Comments on: Taking normalization too far?

By: Matt Goulding

Matt Goulding — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:39:23 +0000

Nate, the story says he was walking around at the pro-reform rally, not that he was a supporter. It does not give that information. It is entirely possible he was, but it is also entirely possible he is opposed and listening to the other side, or making a larger statement because he figured there were anti-gunners in the pro-reform crowd.

Anyway, I think it’s great to see someone peacefully exercising their rights. More need to start doing it.

By: nk

nk — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:56:46 +0000

Inter armes, silent leges. When weapons talk, the laws are silent. An old Roman saying. I don’t know that I want that. Outside our borders maybe, but not inside.

By: Wanda

Wanda — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:23:45 +0000

Reading news stories after the fact: I think Obama supporters are going to have to start carrying guns if they want to talk about healthcare. Otherwise, the media is just fixated on the idea of people carrying guns to these events.

By: straightarrow

straightarrow — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:13:03 +0000

And how many of those people on the fence will come down on our side because they have seen “They were telling the truth, it isn’t the gun, it’s the character of the person carrying it.”

How ever many or few, it will be more than we would have gotten if we did not demonstrate the rights lawfully, peacefully and most importantly openly.

By: Myles

Myles — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:10:54 +0000

I love living in Arizona.

By: Bob Dole

Bob Dole — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:13:38 +0000

No. I think she’s saying they won’t scream, they will actually talk stuff out due to fear/respect of the other side’s armaments.

By: AntiCitizenOne

AntiCitizenOne — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:53:52 +0000

Wanda – are you actually saying you want people to DIE?

By: steve

steve — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:47:10 +0000

How long will it be before the public starts to think, “Wow, this is about the tenth/hundredth/millionth time somebody wore a gun to an event……AND NOTHING HAPPENED!!! It’s news because it’s unusual. Once it’s usual, it will stop being news.

sv, III

By: Wanda

Wanda — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:13:33 +0000

Once more protestors and supporters start showing up with weapons, we’ll be able to test that adage “An armed society is a polite society.” If both sides come heavily armed, perhaps they’ll be able to accomplish something instead of just screaming at each other.

By: Dave R.

Dave R. — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:40:35 +0000

“Taking a gun to a political debate is not the best idea. … We REALLY don�t need this kind of publicity.”

Except, as a matter of fact and record, nobody took a gun _to_ a political debate. These guys took guns to a public space down the road from a political event, outside the security perimeter, after arranging ahead of time for a police liason.

Now, maybe you’re right and that in itself is bad politics and bad publicity. But on the off chance these kinds of activists have any kind of shot at plowing through the negative coverage and proving it wrong with their good behavior, why would anyone on our side of the issue throw their effort away by accepting the gun-fearing wussies false characterization of the event?

By: nk

nk — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:28:24 +0000

I am by no means anti-gun, but as much as possible I try to live up to my father’s wish that I would not be a person who carries a gun but instead a person who has people to carry guns for him. It’s not really a philosophical question, it’s how you want to live your life and what perception you want others to have of you.

One of my favorite Old West figures is John Chisum of Lincoln County War fame. He never carried a gun. He is quoted as saying, roughly, “Only #$%^& greenhorn would shoot a man of substance [such as Chisum considered himself to be]“. He had no problem, however, with having 100 armed vaqueros around him.

By: ben

ben — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:23:49 +0000

We lost the right to open carry a rifle in Washington State when the Black Panthers were doing their thing and actually intimidating people. I think they were doing it down in California, and our legislature didn’t want to see Black Panthers occupying the steps of the capitol building with rifles.

This guy is doing the opposite. He didn’t grimace once. He was talking like the black cops in “Beverly Hills Cop” “Yeah, and we’re not gonna fall for a banana in the tailpipe.” If you’re gonna do it, that’s the way to do it.

By: Nate

Nate — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:16:24 +0000

A strategy taken straight from Rules for Radicals. Take them out of thier comfort zone and make them fight there. The collectivists aren’t used to being on the defensive in the media. So now we have them on the run, having them burn through that list of 10 soundbites that they have so fast they sound like a broken record. People will get tired of it, and go to the sexy “new” thing, Pro-Self Defense.
They painted themselves into a corner during the election, let them stomp in that corner waiting for the paint to dry while we are out there showing the public how wrong the collectivists have ALWAYS been.
I say more like this, not less. Let’s bring the Pro Self-Defensers “out of the shadows” to steal one of the collectivist phrases.

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:20:36 +0000

CNN was VERY careful to not interview the guy, though the anchor and reporter had many questions about WHY, WHY, WHY would a black man ever take an AR to an Obama rally?

Youtube: Doing the job the press wouldn’t do. I’m mildly impressed. Nice folks.

By: Yu-Ain Gonnano

Yu-Ain Gonnano — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:12:51 +0000

"Man carrying assault weapon attends Obama protest" Technically true, but highly misleading. From the article you linked in yesterday's post, he wasn't a protestor. He was a supporter. But that would ruin the narrative.

By: The Packetman

The Packetman — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:04:29 +0000

I thought the Youtube was great ….. granted it was ‘friendly’ press, but he was reasonable and rational (mostly!).

His answers to questions from other rally-ers were spot on, and his demeanor was what (I think) it should have been …. I have a gun, big deal.

Yes, he was trying to make a point …. he did, and his group alerted law enforcement prior to going. He even had a liason officer with him. And rest assured, if the Secret Service had any inkling that he was dangerous, we’d have never seen him.

By: harleycowboy

harleycowboy — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:01:50 +0000

I will have to agree with most of the people. Taking a gun to a political debate is not the best idea. It makes every gun owner look bad. We REALLY don’t need this kind of publicity.