By James Beaty Senior Editor

A town hall meeting held in McAlester by District 2 U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, got off to a booming start when an Arpelar man blasted Boren over House Resolution 2640 — the most recent gun control bill in Washington.

Boren then faced a barrage of questions concerning health care, with McAlester-area residents at the meeting obviously ready to let him know what’s on their minds.

Rod Eastgate called HR 2640 “the Veterans Disarmament Act” and criticized Boren’s vote in favor of the measure and the fact that it passed out of the House into the Senate.

“How did this happen?” Eastgate asked Boren in front of a standing-room-only crowd on the second floor of Chef Billy’s during Boren’s town hall meeting Friday in downtown McAlester.

HR 2640, or the National Instant Criminal Background Check System Improvements Act of 2007, came about as a result of the shootings at Virginia Tech last year.

A portion of the measure calls for states to forward to the U.S. Justice Department information on individuals prohibited from possessing firearms, including those who may have had mental problems at some time.

Eastgate said he’s a former Marine and he has serious concerns that the measure will be used to prevent veterans who suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome from owning guns.

Boren first responded to Eastgate by quickly drawing his gun-toting credentials.

“I’m a lifetime member of the NRA,” Boren said. “I’ve been a strong member of the NRA.”

Boren said U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, who had similar concerns, held up the bill in the Senate until “the bill got worked out.”

That answer didn’t satisfy Eastgate.

“How did it get through the House? How come you didn’t get it worked out in the House?” he asked.

“Sometimes it’s just not perfect,” Boren said.

“That’s what you’re there for, to make it perfect,” Eastgate responded.

“After Sen. Coburn had fixed it, we got another look at it,” said Boren, who noted the National Rifle Association had signed on in favor of the measure.

“What I’m saying is your problem got worked out,” Boren said. Read more...