Must not applaud a deathAn anti-bloodsport campaigner and councillor has provoked fury by claiming that the suicide of a former soldier and game hunter was the ‘best use of a gun I can think of’.
Thomas Woodward is facing calls to quit over the ‘outrageous’ remarks, which were posted on the Hunt Saboteurs Association’s Facebook page.
The 48-year-old – a Liberal councillor on Ryedale District and Pickering Town councils in North Yorkshire – made the comments after reading reports about the death of Allan Ellis.
Mr Ellis, 50, a former Scots Guard from Bacup, Lancashire, shot himself in August after learning he was to be sued over a £40,000 debt. Mr Woodward wrote: ‘We would all rather live in a world where no one kills for fun. However, if you choose to own a gun and kill for pleasure, then it’s best you kill yourself.’
Richard Ali, of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, said: ‘Mocking the suicide of anyone is absolutely unacceptable. Going further and stating that lawful gun owners should “kill themselves” is despicable behaviour. This man is not fit to hold a public office.’
Tim Bonner, of the Countryside Alliance, called the remarks ‘outrageous’ and added: ‘Mr Woodward should consider his position and those in authority in his party and council should consider disciplinary action.’
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Outrageous Speech should be made into campaign commercials if the speaker is in elected office. It should be turned into "action flyers" if the speaker is a businessman and you wish to lead a boycott or other complaints. It should never be apologized for, unless it truly was unintentional.
ReplyDeleteThis guy who killed himself with a legal gun was quite selfish. Not only did he get out of a debt, he left a big mess for someone else to clean up.
ReplyDelete