Letter to the Editor…

Letter to the editor by Linda Clary Umberger:Brian,

For the record as an attendee my personal statement is:

Being a Republican woman and the Chair of the Dawson County GOP, I am still troubled by the removal of a woman who was videoing speakers at a political event this past Saturday at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in north Georgia. In this disturbing moment, I decided to leave the event. This meeting was advertised as open to the public and there were no announcements or signs requesting recording devices to be put away. As the Chair I can tell you the Dawson County Republican Party was not involved in meeting arrangements. Though I have a respect for private property rights, I also respect the First Amendment rights of an individual, which should be mutually respected. She was eventually arrested. I believe this was an unfortunate situation that could have been avoided if cooler heads had prevailed.

What would have been a common political gathering promoting our slate of great candidates ended up being a story on how a woman who was video recording speakers midway through the meeting was forcibly removed. This simply should not have happened.

Linda Clary Umberger