But these asshats carrying a gun to 'make a statement' aren't doing us any favors.
To blatantly carry a gun, just to show off, only sets our cause back further. Take this story from The Week. If your going to a kids event, and want to carry, go for it. Sit in the stands, cheer on your kid, have fun. You're there for a reason, and just happen to be carrying.
But to show up at an event armed JUST to show off that you can, is not only causing unnecessary worry to the general populace we're trying to assure that we're not ALL nuts, but also making the statement that we ARE out of control, and will do whatever the fuck we want to.
Imagine the horror. You're sitting in the stands at your son's Little League game, and you notice a man with a gun pacing back and forth in the parking lot, murmuring something you can't quite make out. Understandably panicking, the coach cancels the game while parents call 911 — 22 such calls end up being made — and barricade their children inside the dugout for protection.
While everyone waits for the sheriff to arrive, you take a deep breath and begin slowly walking toward the man. As you approach him, he turns and says, "See my gun? Look, I got a gun and there's nothing you can do about it." You back away, fearing for your life.
When the sheriff finally arrives, he, too, approaches the man to discuss the situation, and then wanders over to the parents. Sure, he tells them, the man's behavior is "inappropriate." But there's nothing the police can do about it. The man, you see, is merely exercising his "constitutional right to bear arms."
I myself carry weapons for protection. I openly carry a large belt folding knife, and usually have several more on me. As for concealed carrying a gun. None of your business. I don't need to brandish a weapon in public to have it in need.
And I don't cause a panic when I walk around. No one calls the police to tell them there's a person walking around with a ZOMG gun. If I were to get pulled over, I would let the officer know about the weapon in advance. No harm, no foul.
But for people to make numerous calls to the
Wanna carry? Go for it. Its your Constitutional right, and a pretty good idea in some places. Period.
But don't do it to make a statement. The only statement your making is that you're an idiot! And promoting this attitude:
It doesn't have to be this way. It's one thing for individuals to own and possess rifles and handguns for use on firing ranges and in their homes to protect against intruders. It's quite another for them to be permitted to purchase semi-automatic weapons and carry pistols in public — in blatant defiance of the first principle of politics, which is that government must have a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. To deny that principle is to court anarchy and the chaos and violence that go along with it.*
And anyone who believes that the 'first principle of politics is that government must have a monopoly on legitimate use of force' doesn't need any more crap. They're already full of shit.
*emphasis mine
2 comments:
You are wrong. With the way the Dems and Libs in general are behaving, and the way schools are teaching fear, We must re-normalize gun carrying and show through our obvious and public display that firearms are not to be feared merely respected. All those kids and their spineless parents learned on that day, that guns are not evil and no one died just because a gun owners was present in the general area of the game that day.
I'm afraid we must agree to disagree, my friend. While I agree that education is the key, and public display SHOULD be treated as the norm, I don't believe that to do so for the shock factor is going to help too much in that educational process. It just makes folks more afraid of an object that is to be respected, not feared.
Post a Comment