VISTA (NEWS 8) - Every Tuesday, demonstrators show up at Congressman Darrell Issa's Vista office to rally in the name of issues ranging from healthcare to tweets sent by the president. This week the topics were gun control and tax reform.
Black-clad protestors commemorating the one year anniversary of Election Day 2016 came with a list of demands for Congressman Issa and brought it to his office's front door. First on the list of demands was to stop siding with corporate interests. Second was to call out President Donald Trump's collusion with Russia, third was return all money donated to him by the NRA and the fourth was to vote no on the latest GOP tax plan. Protestors claimed that if the Republican congressman failed to deliver, they would vote him out of office.
Demonstrators in support of Issa lined the opposite side of the street, and a larger-than-normal law enforcement response was also present.
"We are fed up. We've had it," one demonstrator said. "Our country does not have to live this way. Other similarly developed countries don't have this problem and I just want to scream from the mountain tops that there are things we can do to help prevent these shootings from happening."
Protestors shouted "Issa! Do your job!" while holding signs that denounced Issa, President Trump and their policy.
"We are sick and tired of the massacres," Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence representative Carol Landale said. "But it's not just the massacres like Sutherland and Las Vegas, the problem is 100 a day being killed by guns in this country."
Rep. Issa offered the following statement in response to the demands:
“The loss of life in Texas over the weekend is a despicable act of evil. My heart remains with the victims, their families, first responders and all others impacted by the terrible and unimaginable tragedy. Rather than rushing to political posturing, let us come together as we look into what happened, how we can prevent it from happening again, and stand as one with the people of Sutherland Springs.” – Congressman Issa