I spoke with School Board Member Tina Descovich Wednesday morning. I was curious as to how the “THANK YOU, SIR-MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?” tour began. At the conclusion of the conversation I was pleasantly surprised.
Until this meeting there had been no show of support for the STOMP program from corners that would be expected to be in support. The activist left was very visible and vocal. That didn’t change Tuesday night.
What did change was the smaller than anticipated crowd was split about evenly between supporters and opponents. That was a huge change. Previously the anti-gun crowd had only been countered by a couple of students with the courage to stand in defiance of the majority of their vocal peers to support being able to engage an active shooter with armed personnel.
This time people who understand the program Sheriff Ivey has proposed stood to balance the discussion. Tina said it was nice to hear both sides being presented from the floor.
What wasn’t nice was how some in the crowd tried to shout down Representative Randy Fine as he urged the board to support the plan. Love him or hate him, the crowd should have had some decorum.
But, we’ll take the positive away from this. Thanks to all who showed up to balance the discussion. It was a nice change of pace.
Let’s hope the showing of support continues as the tour moves around the county. The board needs to realize the negative activists do not speak for the entire population. They need to make the call that will protect Brevard’s kids based on facts, not fear.