Graphic credit: Maryland Tyranny Response Team
Flier raises questions of `hate speech'
By WHITNEY L. JACKSON
Journal staff writer
Steps are being taken to remove a Bethesda man from a county committee on hate and violence after he ruffled political feathers on both sides of the aisle with a flier depicting three Montgomery legislators who support gun control as Nazis.
Gus Alzona, an elected member of the county Republican Central Committee and a gun-rights advocate, could lose his spot as treasurer of the county's Committee on Hate/Violence if the County Council agrees with County Executive Douglas M. Duncan's decision to remove him.
Alzona distributed a flier Friday in Annapolis showing the faces of state Sens. Brian Frosh, D-Bethesda, and Christopher Van Hollen Jr., D-Kensington, and Del. Mark Shriver, D-Bethesda, digitally imposed on soldiers in German SS-style uniforms.
The flier, which read ``Montgomery County Democrats have a FINAL solution for ALL of Maryland's gun owners," was drafted by the county chapter of the pro-gun Tyranny Response Team.
However, Duncan, D, said Alzona's actions were inappropriate for anyone serving in a county position.
``There is no place in this community for acts of intolerance," Duncan said in a statement. ``I feel very strongly that members of the Committee on Hate/Violence should be held to the highest standard in this regard."
But Alzona said he hadn't expected Duncan to remove him from the commission.
``It's a big surprise," he said. ``As a member of the commission, I know what hate speech is, and what I did doesn't amount to hate speech."
Alzona said the flier was intended to show his opposition to the representatives' calls for stringent gun-control measures, including fingerprinting and photographing those who buy guns and registering all gun license numbers.
He said he hoped to protest what he felt were extreme measures to regulate gun owners.
``This is not about the Holocaust," Alzona said.
Ronald Halber, executive director for the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington, said Alzona's flier was a disgusting symbol of Nazism.
``What he did is an affront," he said. ``He took the biggest evil mankind has developed and used it in a carefree manner in a public policy debate."
Halber called for Alzona's resignation from the Republican Central Committee - and other elected officials, including many Republicans, have seconded his request.
In a statement, Allen Prettyman, chairman of the central committee, asked Alzona to step down.
State Sen. Jean Roesser, R-Potomac; Montgomery County Council member Howard A. Denis, R-Bethesda-Chevy Chase; and U.S. Rep. Connie Morella, R-8th District, also have said Alzona should relinquish his seat on the central committee.
Shriver called Alzona's actions unbelievable and praised Duncan for starting the process to relieve him of his position.
``[Alzona] has a lack of sensitivity to anti-Semitic and disrespectful gestures. What he did was outrageous," he said. ``I commend the county executive for making the move."
Despite the political pressure, Alzona said he has no intention of resigning his elected position. As an Asian-Pacific American, he said he is a rarity in the Republican Party.
``I will certainly not resign over this," he said. ``I continue to represent the social conservative constituency in the party."
Although the flier generated negative feedback, Alzona said he has received support from committee members, as well as from other gun-rights advocates in the county.
