Comments on: When Will Right Wingers Denounce Those Who Carry Guns to Rallies?

By: Leonard

Leonard — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:58:10 +0000

How come nobody seems to realize that anybody standing close to an armed person is a potential gunshot target?

By: Ace

Ace — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:21:38 +0000

There is no reason for anyone anywhere to carry a gun.

By: DavidN

DavidN — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 05:54:25 +0000

I’ve been wondering since I saw the coverage of the rallies where the gun-toting people show up: do we *know* for a fact that all of these people actually knew of a political rally, and the President’s appearance? I’ve actually been unaware when either Pres. Obama or Bush was appearing locally, never mind the previous guys. It’s entirely possible, as far as I’m concerned, that they might have been walking down the street and run across the crowd.

As for the question of carrying a gun in public, Ron, you need to get some perspective. Here in California we’re pretty much discouraged from carrying a gun regardless of the situation, but in much of the rest of the country people do it naturally, all the time, with children around. They go to restaurants, one another’s houses, and the store, carrying a pistol or something, and there are few problems. For one thing, if everyone carries a gun, it seemingly gives bullies pause: you never know if the person you’re confronting is armed.

As for the respect issue, I’ve heard many Republicans promise solemnly to show President Obama as much respect and affection as was shown for President Bush during his eight years in office. Frankly, I can only be sarcastic about this for a short while, because it makes my blood boil. Sure, President Obama deserves respect, and the few people so far who’ve gone after his family are despicable beyond belief. However, does everyone remember that Larry Flynt offered half a million dollars for naked pics of Bush’s daughters? Nothing was done, no one really complained, it was just shrugged off as Flynt being the usual champion of the First Amendment that we all know and love. So am I troubled by what goes on with Pres. Obama? Sure. The police and the Secret Service should investigate all genuine threats, and jail those who make them. But don’t ask me *now* to get energized about threatening posters and picket signs, after the last 8 years. It’s just not going to happen.

By: robotech master

robotech master — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:50:53 +0000

To 10. Geo

You do understand that they stayed well away from the area and the secret service how ZERO problems with them being there correct?

They never entered an area where they could have shot at obama nor attempted to do as such… please stop repeating propaganda about these events.

By: flying squirrel

flying squirrel — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:10:56 +0000

Civility is it? Did you notice the demeanor of the gun toters? Were they wild eyed? Carrying Hitler pictures? Chanting “hey hey ho ho” ? The ones I saw and heard interviewed seemed (you never know) the picture of civility. Do you think anyone who carries a gun legally is a nut? A lot of people do. Guns are dangerous–liable to go off by themselves. Whenever they see guns–in the movies–somebody gets shot! They’re unamerican or should be. If the good people ever really get to fix things they will be!
Maybe the point is to show that Americans who own guns are just like you and me. Owning or carrying a gun does not make you…some kind of nut. (In spite of all the hype.)
That said, it is slightly off topic to sport your right to bear arms at a town hall on health care. We shouldn’t want to distract to the point of changing the subject. Why is it not totally off topic?
Because its no longer just about health care!
Its about the rights of the people to resist the takeover of every aspect of their-our- lives by intrusive ambitious government–to make us all, as in the august models of Europe, subjects rather than citizens. Fear of government power is not paranoia, it is the first principle of the American experience. “The government big enough to give you all you want, is big enough to take all you have.”
Health care. Everyone admits there are problems with it; but is it a crisis such as warrants this kind of all enveloping -in a holy rush-solution? Or is it a “crisis” that Rahm &co are not going to “waste” to expand their influence?
I, and many of my fellow citizens want health care reform but I do not trust this administration to do it. Why? Three reasons:
1. TARP: it was supposed to free up credit and solve the toxic asset problem. A trillion dollars later we got zombie banks beholden to the white house, the toxins still out there inhibiting investment (but the white house insiders know where they are.)
2. The stimulus aka porkulus. Supposed to save jobs, it was really about paying off political loyalists. Another trillion for the Party.
3. Auto bailout: help to industry?? It was about redistributing the wealth of industry from investor to union ownership. Dollars for votes.
All about expanding government power in American’s lives and the democratic party’s power in government.
Bait and switch is what its about, three strikes and you’re out.

“If they bring a knife we bring a gun, that’s the Chicago way.”
The American people have been pushed to respond in suit to the gangster tactics of this administration, if only to remind them who has the inherent right to carry guns and to dispose of governmental representatives and their policies.

By: Geo

Geo — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:50:24 +0000

Anyone who believes it is okay to bring a loaded weapon to a political rally at which the president of the United States is present is insane.
I’m a gun owner and believe deeply in the 2nd ammendment, but I’m not stupid. What if a secret service agent shot and killed one of these gun-carriers? What if he thought they meant to do harm to the president, who they are there to protect? Whose fault would it be? I’d say the idiot that brought the gun to the rally deserved what he got and that the secret service agent was doing his job. For Christ sake, we don’t even allow people to smoke cigarettes indoors, but we let idiots bring assault rifles to political rallies. How f*%ked up is this country going to get!

By: Banjo

Banjo — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:48:46 +0000

I also saw how MSNBC doctored the video to make a black man who had some reasonable things to say about the Constitutional right to bear arms become a fanatical white who was a threat to assassinate Obama. I knew NBC was in the tank for Obama because of the business interests of its corporate parent, but I had no idea things had gotten as bad as this.

By: robotech master

robotech master — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:57:16 +0000

Even obama thinks your retarded(not that he had a lot of room to say anything else).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/18/AR2009081803416.html

By: robotech master

robotech master — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:36:44 +0000

So I guess its official…Ron Rosenbaum is retarded. I really don’t even know where to start with just how retarded this little rant is but I’ll try to get some highlights.

“But do you approve of carrying guns to town halls where children are present?”

THINK OF THE CHILDREN…. OMG those guns had kid seeking bullets in them at anytime they could have jumped out of their hostlers and ATTACKED THOSE POOR KIDS.

It is PERFECTLY LEGAL TO OPEN CARRY FIREARMS IN THE VAST MAJORITY OF US STATES. The question shouldn’t be “Whats wrong with these “gun carrier freakazoids.”".
The question should be “Whats wrong with the retarded ppl who are making a huge deal out of nothing.”

“Speak up in behalf of civility. Isn’t that a conservative value?” Yeah maybe… but rightwingers aren’t conservative… they’re constitutionalists among other things which have little to due with “conservative values”.

The open carry movement is getting stronger… deal with the fact that no only is it legal but it is to be considered taking back RIGHTS that ppl long ago forgot they had.

I could probably spend 5 hours writing about just how retarded this little piece is and coming with a “article” that is 50x longer just to cover some of the most blatant and retarded things said… but damn if it isn’t 3 in the morning and I’m tired. I’ll see if when I wake up I can find the motivation to tackle this mess.

By: James S.

James S. — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:25:00 +0000

While I am a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment, I’m not really sure what these people are trying to accomplish. Conservatives are successfully beating the Obama administration over the head with his own health care plan and these guys decide to distract the issue and talk about gun rights? The fact that they are carrying guns openly and legally sort of says we’ve already won that fight. At least it is not currently in dispute. I agree with you that they are not helping.

This being said, I don’t think they are as big a threat as you make them out to be. The Secret Service’s response to questions about them tends to back me up (they are kept outside the “perimeter” and are not considered a major threat). The fact that the guns are being carried openly actually makes them less of a threat rather than more. Considering that the Secret Service employs snipers to protect the President when he speaks outdoors, threatening him with a rifle or shotgun would be better considered “suicide by cop” than a threat to the President. Are they trying to intimidate someone? They probably see the weapon they are carrying as the equivalent of the signs other protester carry. Just because many of those on the left consider the mere presence of a gun a threat doesn’t mean the guy who is carrying it fully understands that it is considered threatening by some (But I’m not pointing it at anyone! And it isn’t loaded!) What they were doing is entirely legal. It just wasn’t very smart and certainly isn’t helping our side. The Left is known for its share of nutcase antics as well (Don’t tell me you haven’t shaken your head in frustration at some stuff the left has done). Thank God, in America, stupidity is still legal.