"I don't mind being in the minority here," Lungren said.

Mauer raised the issue of sentencing for drug charges, which led to just as heated a debate.

He criticized Lungren's support of federal legislation passed while Lungren was a member of Congress in the late 1980s that set mandatory minimum sentences distinguishing between powder and crack cocaine.

The bill said someone carrying 499 grams of powder serves a maximum one-year sentence, whereas a person caught with just 5 grams of crack cocaine receives a mandatory five-year sentence.

Not only is this distinction illogical, according to Mauer, but 85 percent of those convicted for possessing crack cocaine are black. He added that although whites sell and use drugs at the highest rate, blacks and Latinos make up 92 percent of drug arrests.

During the question-and-answer period, Ellis, Mauer and the crowd came down heavily upon Lungren's views, with Ellis claiming that "punishment will never be effective in the long term" and that "we are mortgaging our futures" with current prison policies.

And Mauer stressed the need for foresight and rehabilitation.

"If you just spend all your time reacting, you'll never get anywhere," he said.

Ultimately, Mauer responded to Lungren by calling for unity.

"We don't have two types of people. We're all in the same community."