On Friday, June 29, Idaho Republicans gathered for their state convention. Just outside the event, several students from nearby Idaho State University were protesting with signs calling for stricter gun regulations.
Idaho Republican State Representative Priscilla Giddings posed for a photo with the young protesters and posted the image on her official Facebook page. Her caption, however, is turning some heads for its strangely mocking, borderline ominous tone.
Giddings captioned her photo with the message:
Idaho State University students peacefully protesting our Republican convention. Do you think I should show these girls the empty 30mm shell I have in the truck?
That bit about showing the girls a 30mm shell casing is what raised eyebrows.
Giddings's message was likely in response to several of the students' posters, including one which read:
2nd Amendment says we have the right to bear arms, not to bear artillery.
The post faced immediate backlash on social media, even attracting denouncement from some famous figures like Chelsea Clinton.
Some read the message as a flat-out threat.
But even giving Giddings the benefit of the doubt when it comes to her message's vaguely threatening tone, it still struck some readers the wrong way.
Some didn't know quite how to interpret the Idaho Republican representative's Facebook message.
No matter how you feel about it though, Giddings' post will have no major consequences on her political career. She is up for reelection, but unopposed in her district.
That is, of course, unless someone starts a write-in campaign. Anyone in Idaho District 7A interested?
Regardless, students protesting in a public space shouldn't be mocked by politicians and should DEFINITELY never feel threatened.
Many are calling for Giddings to do the right thing: apologize and resign.
