Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 22:12:39 GMT
From: “Jackie Strouble”
Subject: Re: Majority of people signing Goathouse anti-gun petition do NOT even live in Chatham County
Tom Carter, I waded through countless pages of the online petition too. There are 5,524 signatures and I couldn’t tabulate them all.
In the pages that I did read I found hundreds of signatures from Chatham County.
But you’re right – there were many hundreds more from such far-flung and exotic places as Graham, Burlington, Sanford, Holly Springs, Apex, Cary, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and Durham. So their opinions don’t count? I suppose neither does the money they spend in Chatham County when they donate, visit, or volunteer at the Goathouse.
Have you even considered just how much money Siglinda spends in this county to keep her charges supplied with food, medicine, veterinary care and sundries? How much she brings in with her particular brand of “tourism”? How much she pays in taxes? I dare say it would make you gasp and stop your “cra cra” accusations, if only for a moment.
Of course, to be fair, one should also ask how many supporters of the gun range are from Chatham County or surrounding areas. That we don’t know, but we do know that they are advertising for new members all over the Triangle and that the glowing endorsements on their website come from Fayetteville. So I guess they’re bogus too. And, since you’re obviously a big fan of The Independent, I should point out that they’re not from Chatham County either, which I guess means their opinions don’t count either. If you want to talk numbers, let me throw a few more out there for your benefit. At the last meeting of the County Commissioners, the Goathouse supporters filled up an entire bench in the courtroom and then some.
Representing the gun range? A single individual. I didn’t see you there.
On Facebook, the Goathouse has 9,580 supporters. The gun range, which signed up on FB on March 17, has 473. The Save the Goathouse page, which came online exactly one week ago on Jun 13, has 2,004. I think you might be outnumbered, Kemo Sabe. Just as the detractors of the Goathouse were outnumbered by the supporters when that Indy article came out in March 2013, shortly after an eerily similar exposé was published about Mother Teresa (I guess it was “shoot a saint off her pedestal month”). The Goathouse is still there and going strong. But if you want, you can start your own “anti-Goathouse petition.” Let’s see how that works out for you. Meanwhile supporters of the Goathouse, and hopefully those of the gun range, will keep on working toward a solution to the noise and safety issues. It doesn’t look good at this time, as the owner of the gun range has so far refused any and all offers to negotiate.
Their stance, as stated by their representative at the commissioners’ meeting, is flatly, “What we’re doing is legal. End of story.”
To which a Goathouse supporter responded, “It may be legal, but that doesn’t make it right.” And that’s where it stands.