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Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn refuses to appear on the Ron and Don Show to debate the effectiveness of gun buybacks. (AP file)

Why won't Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn debate gun buyback with KIRO Radio's Ron and Don?

BY Josh Kerns  on January 31, 2013 @ 12:40 pm (Updated: 4:20 pm - 1/31/13 )

UPDATE: A spokesman for Mayor McGinn has politely declined Don's request to appear on the show again as of Thursday afternoon. Don now vows to stalk him and confront the mayor in public since the mayor won't come to him. Stay tuned!

Seattle mayor Mike McGinn's plans to stage another gun buyback is drawing sharp criticism on KIRO Radio's Ron and Don Show, and the mayor refuses to come on to talk about it.

Don argues the gun buyback and the concurrent open-air gun market that broke out around last Saturday's event in Downtown Seattle was nothing more than a "circus" and PR stunt that did little to solve the ongoing problem of gun violence.

But a spokesman for the mayor repeatedly declined requests for an interview this week.

"He doesn't want to talk about guns and he doesn't want to talk about this farce in my opinion," Don says. "He needs to be stopped and it is my intent if he does this again to stop him."

Don says he simply wants a "vigorous and respectful" debate, but questions whether the mayor really wants the same.

"He wasn't declining Q13 when he went on there and they gave him all these softballs, and he wasn't declining all the television cameras when he could just jump out there and say 'Hey we got three street sweepers and we saved a lot of lives today,'" Don says.

The mayor and other officials called the buyback an overwhelming success, despite the influx of private gun sellers that flocked to the area. Police say people turned in over 700 guns including several high-capacity shotguns.

But Don blasts the mayor for even considering another buyback given what happened Saturday.

"He called it a gun bazaar, he called it insanity, he called it crazy and so he wants to do it again."

Ron and Don both argue the mayor is simply using the buybacks as photo opps for his re-election effort, even though many agree they do little to address the real issues such as mental illness.

"You [Don] want to apparently actually solve a problem of violence against people, he [McGinn] wants to do something that appears like he's doing something," Ron said to Don in response to his complaints about the mayor's approach.

"Buying guns back isn't going to help. Demonizing the AR-15 isn't going to help. Demonizing people that wrap themselves in the Second Amendment and the NRA is not going to help," Ron says.

"This is a complex problem and there's nothing that bothers me more than people trying to give really easy solutions to complex problems. They're just coming at it willy nilly. No strategy. Your strategy is 'Oh my gosh something bad happened, now what do we do.'"

Don vows that if McGinn won't come on the show to discuss the issue, he'll simply provide the opportunity for all the other mayoral candidates to appear and talk about it instead.

Listeners from the Ron and Don Nation have strong feelings about the mayor as well as Ron and Don's argument the gun buyback is a failure and shouldn't be repeated:

Mark: "Mr. Mayor, please have another gun buyback program, the last one was a great advertisement I didn't even know about it. For those of us that want to buy more guns, I'll be there. Just let me know the date and time."

Sharon: "You just don't get it. We in Seattle are in favor of the gun buyback program initiated by our mayor. It really does work. Stop your senseless rambling."

Mark: "It's silly that we're even talking about guns. It's the sick people that use gun, not the law abiding citizens like me."

Claire: "The mayor is a serious coward. Every show that presents to him the slightest bit of challenge, he slinks away from, respectfully though. He's a bit passive aggressive this way and really needs to represent Seattle as a leader in some of these issues and not shy away."

What do you think?

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (75)


  • Add A Comment

  • longwayhome wrote...
    Mayor McGinn
    January 31, 2013 6:00 pm
    Doesn't want to be abused like dorky munson abused our former governor. Ron and Don have made it obvious they don't respect him so why should he subject himself to their abuse?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    My Righty Friends?
    January 31, 2013 6:20 pm
    Hey I'm a Big Boy and when I post you can say anything you care to about me or my post. I have THICK skin and I can take it as well as dish it out. But haven't you NUTJOBS caught on yet that to GIVE REASONS why someones post is Stupid,Idiotic,Makes No sense,what ever shows that at least you have the ability to Think as well as reason but to give no evaluation other then It sucks,doesnt say much about the reviewer.Hate Me Hate my post but at least respect yourself s.Show you have a BRAIN.Is that asking too much?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Derrol_o wrote...
    m101
    January 31, 2013 7:50 pm
    If you haven't figured out by now why people react that way to your posts and you need an explanation then you probably never will.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Hey I'm a Big Boy
    January 31, 2013 9:13 pm
    From your immature, petulant posts I put you at the mentality of a 4 yr old.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AKAF wrote...
    Yet you still haven't explained...
    January 31, 2013 11:15 pm
    how you called Ron and Don a Right Wing show. You don't listen to their show...Ron and Don are left wing with a tenancy, very rarely, to go right when they support the military and police...hell, a year or two a go, Don didn't even understand that there were Airmen in this area. After correction, he hasn't made that mistake again. You, sir, don't listen to the show...Rachell Bell and her gay leftist agenda everyday, their siding with the leftist agenda almost everyday...you are just a troll.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • boeingmarcus wrote...
    Why?
    January 31, 2013 6:33 pm
    Because Ron and Don are idiots. This is a stunt. I bet you don't go anywhere near a news conference the mayor has. You are all talk, all hot air, all about self promotion. Rachel is the worst sounding person on the radio. Pump up your arms Don, make up for your lack of IQ and true ability to debate.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BigGovSux wrote...
    Keep it up Liberals!
    January 31, 2013 8:41 pm
    I just get a kick out of all your "solutions". Lol! I know, let's just declare the city of Seattle a "Gun-free zone"! That'll fix the problem of violence on our streets! I can't remember the last time a mass murder was committed outside a "Gun-free zone", can you?? You silly liberals and your "solutions" usually end up with more of us "law-abiding" citizens dead. When are you gonna take credit for your screwed up solutions going wrong? Ok, now you'll ban "assault weapons" and "high capacity magazines" and problem solved, right? Your ideas are so stupid and not based in reality that I would laugh, if it didn't cause even more deaths. To ban this stuff is akin to banning cars because they cause deaths every year. It's a flat-out stupid, feel-good idea that does NOTHING!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    BigGovSux
    February 1, 2013 10:48 am
    You ooze out of your slime pit just often enough to say something stupid then when your taught your lesson you slink off with your tail between your legs.Until the recent talk about "Gun Free Zones" I'm willing to bet that many of you "Nuts" probably thought it was a place to get FREE GUNS.Hope you stay around long enough to be once again sent to the wood shed.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    does Ron have a wife?
    January 31, 2013 6:57 pm
    male or female?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    maplecarp
    January 31, 2013 7:15 pm
    So, after checking in with your kids in college, that you so proudly support with your huge income and ego, do they still think their "Dad" is an idiot? I hope so, because I sure do.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    wrongay..just in time...
    January 31, 2013 9:16 pm
    ...to defend his butt-buddy, Assiah. Get a room....I suggest Capitol Hill.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    "just making shure your looking at every word."
    January 31, 2013 8:54 pm
    Suuure. Yeah. It was just a "test". You run with that, Sparky. I can only imagine how sad & pathetic it must be to be you. We college graduates will laugh...all the way to the bank. And by the way. When you start a sentence, it's proper to star with a capital letter. Ask your mom what that is....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BigGovSux wrote...
    If it wasn't so sad....
    January 31, 2013 9:00 pm
    I would laugh at idiots like this. The only problem is that they cause more death and destruction with their idiotic programs and laws than they realize. When was the last time anyone saw a mass murder OUTSIDE a "Gun-Free Zone"? If they were that effective, why don't we just declare all public areas "Gun-Free Zones"? Problem solved, right? Liberals never fail to amuse me....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BigGovSux wrote...
    If only some politician had made....`
    January 31, 2013 9:02 pm
    that Newtown school a "Gun-Free Zone", those kids would've been saved! Oh, wait....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tron wrote...
    Perhaps Mayor McGinn is aware
    January 31, 2013 9:32 pm
    of the fact that the Ron and Don show is a pompous 3 ring circus consisting of a couple zinger slinging blow hards. Sometimes I wonder why they are still on the air and then I go to Walmart and look around at there demographic and I am reminded.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AKAF wrote...
    Politicians don't like people that ask tough questions
    January 31, 2013 10:07 pm
    Reason why the President is against Foxnews...reason why the past governor never visited Dori. Now we have Ron, who would never ask the Mayor a tough question, and Don, who would, have been banned by the mayor. Politicians, like the mayor who can't explain their decisiions, don't want to answer any question that questions their judgment. They can't accept being wrong on only one occasion.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dori monson fan wrote...
    mcguinn doesn't talk WITH the people he "represents."
    February 1, 2013 12:01 am
    he talks AT them. he really should tuck in his labia and give ron and don a call.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • deltta wrote...
    DM fan
    February 1, 2013 12:11 am
    He don't talk to his barbor either
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cigarfan wrote...
    Because Mike has nothing.......
    February 1, 2013 12:39 am
    to gain by debating right wing conservatives trying to make a name for themselves?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pete in Seattle wrote...
    The real reason
    February 1, 2013 11:11 am
    any politician who is smart avoids the R&D show is that the show is farce entertainment. The "segments" are designed so that R&D can get their digs in, that's all. Look at Rachel's stories - fluff pieces get a lot of continuous banter while anything serious gets cut off before the story starts. They can get so wrapped up in stomping on each other's toes they forget what it was they started talking about. It's great entertainment but I prefer hard news on the evening drive because the traffic is reported more often and I get to make my own judgements. If their format was serious informed debate than all the politicos would be beating down the door to get on the show, but they aren't.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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