Open Carry, Open Threat

[jpak]

http://www.thecapistranodispatch.com/view/full_story/14776514/article-Open-Carry--Open-Threat?instance=SJC-guest_opinions

Open carry? Derek Reeves seems to be championing a Tea Party agenda. The notion that San Juan residents should be allowed to carry a weapon on their hips in San Juan parks suggests a failure by Mr. Reeves to realize the implications of such an act. It reminds me of the threat made by “I’m tired of people calling me wacky” Sharron Angle who suggested that if she didn’t get elected to the Senate from Nevada then “Second Amendment rights will be invoked.” That’s like saying that if you don’t buy my fire insurance I’m going to burn your house down.

They tried “open carry” in Huntington Beach and the local merchants were less than pleased by the plan. One merchant told an LA Times reporter “that having people walking the streets with weapons hitched to their hips was a business killer.”

Open carry—a brilliant idea. After all we are living in the Wild West and there are all kinds of bad guys out there we must intimidate. And we don’t need the tax money to run the town. Yes, lets look like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood playing a tough guy in one of their movies and we can slap our hips and repeat the mantra: “I’m baad. I’m reeeaal bad, yessir I… AM …BAD—uh huh!”

<snip>

So? What about this wonderful idea of open carry? Open swagger. Open threat? That should do wonders for our children. While hardworking teachers are trying to tell children that differences should be resolved by negotiation and peaceful discussion, their fathers and older brothers will be prowling the streets of San Juan being bad, real bad, suggesting that you best not negotiate with them because they could put a bullet right between your eyes, even though the bullets are in the other pocket.

<more>

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Leftist Agitator]

2. Unrec.

Yup.

[pscot]

3. Johnny Too Bad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdXmsyR6q9M

[spin]

4. I see absolutely no problem with licensed concealed carry ...

but I live in Florida where we have had "shall issue" concealed carry since 1987.

I might be more accepting of open carry if I lived in an area where it was common and legal. Still, I doubt if I would walk around carrying openly. I have no desire to intimidate anyone.

One thing I would never do is to walk around carrying an unloaded handgun in a belt holster. I don't carry unloaded weapons.

Reeve's Open-Carry Proposal Heads to Council Tuesday
July 18, 2011

Whether unloaded, unconcealed guns should be allowed in San Juan Capistrano's parks will be discussed Tuesday evening by the City Council.

Councilman Derek Reeve, an attorney and political science instructor, contends that an open-carry policy would make San Juan Capistrano safer. Even though state law requires so-called “open-and-carry” guns to be unloaded, ammunition could be loaded and ready to use within seconds.
http://sanjuancapistrano.patch.com/articles/reeves-open-carry-proposal-heads-to-council-tuesday

[east texas lib]

5. Amazing!

Ten pounds of bullshit somehow packed into a one pound post. Simply amazing!

[SteveM]

17. Defies the laws of physics. nt

[RSillsbee]

6. So? What about this wonderful idea of open carry?

How about I don't feel like wearing a cover garment when it's one hundred and seventeen frigging degrees out?

[gravity556]

16. No doubt.

Thinking I'll be OCing today. Of course, nobody really looks twice in AZ. I can see how someone who lives in a state that has been dominated by the pro-criminal safety folks might have problems, but that will change as more and more folks realize that the cops aren't going to protect them.

[spin]

22. Do what most of us do in Florida ...

in the summer heat we carry a smaller, more concealable firearm.

I carry a S&W Model 642 snub nosed .38 in a pocket holster in my pants.



In the winter when it is actually cold enough to wear a jacket, I carry a S&W Model 60 .357 magnum with a 3" barrel in an IWB holster.



Obviously I am a wheel gunner but if you prefer semi-auto pistols you can find some very compact weapons to carry such as the .380 Ruger LCP.



or the 9mm Ruger LC9 which I haven't handled but I understand can still be carried as a pocket pistol.

[RSillsbee]

25. Or we could just open carry NT

[spin]

27. I have to admit that I am on the fence on the issue of open carry ...

I can see some advantages and some disadvantages.

I am used to concealed carry. Perhaps if open carry was common where I live, I would consider it. Currently, even if it were legal in Florida, it would attract attention and could intimidate some. I'm not looking for attention or to intimidate. I carry for self defense if I am attacked by someone who intends to inflict serious injury or to kill me.

[RSillsbee]

28. Why does it always have to be about intimidation or attention?

I open carry because sometimes my manner of dress dictates that. If intimidation is my intent I'm a dismal failure because most folks don't even notice. Ditto for attention seeking.

I always open carry inn the back country again, dictated by manner of dress I usually hang it off the chest strap of my pack. We do have bears here (actually we have them right here in Down Town Co Springs.)

[spin]

30. I open carry when I am camping or fishing ...

just not in public.

Eventually it will become legal to open carry in Florida. I will reconsider my position at that time.

[petronius]

7. Meh. Stale, tired nonsense and name-calling

Mr. O'Brien is free to react to visible guns as he sees fit, but his fantasies about why people choose to OC are childish...

[friendly_iconoclast]

8. He sounds like a fundie bloviating about "the homosexual agenda".

He deserves a similar amont of respect- little to none...

[PavePusher]

9. An article full of hyperbole and accusation and insinuation....

yeah, I see how you buy in to that....

[jpak]

10. Most Americans do not want to see GOP/Teabagger/Fringe types prancing around with guns

nope

[PavePusher]

11. "prancing"?

Pictures, or you got nuttin'.

[jpak]

13. Get yer fancy prancers here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=387436&mesg_id=387436

:D

[PavePusher]

19. Protesters? yup.

Prancers? nope.

Maybe we need video to see the actual "prancing".

P.S. You could always look that word up in the dictionary I gave you.... hint, hint.

[jpak]

39. Preening, Prancing and "Fancy"

yup

[jpak]

41. Prancing Tea Party Douchebags

yup

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RSillsbee]

12. They couldn't care less

out here in the Rockies flatlander

[spin]

23. True, but such displays do little to advance gun rights...

they just offer the liberal Democrats the opportunity to portray Tea Baggers as dangerous gun nuts.

To be honest, I don't know any members of the Tea Party, but I suspect the majority are extremely conservative Republicans and many are members of Fundamentalist Christian Churches. I'm sure many are gun owners and probably a small percentage are licensed to carry concealed.

But there is absolutely no reason to be openly carrying a semi-auto rifle in a public gathering except to intimidate or to prove a political point.

We have made a lot of headway in recent years advancing RKBA. Why give our opponents pictures to make us look foolish or dangerous.

How much damage has this idiot caused?

[RSillsbee]

24. Who said anything about Tbaggers?

I Open Carry frequently no one gives a damn and I'm most certainly NOT a tbagger

[spin]

26. I see your point but I doubt if you go to political gatherings ...

carrying an AR15.

These assholes are hurting our cause and endangering the rights we have gained.

[RSillsbee]

29. The guy in your picture wasn't carrying an AR either

I pretty much don't go to political gatherings period

[spin]

31. I avoid political gatherings too ...

I hate crowds.

[friendly_iconoclast]

14. That would explain all the restrictions on guns that haved been passed recently.

Oh, wait.....

[krispos42]

74. "want" is not sufficient. Sorry. n/t

[oneshooter]

84. What if they are Democrats walking around open carrying? n/t

[We_Have_A_Problem]

86. So what?

What you want or do not want to see is unimportant.

A lot of people didn't want to see blacks in the front of the bus back in the 60s either.

[krispos42]

15. Yeah, because rights should be subservient to economic interests

And, because, of course, once something is legal then EVERYBODY will do it immediately.


The obvious solution, of course, is making concealed-carry "shall-issue", but I doubt you're willing to take that step

[SteveM]

18. Why are you so "threatened?" You stay up all night, staring at ceilings? nt

[Hoyt]

32. Why can't gunners leave home without a gun? That's a question from 96% that don't tote.

[gravity556]

35. I don't leave home without a gun because I can't carry a cop in my pocket.

And I open carried this afternoon when my wife and I did some errands. No dirty looks, no pro-criminal whackjobs pointing and shrieking like the aliens in "Scanners". I did have a couple folks ask what kind of gun I was carrying (Glock 19) and asking if they would need a permit to do likewise, so I filled them in on AZ gun laws and suggested a couple of gun shops that wouldn't gouge them on prices. Oh, this conversation happened inside the local Half Price Bookstore. I also told them to pick up a copy of the "Arizona's Gun Owner's Guide", as it's full of useful information.

I did get one dirty look, but I think that had more to do with me clearing out every Heinlein book from the shelf..

[Hoyt]

37. I really didn't post to read about what gun you feel the need to carry. Don't care.

So, what was the big concern where you were running errands? Maybe you ought to read something from folks not obsessed with guns and libertarianism.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

43. The reason you post is to prop up a dying anti civil rights agenda you cling to

And none of us care to read it either.

[gravity556]

55. I carry because bad things happen, Hoyt.

And strangely, my phone doesn't chirp to let me know when something dangerous is going to occur. Same reason I wore protective gear on my motorcycle EVERY time I rode-I am not a psychic. For similar reasons, I have a fire extinguisher and 2 gallons of drinking water in my truck. Never know when they might come in handy.

But since you seem to be clairvoyant, why not remove the smoke detectors and CO detectors from your house? I mean, house fires are pretty rare, so why be a paranoid? And definitely disable your airbags-driving around with a bomb in your steering wheel and dashboard is simple foolishness for a man who can forsee when bad things are going to happen....

And for the record, I didn't even get any crossways looks while carrying. A couple of polite questions (what kind of gun is that? what do you have to do in AZ to be able to carry? where'd you get that holster?) was the extent of it.

[iverglas]

64. you seem to be seriously confused

But since you seem to be clairvoyant, why not remove the smoke detectors and CO detectors from your house? I mean, house fires are pretty rare, so why be a paranoid?

Is there a high rate of homicide-by-smoke detector in your country? Robbery-by-CO detector?

You may have noticed that smoke and CO detectors don't actually stop people from dying of smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide poisoning. They alert people to danger so they can remove themselves from the danger zone. Is that what your gun does? Have you looked up "analogy" lately?

For similar reasons, I have a fire extinguisher and 2 gallons of drinking water in my truck. Never know when they might come in handy.

Indeed, fire extinguishers quell fires and water quenches thirst. If they are used in error or in malice, do they cause death? High rate of homicide-by-fire extinguisher, suicide-by-bottled water down there?

Has anyone's possession or use of a motorcycle helmet ever caused injury or death to another person?

And hold on, I'm sorry, but do your firearms make you clairvoyant? If not, what is your point about whether your interlocutor is clairvoyant?

You choose to tote a firearm around because you are apprehensive that something awful will happen and you believe that you will be able to use your firearm to avert it. That's just a belief. There's no reason there for anyone else to agree that you should be permitted to act on that belief. And your belief is no reason for anyone else not to be apprehensive about something awful happening if you (collectively) do tote your firearms around, or for a society not to act on that apprehension, as it does on its apprehension of many negative outcomes from individual behaviours.

That's what it comes down to (on the surface, anyway; I know perfectly well that there are much deeper and darker factors in play).

Your belief that toting your firearm around will confer immunity from harm on you vs. a society's apprehension of negative outcomes associated with you (collectively) doing that.

Nothing whatsoever to do with fire extinguishers or motorcycles or even clairvoyance -- except to the extent that you seem to be the one practising clairvoyance with this belief that toting a firearm around will cloak you in immunity from harm.

[RSillsbee]

65. homicide-by-fire extinguisher, suicide-by-bottled water

I can do you in w/ both

You choose to tote a firearm around because you are apprehensive that something awful will happen and you believe that you will be able to use your firearm to avert it. That's just a belief. There's no reason there for anyone else to agree that you should be permitted to act on that belief.

I have been the victim of an attempted mugging I stopped the mugger before he go tclose enough to me to do any damage simply by drawing a firearm. It's no longer just a belief in my case and I don't care if you agree that I should be permitted to act on that belief the state of Colorado does so I'm good.

[iverglas]

67. no, it's a belief

There actually is no reason to believe that your firearm will ward off any, let alone all, harm in future.

Nonetheless ... I believe that shooting anyone I encounter on a dark street late at night will ensure that I do not get murdered. Pretty solid grounds for that belief. Shall I be permitted to do that?

The issue was whether your belief is the be-all and end-all when it comes to public policy.


I don't care if you agree that I should be permitted to act on that belief the state of Colorado does so I'm good.

Now, transport yourself back 150 years and substitute "slave-owning" for gun-toting -- a belief that owning slaves is morally good and economically beneficial for you, say -- and the state of, oh, Virginia for the state of Colorado. We get:

I don't care if you agree that I should be permitted to act on that belief the state of Virginia does so I'm good.

See how appealing to "how things are" just isn't a good argument, really and truly?

Your response rises to the level of "nyah nyah". Almost.

I don't give a flying fuck how things are in the state of Colorado. So we're even, I guess.

Robert Kennedy was quoting somebody else, but he'll likely be the familiar source.

There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why...
I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?

[RSillsbee]

71. There ain't no good guy , there ain't no bad guy

There's only you and me and we just disagree

There actually is no reason to believe that your firearm will ward off any, let alone all, harm in future.

True , but I still want the option

Nonetheless ... I believe that shooting anyone I encounter on a dark street late at night will ensure that I do not get murdered. Pretty solid grounds for that belief. Shall I be permitted to do that?

No but that's settled law ( as a pirate you should know that) you can't just preemptively shoot people.

The issue was whether your belief is the be-all and end-all when it comes to public policy.

When did that become the issue? Like it or not the law where I am says I can carry a handgun (openly if I choose) for any legal reason. It is what it is.

Now, transport yourself back 150 years and substitute "slave-owning" for gun-toting -- a belief that owning slaves is morally good and economically beneficial for you, say -- and the state of, oh, Virginia for the state of Colorado. We get:

A nice stinky can of worms. I'm going to say my carrying a gun doesn't affect anyone else and to save your fingers I'll even post the other side "Until I snap"

Before you change the law here you're going to need to get a lot more support than your side has currently

[We_Have_A_Problem]

87. Interesting...

...that you use slavery and racism to bolster a gun-control argument...

[gravity556]

77. I've no illusions that carrying a firearm works like a talisman to protect from all evil

And I know that chances of needing it are low, but so are the chances of my truck breaking down in the middle of nowhere (I live in the desert-dehydration can kill in hours.) It's simply one more option in the event that I have the worst day ever. Never fear though-if you and Hoyt will simply wear bright yellow hats, should we ever end up in the same vicinity, say a Luby's diner and some nutter decides to get himself on the news with a little spree killing, I won't shoot at him to stop him from shooting you. Feel better?

[oneshooter]

57. Hey Hoyt! Lets see your "cowboy" picture! We all want to see it. n/t

[ileus]

58. Thanks for sharing what your carry gun is...You can't go wrong with a glock

[gravity556]

78. Damn skippy you can't go wrong with a Glock.

Tens of thousands of cops rely on them. Hell, my darling wife carries one as well. And we both carry pepper spray, because when all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail...

[oneshooter]

85. They don't fit my hand, prefer a SIG220. n/t

[petronius]

36. Count me out. I don't carry a firearm, and I find your question baseless and ill-formed

And, there are a lot more of me than there are of you...

[oneshooter]

38. Why can't you show us the "cowboy" picture? Because you lied about it? n/t

[Kennah]

48. I always put on a seat belt, but I neither expect nor provoke a car accident

[AzWorker]

20. Anti-rights groups hate both open AND concealed carry

They hate open carry and use the excuse that it 'intimidates' people...

They hate concealed carry and use the excuse that they don't know who is armed...

[spin]

21. Yup. Welcome to DU and the Gungeon ...

You will find a lot of posters here who suffer from an irrational fear of honest people who legally carry firearms.

They are very emotional and will ignore any arguments based on facts and statistics. I suspect some suffer from a tragic incident in their life involving the misuse of a firearm and others live in areas where gun ownership is limited mainly to criminals.

[Hoyt]

33. I don't hate toters. Wonder about them, though. And think a high percentage are TBaggers or worse.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

44. Shows how little you know

I provide firearms training on the weekends. Private range and the classes are mostly GLBTs and women. Few if any are tea baggers.

[iverglas]

68. well there you have it

A universal sample of the population of gun-toters, right there at your private range ...

[ProgressiveProfessor]

75. I'll take multiple years of experience over his anti rights zealoty fueled speculations

[gravity556]

79. What about the girl in this thread, Hoyt?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x440356

Do you wish she had been raped, robbed and possibly murdered? If she had been, it would have been touted as a tragic win for the "gunz r bad becuz dey scare me!" crowd. Should she have dialed 911 and, in the words of Queen Victoria "Lie back, close your eyes, and think of England." and then hoped that the fucking savages raping her didn't decide to murder her as well?

[iverglas]

80. girl?

Do you wish she had been raped, robbed and possibly murdered? If she had been, it would have been touted as a tragic win for the "gunz r bad becuz dey scare me!" crowd. Should she have dialed 911 and, in the words of Queen Victoria "Lie back, close your eyes, and think of England." and then hoped that the fucking savages raping her didn't decide to murder her as well?

That there is YOUR fantasy, baby. Own it.

[sabo_tabby]

34. Lots of projection going on in that essay...

"...suggesting that you best not negotiate with them because they could put a bullet right between your eyes, even though the bullets are in the other pocket."

The author inadvertently tells a LOT more about him or herself than about his subject.

I was at a gas station last week where I saw a scooter parked by the door. Had a sticker on it that read, "Have Gun, Will Carry." On my way out I saw the owner. Sure enough, he was open carrying - a repro Cold SAA, of all things. Pretty but not quite what I'd choose.

I looked at him, he looked at me, and the only thing I thought to say was "You seldom see people carrying single-action revolvers nowadays." He smiled and said something friendly back - I forget what, but far from threatening.

Nothing intimidating about him, certainly.

I'm not keen on open carrying. Nothing in the whole wide world says "shoot ME first" to a criminal than a holstered sidearm - particularly in a state where he KNOWS it's more than likely to be unloaded. Far better for for a mugger or nutbag to not know I'm armed except on my terms.

[ileus]

40. I've always be curious why people are so skeert of OC...OC provides comfort to non-carriers.

You see someone confident enough in the law to OC you should know you have a friend in the room/crowd/party.

OC means I'm not a criminal I have nothing to hide....simple at that.

[GoneOffShore]

42. No - It means that the person carrying is a "loose cannon"

I'll leave a room/party/crowd/shop if there's someone with a sidearm openly displayed.

That pistol on their hip says to me that they have no faith in negotiation and will shoot before they think. Despite their training or whatever. The mere fact of carrying tells me a great deal about them. Mostly that I want to be far away from them, because they are far more likely to look at any "sticky" situation as a reason to draw their weapon and use it.

Your line of reasoning is bullshit.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

45. So is yours

You run from a cop as well?

[GoneOffShore]

50. No, but I stay well away from them.

Many have trigger fingers that are as itchy as those of the Open Carry folks.

Particularly here in Philadelphia.

[X_Digger]

51. Then if they have 'itchy trigger fingers' I'm sure you can show us some of them..

'shooting before they think', right?

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[iverglas]

70. the fact that your use of the word "bigotry"

is merely a nasty bit of right-wing rhetoric with no foundation in fact does not actually mean that you get to call another member of this website a bigot. To my knowledge, anyhow.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

76. You are welcome to your phobias, but there is no requirement that the rest of us

participate or accommodate you

[PavePusher]

46. "they have no faith in negotiation"

And this happens frequently, and you can cite to it, amIrite?

"Your line of reasoning is bullshit." Mirror, mirror, on the wall.... Your projection is pretty evident... and quite vile.

[ileus]

54. So find a story about a OCer attacking anyone. You line of reasoning is beyone BS.

[oneshooter]

59. And if the firearm is carried concealed? Are you scared of what you can not see? n/t

[iverglas]

69. I'll go ya one better ;)

I'll leave a room/party/crowd/shop if there's someone with a sidearm openly displayed.

I won't enter a country where I know there are people walking around with firearms on their person. ;)

(And no, and once again you must all trust me on this, the chance that anyone I encounter when I wander abroad in a Canadian city is equipped with a firearm, legally or illegally, other than uniformed cops, or an undercover cop should one cross my path for some reason, is close to zero.)

[RSillsbee]

73. the chance may be close to zero

I won't enter a country where I know there are people walking around with firearms on their person.

But you know there are people in Canada walking around w/ side arms on their person. By your own statement you can not enter Canada.

Moose McGlade and Iverglass Canada's twin treasures

[Katya Mullethov]

83. Be it a whole country or simply an abandoned quarry

Makes little difference to an true apex predator . Opportunity is the real trigger .

[ZombieHorde]

47. I live in an open carry State, and I rarely see anyone's firearms.

When I do see someone's firearms, they are usually on a vehicle rack inside the vehicle.

[Kennah]

49. It has been my observation on open carry ...

... that open carry options get pursued when concealed carry options are shut down.

Before concealed carry was legal in New Mexico, it was legal to openly carry an unloaded gun. Some engaged in pretty fine splitting of legal hairs and whether an empty chamber with a full magazine constituted an unloaded gun.

Before concealed carry was state law in Virginia, open carry was legal state wide, except for grandfathered local county ordinances that prohibited open carry.

In Illinois, a concealed and unloaded gun is legal.

If people can carry concealed, most will go that route.

[Starboard Tack]

56. At least open toters are being honest and you can spot them and get the hell out of the way

I'd rather know who I'm dealing with than wonder if someone's toting a hidden gun.

[ileus]

60. Exactly...at least you can keep and eye out. You know if their gun is about to fall or be drawn.

If nothing else all the antis should desire OC instead of CC.

[friendly_iconoclast]

61. Better move to and stay in Illinois then- while you still can.

Avoid Vermont, for example. They have no licensing requirements for concealed carry.

The place must be a violence-ridden, right wing shithole, no?

[ileus]

62. blood in the streets...guns poking out and being impolite, a regular war zone.

[Starboard Tack]

72. Has nothing to do with right or left wing anything, just self preservation.

I prefer not to be around anyone who enjoys toting a gun unless we're out hunting or shooting skeet. Vermont is a beautiful state with good people, not unlike Norway. Nobody is scared of guns, just the individuals who like to carry them everywhere.

[friendly_iconoclast]

81. So, it's not the gun laws in a particular locality- it's the people?

Am I reading you correctly?

[Starboard Tack]

82. Not sure what you mean by "it"

but if you mean my objection to being around habitual toters, then the answer is yes. The laws don't do much to dissuade those who really want to do something, unless those laws are draconian, which is undesirable to most people, including me. So, the reality is that we live in a society where a small, but growing minority want to walk around with a firearm. That being allowed, then the rest of us should have a right to know who is armed so that we can respond accordingly.

[friendly_iconoclast]

89. Define "respond accordingly", if you will. Mandated open carry?

Perhaps a tastefully embroidered patch of a gun sillouette sewn to a carriers' clothing?

It seems we must reiterate this almost daily:

The people legally carrying guns demonstrably aren't the ones you have to worry about.

And no, "offends my sensibilities" and/or "causes me moral harm" don't count.


Frankly, you (as well as the rest of us) have more to worry about from licensed drivers.


You can be just as dead via a machine designed to provide transportation as you can be from a machine designed

to emit bits of metal at high velocities- and in the States, the first group of machines kill more people than the second...

[Starboard Tack]

90. "Respond accordingly" depends on the individual

One person may want to pat you on the back and engage you in conversation, another may prefer to cross the street or avoid you in some other way. Some may cheer for you and others may laugh, each according to their personal preference.
The patch might work, or a cone shaped hat, or a sandwich board. Honesty is the key.
I don't worry about anyone carrying a gun. I just choose not to be around them unless we're all engaged in a gun related activity like hunting or sport shooting. That should be my right.
I choose not to be around motor vehicles. I live in a place where there are very few vehicles, no paved roads and a speed limit of 12 mph. Again, my choice, but I enjoy visiting your world from time to time.

[iverglas]

63. what's that mantra again?

Oh yeah ...

An armed society is a polite society.


I'd say the author of the piece just used more words to say exactly the same thing all the Heinlein fans hereabouts (well, many of them probably have never read Heinlein) love to chant:

So? What about this wonderful idea of open carry? Open swagger. Open threat? That should do wonders for our children. While hardworking teachers are trying to tell children that differences should be resolved by negotiation and peaceful discussion, their fathers and older brothers will be prowling the streets of San Juan being bad, real bad, suggesting that you best not negotiate with them because they could put a bullet right between your eyes, even though the bullets are in the other pocket.

Just explicates the mantra, I'd say.

[iverglas]

66. someone else who gets it ;)

I mean, I think we all do, some of us just say so.

http://www.thecapistranodispatch.com/view/full_story/14776495/article-Letter-to-the-Editor--No-Guns-in-Parks-?

Council member Reeves, recommending guns in parks, claims it will promote safety. Whose? His very proposition confirms that guns carried in plain sight are intimidating. Yes they are. So what kind of elected official thinks it’s a fine thing to scare families with children in our parks?

What’s the underlying agenda here? Encouraging citizens to take the law into their own hands? Encouraging citizens to form white supremacist militia-type groups to stifle free speech during political rallies? ...

I can't resist.

Duh ... yes.



typo fixed

[gravity556]

88. Intimidating?

Yes, my 5 foot 6 inch, 110 pound wife who never says a cross word to anyone (even those that deserve it)is super duper intimidating. She can paralyze a whole SWAT team with just a glance. Ok, maybe not a SWAT team, but her smiling and waving has caused the loosening of bowels in the most stalwart anti-gunners.

Know why she carries? Because she works swing shift in an isolated area, and there have been several assaults and even a couple of rapes in the parking lot of the plant. Sure, there's security, but their policy is to call 911 and observe. Meaning that for the 10 to 15 minutes it takes the cops to get there, the victim is on their own. I can see how carrying a gun for personal protection seems so foreign to you, but she's a strong believer in personal responsibility. Unless a cop is standing next to you when some piece of trash criminal decides to victimize you, there's not a soul that is going to help you, so you'd damn well be ready and able to defend yourself.