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WILKES-BARRE — In the wake of this week’s shooting that targeted members of Congress, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta has decided he will not be holding town halls until the country returns to a point where such events can be held in a productive manner.
Barletta, R-Hazleton, said Friday there are several ways to reach out to constituents that would not put lawmakers in harm’s way.
“Right now, there is a real risk to members and their staffs and the public,” Barletta said. “The rhetoric in politics has got to change. There is such a viciousness out there right now. The number of threats that members have received over the last year has increased dramatically — including myself. These town halls are opportunities for people to come and get incited and who knows what can happen.”
Barletta said he’s been at some town halls where police had to carry people out.
“I get concerned not only for my own safety, but for the safety of the people who are there, who actually come to be heard,” Barletta said. “That’s what these events are for, but there’s a level when people cross a line to actually incite other people and when individual safety becomes an issue and then the purpose of doing it is lost.”
Barletta believes other members of Congress should also avoid holding town halls after the shooting at a congressional baseball practice Wednesday that seriously injured House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, and injured others.
This year marked the first that Barletta opted out of the annual Congressional Baseball Game.
“The problem with public town halls is that some people actually come with cruel intentions,” Barletta said. “We all have to learn again to talk to each other with respect. I really worry that town halls are only inviting violence.”
Barletta said he has held telephone town halls to reach constituents and he will consider resuming those.
Barletta said telephone town halls can reach thousands of people, giving them the opportunity to ask questions and get answers.
Barletta also conducts Main Street tours, where he visits communities, meeting with business owners, elected officials, and folks on the street.
“I get a good sense of what people’s concerns are,” said the former mayor of Hazleton. “It’s a very constructive way to find out what’s on the minds of constituents.”
Barletta has also held group meetings with opposition groups and their leadership. He said those meetings provide a forum for honest, open discussion.
“It’s sad, but public town hall meetings have become a venue for people to come with an agenda and somebody could get hurt,” he said. “Hopefully, Congress, the media, everyone will have a role in changing how we talk and treat each other.”
Barletta hopes what happened to Scalise and the others Wednesday leads to some good.
“We can’t accept Hollywood people holding a decapitated head of a sitting U.S. president as being OK,” Barletta said. “It’s not OK and should be condemned by everyone. Until then, what we saw this week won’t be the last.”
