OKLAHOMA CITY — The chairman of the Oklahoma Senate’s Public Safety Committee on Thursday asked the leaders of a state gun rights group to remove the group’s executive director over comments the lawmaker said were ‘dangerous and shameful.’
State Senator Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, issued a media statement that asked the board of directors of OK2A, a gun rights group, to remove executive director Don Spencer because of comments Spencer made during a December speech in Duncan.
Paxton said Spencer told a crowd that Oklahomans who support gun rights should “win at the ballot box, so we don’t have to go to the ammo box.” He said Spencer’s rhetoric could only be seen as a direct physical threat against candidates and officeholders the OK2A group couldn’t beat during an election.
“Incendiary comments like this could push someone that might be unstable over the edge,” Paxton said. “(This could) result in physical attacks on elected members of the Legislature, Congress or even local officials like city council and school board members.”
Paxton said he supported responsible legislation that protects Second Amendment rights. He said individuals in leadership positions have a responsibility of not inflaming an already volatile political environment.
Late Thursday, the chairman of the board of the OK2A group issued a statement to an Oklahoma City television station which said they supported Spencer.
“The Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association stands fully united in its support of Mr. Don Spencer as president,” said Tom Vineyard, the OK2A board chair. “Comments that were made by Mr. Spencer, about a month ago, paraphrasing Founding Fathers quotes is not a violation of ethics for the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association and should not be misconstrued as, in any way, inciting anyone to any type of violence.”
Spencer, Vineyard said, “has consistently promoted respectful engagement with legislators on both sides of the political aisle and routinely works through the political process in order to enact pro-Second Amendment and other liberty issue legislation for the betterment of all Oklahomans.”
Paxton disagreed. He said Spencer’s inflammatory rhetoric was not new.
“(Spencer) has been vocally critical of legislators who do not follow his exact lead but calling for pulling out the ammo box as a way to deal with non-compliant legislators is a new low,” Paxton said. “As the leader of OK2A, his shameful and dangerous comments will result in the loss of his credibility and the ability to advance OK2A’s agenda in the Public Safety Committee. I also call on fellow legislators to join me in publicly condemning his comments.”
Paxton’s statement is drawing support from other Republicans in the Legislature. State Senators Greg McCortney, R-Ada, and Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan, both posted messages on Twitter praising Paxton “for saying what needs to be said.”
“As much as I support the Second Amendment, we can’t accept calls for political violence,” McCortney’s post said.
Garvin said she and her family had experienced threats from “mentally unstable adults.”
“It’s horrifying when you are away for session and have to worry about your kids being safe in their own home. I support my friend & colleague, @senatorpaxton, in his demand for action,” she tweeted.
State lawmakers return to the Capitol in February for the Second Session of the 58th Oklahoma Legislature.