I didn't mean to imply that people shouldn't have guns. I just don't see a need to carry them around at a public event/demonstration.
I have been considering getting a gun for home protection as there is growing gun violence in the area. Not my immediate neighborhood but within a half mile or so.
I live in a city where there is gun/gang violence in the near neighborhoods. IMO getting a gun is a real over reaction, esp if it is gang violence. Stay out of their hoods, and they won't bother you.
Sometimes you need a gun. I found out this guy that knocked me out was also a suspect in a murder.
I didn't mean to imply that people shouldn't have guns. I just don't see a need to carry them around at a public event/demonstration.
I have been considering getting a gun for home protection as there is growing gun violence in the area. Not my immediate neighborhood but within a half mile or so.
So, here's my two cents concerning people bringing guns to rallies, protests, etc. First off, let me start by saying that I support everyone's right to own a gun. Heck, I own three. I am also okay with people walking around with their guns, assuming they are doing so responsibly (i.e. either not loaded, safety on, or both). No one should ever walk around with a round in the chamber for any reason. (Not saying that those who are bringing their guns to these rallies have a round chambered...I just got off on a tangent there for a second to make an important point). I don't personally ever walk around with mine (they stay in my range bag and case unless I'm at the range), but that's just me.
Some pistols are designed to be carried 'cocked and locked', with a round in the chamber. FN-Herstal has a new system called 'SFS' (Safe Fast Shooting) which de-cocks the hammer after a round is chambered: de-activating the safety sets the hammer to full cock. It can be retrofitted to 1911s and most High Powers.
In an emergency situation, stopping to chamber a round is not always practical: carrying with a chambered round ensures the shooter is ready. However, pistols seem to be going to a DA/SA design, where the first trigger pull chambers and fires, subsequent pulls just fire. Which has drawbacks too: the first trigger pull is much heavier, which can lead to stray shots. So it's a series of trade-offs. Which is less safe: carrying with a chambered round, or firing an errant first shot? Ask three experts, you're likely to get four different answers.
Of course this doesn't apply to older 'blowback' pistols: they should NEVER be carried with a chambered round, 'cause they're WAY too easy to accidentally fire. The Browning M1910/1922 is one example, while the 1911 and High Power are more modern designs and can be safely carried with a round chambered.
<gun nerd mode> off
No matter what kind of iron they're packing, any protesters, of any stripe, who arrive at an event armed, are inviting a dangerous confrontation. Bad juju, mon. If things continue apace, there's gonna be some kind of violence soon, and the whole thing will devolve from an issue of political protest to one of public safety. At that point all 'free speech' arguments cease, and people start getting arrested.
Location: No longer in a hovel in effluent Damnville, VA Gender:
Posted:
Apr 20, 2010 - 8:33am
mzpro5 wrote:
These are a small minority of gun owners and they either are extremely insecure or like little boys that want to show off their toys or both.
I used to live in such a bad area that I got robbed 8 times in 6 months. I started carrying a loaded gun around the house and wore it in plain sight on my belt when doing yard work. I never brandished it or threatened anyone. The cops never bothered me either as long as it was in plain sight. My outside gun was a huge 50 cal black powder revolver. I never got bothered again. I lived across from a city park that had been taken over by homeless people and hoods. They'd hang around there all day and rob people driving by and breaking into homes at night. One time someone broke in before I got the gun and when I caught him he started hitting me with a flashlight and then ran away. Another time I was carrying groceries in from the car and someone came up from behind and hit me on the head with a garden rock and knocked me out. My hearing in my left ear was messed up for months. Sometimes you need a gun. I found out this guy that knocked me out was also a suspect in a murder.
So, here's my two cents concerning people bringing guns to rallies, protests, etc. First off, let me start by saying that I support everyone's right to own a gun. Heck, I own three. I am also okay with people walking around with their guns, assuming they are doing so responsibly (i.e. either not loaded, safety on, or both). No one should ever walk around with a round in the chamber for any reason. (Not saying that those who are bringing their guns to these rallies have a round chambered...I just got off on a tangent there for a second to make an important point). I don't personally ever walk around with mine (they stay in my range bag and case unless I'm at the range), but that's just me.
I'm a little worried about the message that bringing a gun to a protest rally could be sending, i.e. the beginnings of some attempt at organizing a militia to overthrow the government. Yes, I'm reaching there, and I'm not saying that is the intent of those bringing their guns to protests, but why else would they feel the need to bring them? Are they really expecting to need to use their weapons at the rally? Are they worried about things getting out of hand that badly, i.e. Kent State? Are they not worried about the idea of bringing a firearm into what I'm guessing is already an emotionally charged event (i.e. the folks bringing theirs to the town hall meetings a few months ago)?
I'm hoping that this trend doesn't end up leading to some nutcase bringing a gun to one of these rallies (or, some nutcase at a rally taking a gun from someone who brought one) and actually using it. (To clarify, I'm not calling everyone who brings a gun to a rally a nutcase...just making the statement that there are people out there, on both sides of the fence, who are unbalanced enough to use a firearm in a public place.)
When I was in h.s. I had a sociology teacher who used to go off on tangents all the time, and he used to say, "If you want to kill somebody, just get them really pissed off and give them the car keys."
A large group of angry people with guns? 99.9% of them could be responsible gun owners, but I don't want to be standing next to the one who isn't. And we are all familiar with mob mentality.
I was at the Kent State shootings, standing at the bottom of the hill, and I can tell you, it only took one of those guys shooting his gun off that led to 4 children dead, and 11 more injured. (Of the 4 dead, only one was actually participating in the rally, the rest were just walking by.)
So, here's my two cents concerning people bringing guns to rallies, protests, etc. First off, let me start by saying that I support everyone's right to own a gun. Heck, I own three. I am also okay with people walking around with their guns, assuming they are doing so responsibly (i.e. either not loaded, safety on, or both). No one should ever walk around with a round in the chamber for any reason. (Not saying that those who are bringing their guns to these rallies have a round chambered...I just got off on a tangent there for a second to make an important point). I don't personally ever walk around with mine (they stay in my range bag and case unless I'm at the range), but that's just me.
I'm a little worried about the message that bringing a gun to a protest rally could be sending, i.e. the beginnings of some attempt at organizing a militia to overthrow the government. Yes, I'm reaching there, and I'm not saying that is the intent of those bringing their guns to protests, but why else would they feel the need to bring them? Are they really expecting to need to use their weapons at the rally? Are they worried about things getting out of hand that badly, i.e. Kent State? Are they not worried about the idea of bringing a firearm into what I'm guessing is already an emotionally charged event (i.e. the folks bringing theirs to the town hall meetings a few months ago)?
I'm hoping that this trend doesn't end up leading to some nutcase bringing a gun to one of these rallies (or, some nutcase at a rally taking a gun from someone who brought one) and actually using it. (To clarify, I'm not calling everyone who brings a gun to a rally a nutcase...just making the statement that there are people out there, on both sides of the fence, who are unbalanced enough to use a firearm in a public place.)
These are a small minority of gun owners and they either are extremely insecure or like little boys that want to show off their toys or both.
So, here's my two cents concerning people bringing guns to rallies, protests, etc. First off, let me start by saying that I support everyone's right to own a gun. Heck, I own three. I am also okay with people walking around with their guns, assuming they are doing so responsibly (i.e. either not loaded, safety on, or both). No one should ever walk around with a round in the chamber for any reason. (Not saying that those who are bringing their guns to these rallies have a round chambered...I just got off on a tangent there for a second to make an important point). I don't personally ever walk around with mine (they stay in my range bag and case unless I'm at the range), but that's just me.
I'm a little worried about the message that bringing a gun to a protest rally could be sending, i.e. the beginnings of some attempt at organizing a militia to overthrow the government. Yes, I'm reaching there, and I'm not saying that is the intent of those bringing their guns to protests, but why else would they feel the need to bring them? Are they really expecting to need to use their weapons at the rally? Are they worried about things getting out of hand that badly, i.e. Kent State? Are they not worried about the idea of bringing a firearm into what I'm guessing is already an emotionally charged event (i.e. the folks bringing theirs to the town hall meetings a few months ago)?
I'm hoping that this trend doesn't end up leading to some nutcase bringing a gun to one of these rallies (or, some nutcase at a rally taking a gun from someone who brought one) and actually using it. (To clarify, I'm not calling everyone who brings a gun to a rally a nutcase...just making the statement that there are people out there, on both sides of the fence, who are unbalanced enough to use a firearm in a public place.)
- this video has no video in it, nor logic, nor appeal; no content, really - yeesh!
The uniform makes me wonder if he's running for Junta of No Ca'lina...
Yes, the combat fatigues thing is one of the many bizarre things about him - he is no longer active military. The imagery he uses is equally illogical and disconnected. He doesn't even sound like a native North Carolinian; his site doesn't seem to mention a birthplace.
I thought this site was a fan site, or a joke, but it's this candidate's official site apparently - filled with some alarming rhetoric - especially on the sub-pages. A "Jesse Helms Republican" who seems to spend as much effort criticizing other Republicans as he does Democrats. The site looks like it was designed by a 12-year-old, but I'm not sure if it actually qualifies this guy as a "nut". However, having a radio spot which uses Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" (spelled "Valerie" on the site) as background music, may help. This may be more fitting for the WTF thread.
I don't know which is more awful, his politics or his color palette!
I thought this site was a fan site, or a joke, but it's this candidate's official site apparently - filled with some alarming rhetoric - especially on the sub-pages. A "Jesse Helms Republican" who seems to spend as much effort criticizing other Republicans as he does Democrats. The site looks like it was designed by a 12-year-old, but I'm not sure if it actually qualifies this guy as a "nut". However, having a radio spot which uses Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" (spelled "Valerie" on the site) as background music, may help. This may be more fitting for the WTF thread.
The Supreme Court shouldn't have to deal with this bunch of freakazoids but, I'm glad it has agreed to hear this case and name this kind of hate illegal.. www.matthewsnyder.org
Blind unreasoning hatred from a state legislature?! No, there won't be any of that or the consequences either, this is going to die on the vine like any other poorly thought out political idea. It will be less than a memory a month from now.
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You're forgetting that State Legislatures have gone plumb crazy as well. They may forget they already HAVE a state militia in the form of the National Guard. They may also forget plotting violence against the Federal Government is a CRIME.
You'd think they would remember what havoc homegrown 'militia' types can wreak, since there's a large memorial in OKC dedicated to several hundred victims of exactly that type of character. Blind unreasoning hatred tends to have dire consequences, no?
Blind unreasoning hatred from a state legislature?! No, there won't be any of that or the consequences either, this is going to die on the vine like any other poorly thought out political idea. It will be less than a memory a month from now.
- this video has no video in it, nor logic, nor appeal; no content, really - yeesh!
