Press Asks Perry ... Are You Packing Heat?

[jpak]

http://nation.foxnews.com/gov-rick-perry/2011/08/15/press-asks-perry-are-you-packing-heat

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is a leading advocate of gun rights who likes to boast of having dispatched a coyote on a recent jog, so I asked him during today's walking press conference at the Iowa State Fair whether he was armed.

<snip>

(If he was armed, he could have found himself in hot water with the state police over a ban at the fair that has rankled some local gun groups.)

Perry's appearance at the fair, where he challenged reporters on whether they were "tough" enough to walk with him, chomped on meat and a hard-boiled egg and struck rugged poses was a well-staged political triumph. (The word "manly" got thrown around a lot, with varying degrees of irony, in the press pack.) It was also an opportunity to explore Perry's politics, and reporters are currently transcribing their long recordings of his free-flowing comments.



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note that the texas conferderate dumbass has his finger on the trigger - at a public event

how fucking "manly" is that

2"

yup

[emulatorloo]

1. "he challenged reporters on whether they were "tough" enough to walk with him"

Sounds pretty damn defensive, if you ask me.

If I were the sort of person to speculate on such things, I would say he is overcompensating re what he is "packing"

[ileus]

2. Doesn't he realize it's impolite to have your toter or two out in public?

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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

[PavePusher]

22. Thank you for the scintillating (or was that titillating) analysis, Dr. Freud... n/t

[rfranklin]

4. No, it was just a corn dog in his pocket...

Michelle Bachmann was seen licking her lips!

[gejohnston]

5. Holy shit someone call Ripley's

I agree with something you wrote in the gungeon.

note that the texas conferderate dumbass has his finger on the trigger - at a public event

how fucking "manly" is that

I don't know about manly, but stupid. I don't think his issue has nothing how not well hung he is. It has more to do with the empty space between his ears and insecurity about his not really being a outdoors type. Delusions of ruggedness.

[iverglas]

14. "Delusions of ruggedness."

My co-vivant will like that one. ;)

Hey, it worked for the Bush boy.

[Hoopla Phil]

26. Context is everything.

In this case his finger was on the trigger because he and the guy next to him (cropped out) were actually in the act of shooting blanks in the air at some event.

In this photo of the same event you can see the smoke from the fired blank.

[gejohnston]

33. ahh

he is on my list of "safe to assume to be doing something stupid." Kid not have enough coffee to see the smoke.

[classof56]

6. Hope that was raw meat he was chompin' on.

Otherwise, I'm not impressed. Actually, words can't describe how unimpressed I am by this low-life piece of "manliness". As for the coyote he shot--IMHO it had more of a right to wander this earth than he does.

:eyes:

[gejohnston]

9. my understanding of the coyote story is that

it was about to attack his small dog or young grand daughter. If the story is accurate about the gun used, it had to be close range.

[classof56]

12. Just googled and learned Perry shot a coyote who was staring at a dog

It was Perry's daughter's Lab, who was out jogging with Perry.

I stand by my statement.

[gejohnston]

20. In that case,

OK.

[Hoopla Phil]

29. The coyote (according to perry) had failed to run off after normal

challenges had failed to ward it off. (yelling and such) This made perry concerned that the coyote may be rabid so he shot it. There were several extensive discussions on DU about it when it came out.

Edit: Here is one such thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x313735

[Hoopla Phil]

30. Perhaps you missed this thread on the topic when the story came out.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x313735

[gejohnston]

32. I missed it until now.

Thanks. Seems like the consensus was someplace between the coyote was rabid or he was making shit up.

[classof56]

34. Yes, I did miss that thread from April 2010.

I was recovering from major surgery about that time, so a lot of things are pretty hazy plus I didn't DU it much for awhile. Anyway, thanks for the link. The responses were for the most part very entertaining and thought provoking. I once lived across the river from a ranch where coyotes serenaded us at night. Took my dog walking in that area during the daytime, saw evidence of the coyotes but never encountered one and never worried about my pup, who was running free, enjoying herself without fear. Maybe I was just lucky, 'cause I never thought to pack. That Perry, he's a good shot apparently and clearly he likes to brag about his kill, I'll give him that. Look forward to more such accounts of his daring adventures in the future.

Oh, and about that surgery--I was able to have it thanks to what according to Perry is that unconstitutional Medicare. I'm wondering if perhaps his plan of action for all us "eldsters" in need of the benefits is to take us out and shoot us. Perhaps that's why he packs that powerful pistol of his! Ugh!

Tired Old Cynic

[gejohnston]

37. After moving to Florida

I read that coyote behavior is different in the east and south (where they are invasive)than out west. Here IIRC, they will come closer to humans. Here is some info I found.

http://agrilife.org/texnatwildlife/coyotes/table-of-contents/behavior-of-coyotes-in-texas/

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=coyotesw&sei-redir=1#search=%22coyote%20behavior%20texas%22


http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Wildlife_profiles/profile_eastern_coyote.htm

[gejohnston]

40. powerful pistol?

My understanding is that it was a Ruger LPC, a pocket pistol for self defense. It uses what in the US and Canada is called a .380 ACP (In Europe it is called a 9mm short, more accurately the local language for short.) It is not a deer hunting round or any such thing.

[Hangingon]

7. Legitimate non-answer

"I never comment on whether I'm carrying a handgun or not," he said. "That's why it's called concealed." I guess he would have been arrested if he were packing at the fair.

[global1]

11. You Ask Me - He's An Accident Waiting To Happen.........

Remember Cheney's accident. Hope this Perry isn't trigger happy.

[iverglas]

17. sure it is

A politician can decline to answer any question they choose.

An intelligent electorate that actually wants to know about its candidates and wants candidates who are actually candid about themselves and their policies doesn't stand for non-answers, and chalks candidates who give them up in the not-quite-acceptable column.

That goes for anything at all: no candidate need disclose whether they have had an abortion or smoked pot or believe in sky fairies.

If someone believes that an individual's entitlement to withhold information trumps the public's right to know, and/or doesn't care what the answer would be anyhow, that's that person's choice.

But anybody is quite entitled to see Perry's answer as evasive and considerably less than candid, and say so.

That's how I see it.

Either he's carrying a firearm and doesn't want to put people who don't like the idea off him, or he isn't and he's afraid of looking like the poseur he is. Either way, he loses -- in the eyes of anyone to whom the question matters and who isn't duped by demagogues into thinking they somehow aren't entitled to care about the refusal to answer.

[TPaine7]

21. Fortunately...

There is no public right to know about the candidate's abortion(s), pot smoking, religious beliefs or even policy positions. The public has a right to vote or not vote for the candidate.

To posit both a public right to know and a candidate's right to withhold the exact same information is self-contradictory nonsense.

That's how I see it.

Yeah, that's about par for the iverglas course. Fortunately your opinion will have the exact weight that it deserves in the upcoming presidential election.

[iverglas]

23. oh, you just haven't done that remedial reading summer course yet, have you??

There is no public right to know about the candidate's abortion(s), pot smoking, religious beliefs or even policy positions.

Gosh. You'd almost think that you thought that someone had said there was such a right.

Did you really think that??? Back to class with you.

To posit both a public right to know and a candidate's right to withhold the exact same information is self-contradictory nonsense.

Let's fix that up for you:

To posit both a public right to know and a candidate's right to withhold the exact same information WOULD BE self-contradictory nonsense.

If anybody did it.

Don't know how you saw it, but you might want to consider an eye exam along with the make-up class.

[TPaine7]

38. LOL. Take the class, iverglas. And stop projecting.

[DWC]

36. He did not answer the question. Neither would I

Unless LEOs have probable cause to search, or he exposed a handgun at the fair, he would not be arrested. Neither would anyone else.

Semper Fi,

[SteveM]

8. A much better post; you're learning to identify the opposition.

And when Perry walks around with something in his pocket, I hope it's not because he's glad to see us.

[HubertHeaver]

10. Someone needs to morph this photo into the Saddam photo

[iverglas]

13. a picture that will live in infamy

Bookmark this one, folks, because every single one of us will want to reproduce it next time somebody alleges that Diane Feinstein was guilty of unsafe firearm handling ... when the firearm she was handling has been proved to have been inspected thoroughly by senior police before it was handed to her.

The thing is, there is such a thing as reality.

If a gun is not loaded -- and this is a matter of reality, not somebody's "rule" -- it is not unsafe to do anything with it, other than maybe forget to wipe the burger grease off your fingers, since you might drop it on your foot.

So I doubt that Perry was doing anything unsafe or improper. Just as Feinstein wasn't. And we all need to keep the Perry pic handy to make that point to the next troll to make false claims about Feinstein.

[hack89]

16. He was firing the gun

it was loaded with blanks.

[Katya Mullethov]

15. It was necessary to both cock the hammer AND pull the trigger

In order for it to go off , repeatedly .

Blank firing only replicas .

[iverglas]

18. ah, but how did he know?

We need the whole story, I think.

Nobody would let Diane Feinstein off that easily.

:rofl:

[Atypical Liberal]

19. LOL good one!

Nothing like watching the OP go down...in gunsmoke! :)

[Hoopla Phil]

28. That poster normally does.

[jpak]

24. That makes him a bigger asshole

yup

[spin]

41. The gun was loaded with blanks ...

kinda like a starter pistol.

Yup

[iverglas]

42. how do we know that?

If it were Diane Feinstein handling a gun, it would be (and has been, over and over and over and over) loud accusations of her disobeying god knows how many "rules" of firearms handling.

Here, we seem to be just assuuuuuming that good ol' boy Rick Perry was doing everything right.

Did HE personally load that firearm?

If not, why does HE get off the hook for disobeying those rules -- you know, "every gun is loaded" that kind of noise? Why does nobody even ask the question?

Nobody asked the question about Feinstein -- until I found that somebody had. The police authority who had handed her the firearm certified that it was unloaded and disabled.

Won't somebody go and get us some equivalent assurance about Perry's blanks?

[spin]

44. How do you know that he didn't personally load the firearm?

He may have, he may not have. We probably will never know.

I would have made damn sure that the firearm was loaded with blanks by unloading it and checking every bullet and reloading it. Perhaps he did the same. Any responsible gun owner would never take someone's word that the firearm was loaded with blanks without checking.

My personal rules differ from your quote, ""every gun is loaded." To me "all guns are always loaded" until I personally check and verify that they are unloaded. Once they leave my hands they magically become loaded once again.

If a firearm is loaded with blanks it is still necessary to follow all the other gun safety rules such as 1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. 2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. 3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

Blanks are still dangerous if fired at someone at extremely close range. Firing blanks into the air is not dangerous.

Note: I am not defending Rick Perry because I like him but I am not going to accuse him of doing something wrong merely because I dislike his views.

Which is your point regarding Diane Feinstein. However I do not remember my ever having criticized her handling of a firearm.

[We_Have_A_Problem]

25. For that type of gun, yes it is.

The gun is (or is patterned after - I cannot tell specifically from the photo) a Colt Single Action Army, AKA "The Peacemaker", "The Gun That Won The West" or if you prefer, a "Cowboy Six-shooter".

This type of revolver is single action, meaning the trigger does only one thing - drop the hammer. Consequently, it is necessary to cock the hammer then pull the trigger.

Yes - really - that's how they are designed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Single_Action_Army

[Hoopla Phil]

27. Context is everything regarding the photo.

You closely timed photo that would seem to show improper gun handling is off the mark and (as normal) misleading. That was a photo op at some event where perry and another person were actually shooting blanks in the air. You'll not the smoke in this photo from the fired blank.

[spin]

31. I suspect that picture was of Perry shooting BLANKS in downtown Fort Worth ...

http://startelegram.typepad.com/politex/2010/04/perry-shoots-up-downtown-fort-worth.html#ixzz1VEIhrJeT

[iverglas]

35. ah, context is everything when it comes to dirtbag Republican politicians

But when it's a Democrat, there just isn't any context at all.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=179066&mesg_id=179078 (post 5)

and my reply:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=179066&mesg_id=179175 (post 17)

etc.

Over and over, Diane Feinstein has been accused in this forum of violating some "rule" of firearms safety. (Get a clue, by the way, folks; "the gun is loaded" is not a rule, ffs. It is a statement of fact, and it may be an untrue statement of fact.)

The proof that the firearm she was holding in the famous picture, was unloaded and disabled was supplied by an actual gun militant on another website after he had the admirable integrity to actually investigate the FACTS.

Just one example of the ugly dishonest crap that has gone on around here since time immemorial.

But here, we have piece of shit Perry firing over the heads of a crowd, having, I am absolutely certain, personally supervised the loading of the thing with blanks, and there is such a stampede to vindicate him that I'm surprised anyone is still standing.

Makes ya wonder, it does.

[zinnisking]

39. Was there ever any doubt?

[RSillsbee]

43. Note that the pistol in question is an UNCOCKED SAA

just sayin'