce her candidacy for the state Board of Education, as was reported in The Durango Herald on March 22.
In addition to the usual obligatory denunciation of President Obama, she also let it be known she had bought an assault rifle. Good grief! I wonder if she bought a Bushmaster, similar to the one Adam Lanza used on the children and teachers at Sandy Hook? Had she run for governor, would she have felt obliged to buy a larger weapon, like a howitzer?
It causes me great concern to think a person of such a mindset would be making policy for the education of our children. The assault rifle was specifically designed to kill people – and nothing else. The public announcement of ownership of one carries an inferred threat of a willingness to use it. Being armed and dangerous makes such a person uniquely unqualified for any public office.
Christopher Isensee
Durango
