The Richardson City Council held a 5 hour marathon session Monday night. The first 90 minutes of it were taken up by a topic not even on the agenda: a possible NRA move to Richardson. That story was exaggerated in one direction before the meeting (that the NRA is coming to Richardson) and then exaggerated in the other direction afterwards (that the NRA is not coming to Richardson). In fact, according to the NRA itself, "Texas remains a preferred choice for a future HQ. That said, the NRA Board of Directors has not made any decision." For its part, State Farm issued a statement saying that they "are not actively marketing space for sublease at City Line." So, is the NRA coming to Richardson? Probably not, but nothing said by anyone rules out the possibility that it could still happen.
I was pleased with the turnout of residents opposing the NRA. Although the public spoke up against the NRA, none of the City Council members did, probably hiding behind TOMA restrictions. Councilmember Dan Barrios later made a comment on Facebook in which he applauded members of the public who came out to express their opinions, pro and con, but he didn't share his own opinion about the NRA moving to Richardson, about the NRA itself, or about gun violence. Still, if it came to a showdown with the NRA, I'd feel better with our City Council today than I would have felt five years ago, when our City Council included one member who appeared on the cover of Time Magazine brandishing an assault weapon in opposition to gun law reform. (Follow that link to see who the Richardson City Councilmember was and follow this link to see other radical right positions she's taken now that she's off the City Council.)
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