Presidential town hall and gun show

[prog]

Boy do I have a bad feeling about this.

This is probably the first time I really have to ask what usually strikes me as a lame question: can you imagine what would have happened if anyone pulled this shit around our previous president?

Comments

[keimel.livejournal.com]

I'm willing to bet that the people carrying are less "right wingers" than they are libertarians, which I see as more right, but somewhere outside the sphere of Left and Right and more in their own camp. The most libertarian of all seem to dislike all our politicians equally (except Ron Paul) and think they're all doing a terrible job.

Kostric (NH Carry person) is a Free Stater, who are most frequently Libertarian, if they associate with a party at all.

I'd be willing to bet that the AZ people carrying would most likely associate as libertarian or independent before they associated republican.

Personally, I like Kostric's interview with Matthews where he essentially dodged Matthews repeated question of "Why did you bring a gun" by deflecting it as a "I was there to have my voice heard... oh, I had a gun? Yeah, that's my right" (not a quote, even though I put quotation marks around it).

Seeing it as a non-issue would be the way to deal with it. Sadly, like some of the commenters in the article you link to might be right, it could mobilize the anti-2nd-amendment people to ban more instances of gun rights in more locations.

Me? I'm waiting to see what the presence of our new chief of police from LA does to open carry in Portland. Should be interesting, once it is tested.

[prog.livejournal.com]

I don't see this as a 2nd Amendment thing at all. It's the way they chose to display intimidation, in a form and location I can't quite recall seeing before, and that worries me.

They could also shown up at the town hall with T-Shirts and signs that said "YOU TRY ANYTHING AND I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU", and I'd feel the same way about it.

[keimel.livejournal.com]

And this is where we differ. ;)

I see zero threat of violence. It's not the people open carrying that you have to worry about. It's the people illegally carrying concealed weapons that are the ones to worry about.