Flutterby™! : Bearing arms 2009-08-19 20:15:58.56801+00

Bearing arms

2009-08-19 20:15:58.56801+00 by Dan Lyke 9 comments

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said people are entitled to carry weapons outside such events if local laws allow it. "There are laws that govern firearms that are done state or locally," he said. "Those laws don't change when the president comes to your state or locality."

I personally believe that the time has come for gun enthusiast who are so inclined to start carrying openly where state and local laws allow it. It would take away the shock effect weapons have if the sight becomes common.

Larry: I agree strongly. We tend to only see or hear of guns being used in improper ways. I think our society would do well to have a greater awareness of what guns are and how they can be safely integrated into daily life.

A neighbor of mine, back in Chattanooga, had several Pit Bull dogs. I was terrified of them when I first saw them. He kept them chained up outside with really large chains. A week after I moved into the neighborhood, one of them got loose. I acted like it was a mountain lion... Later, after actually interacting with them, I found out that they were just big puppies. Granted, if they were mistreated, they could easily harm me. Essentially, the same goes for guns.

#Comment Re: made: 2009-08-20 16:25:22.700454+00 by: TheSHAD0W [edit history]

I watched this on the Rachel Maddow show (MSNBC), and they showed the whole body, essentially the same image as shown in the link from "Hot Air". It doesn't matter whether you tell the truth, as long as you tell your audience what you know they want to believe.

Although I'm not a firm believer in Roosevelt's "Big Stick" ideology, I find that if you stay out of bad situations, you never really need to carry a weapon otherwise (stick or boomstick.) I personally think a society which feels compelled to arm itself before leaving the house, whether to make a statement or for personal protection, really has deeper problems than just gun control anyway. Personally, I don't own any guns, but that doesn't mean I want to take away other people's rights to own guns... however if you're using an implement designed to cause the death of others to make a statement, even if your use consists of just wearing it publicly, you should really seek professional help.

I always tried to live in low crime areas. To me, that's better than making a choice which forces you to arm yourself.

I disagree, JT. Most of the people going openly armed are wearing these weapons as a symbol not much differently than Christians wearing crosses or Sikhs wearing kirpans. Weapons can be found as symbology every where. Swords, rifles, pistols have all been used as cultural, religious and political symbols for as long as they have existed. The symbology most often does not represent death and destruction but strength and self determination. I think it's a little short sighted to believe that these people are in need of psychological counciling.

Wearing a symbol of a gun would be similar to wearing a cross. Carrying a rifle would be the same as carrying an actual cross behind you. If you want to believe in the symbolism behind swords and guns, feel free to wear a medallion or shirt with the image emblazoned on it.

In the same respect, when I see someone walking along the streets of Bakersfield or LA with a cross being pulled behind them, I get the same indication of that person needing some help as well.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about carrying. I did the military thing as a draftee. I own a shotgun because there are bear, coyote and the police are a good distance away. I don't hunt, and only shoot often enough to maintain proficiency. I would rather depend on my dogs for protection than shooting, though at least one of them is more likely to lick an intruder to death than bite.

OTOH, for a while I lived in a carry state where all a pistol permit took was a $2 fee. It was not comfortable to have a panhandler asking for money when you could see a revolver handle sticking out out of his pocket. A LEO lives down the hill from me. He carries a belly gun when not on duty. I have never seen him inebriated, and he is quite even tempered. But I am not too comfortable with that either.

Anybody carrying to a public event, especially when some major persona is present is looking just for trouble, and probably of questionable sanity. Be that as it may, there can not be special laws for the president. They are elected officials, not kings. Too many of them think they are kings already.

I lived in NYC for some time. It was a real pain when any of them came into town. People were even warned to not look out their own windows otherwise they might be shot. The entourages caused an enormous amount of disruption, often snarling up vehicular traffic and pedestrians for hours. I understand Bush43 often had as many as 15,000 guards. I suppose he needed them. Makes you think about how many guards can you have before you get one that is willing to kill you.