This is in regard the Seaside Signal Viewpoints column of Aug. 28, “Seen from Seaside: Open-carry protesters rattle restaurateur, City Council.”

Oregon is an open-carry state. This was acknowledged at the tail end of the article by the Seaside city attorney. It should have been at the beginning of it. This column contained tidbits of left-leaning bias that truly had nothing to do with the confrontation that took place on Saturday, Aug. 8. The mention of the president of the United States and who might or might not vote for him. The fact that a counterprotester committed a crime days later.

The scare-mongering of Seaside Brewing Company owner, Jimmy Griffin is too easy a thing to do. Why? Because the media will always publish it. Unfortunately for Mr. Griffin and others who are fearful of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, unavoidable factual information exists on YouTube and other social media outlets.

The fact is that despite the provocations of Antifa and BLM, no violence occurred. If gun owners are supposed to be violent, why didn’t any shooting automatically occur? The destruction and violence of Antifa and BLM in Portland has occurred over the last three months and is well documented on YouTube and other social media platforms. This violence has been underreported or ignored altogether by the mainstream media.

Seaside Mayor Jay Barber would like to have a discussion about all this. Antifa and BLM don’t have discussions.

If this confrontation had not occurred, the rights and properties of the peaceful citizens of Seaside would have been violated. The legally armed citizen is a backup for police whenever the situation warrants it, and this one sure did. Feeling intimidated by honest citizens with guns? What nonsense. Feeling intimidated by the Antifa and BLM criminals and thugs? You should be. Witness what they’ve done to Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles. It didn’t happen here, Mr. Griffin, because these potential rioters were met by police and honest citizens with guns.

Terry Johnson

Seaside