President Obama spoke to a veterans group in Phoenix Monday, KVIA News reported. Outside, amidst protesters, were roughly a dozen people carrying guns, one of them with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

This was the latest case of firearms openly visible at a presidential event. Last week in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a man stood outside an Obama healthcare town hall meeting carrying a sign reading “It is time to water the tree of liberty,” with a pistol strapped to his leg.

According to Second Amendment advocates who do not trust the present administration’s stand on gun rights, they are just exercising their constitutional right to bear arms. Advocates of more gun control call this a disaster waiting to happen.

The man with the assault rifle told the Arizona Republic, “In Arizona, I still have some freedoms.”

The man in New Hampshire had commented, “It’s a political statement. If you don’t use your rights, you lose your rights.”

Both Arizona and New Hampshire are “open-carry” states, meaning that anyone legally allowed to carry a firearm can carry it in public so long as it is visible. Only someone with a concealed weapon is required by law to have a permit.

No arrests were made at either event. Authorities and other observers were acutely uncomfortable, though. Political scientist Fred Solop, of Northern Arizona University, described this recent turn of events as potentially signaling a disturbing trend. “When you start to bring guns to political rallies, it does layer on another level of concern and significance. It actually becomes quite scary for many people. It creates a chilling effect in the ability of our society to carry on honest communication.” He added, “The larger the gun, the more menacing the situation.”

Other responses were more sharply worded. Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence based in Washington, D.C., said, “To me, this is craziness. When you bring a loaded gun, particularly a loaded assault rifle, to any political event, but particularly to one where the president is appearing, you’re just making the situation dangerous for everyone. The more guns we see at more events like this, there’s more potential for something tragic happening.”

Ed Donovan, speaking for the president's Secret Service, said, “In both cases, the subject was not entering our site or otherwise attempting to. They were in a designated public viewing area. The main thing to know is that they would not have been allowed inside with a weapon.”

Conservatives will obviously support the right to bear arms. But individuals and groups bearing them at political events, especially events where the president is scheduled to appear, should be conscious of what message they are sending out. Otherwise they might unintentionally provide the anti-gun lobby with ammunition of a different sort.

 

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John31 said:

THe more citizens that openly bear arms: the safer we become Most states have concealed carry laws. Is it "safer" if citizens conceal carry weapons to these rallies but not open carry? That's crazy reasoning that open carry is somehow going to incite violence. If anything, the sight of weapons in sane hands has a remarkable "chilling" effect on would-be wrong doers. It boils down to this: do you trust your fellow citizens with the power to carry weapons or not? If you do, there is no reason why you should be against open-carry. IF you are uncomfortable with the right to keep and bear arms (the second amendment) and feel that the common person in a country cannot be entrusted to responsibly keep and bear arms, then you should seek another country that has more draconian control over its citizens. Simple. THe more citizens that openly bear arms, the more scared pers become of committing a crime. And you don't seriously expect a perpetrator who is intent on harming someone of openly brandishing a weapon or following any "gun control" laws, do you? By disarming law abiding folks, all you are doing is creating more opportunities for bad guys to commit crimes.

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August 18, 2009
Votes: +12

ron said:

	Carrying guns I wonder if these people championing the ope display of assault weapons would have supported the Black Panthers when they did the same thing in 1966?
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August 18, 2009
Votes: -5

DON'T BE STUPID!, Lowly rated comment [Show]

Hank said:

Equal application of law and principles Ok: Black Panthers, disruptive behaviors such as sit ins, refusan of military service, drafting men only, registering men only and requiring it on federal job applications, frivilous law suits and shouting down Republican and/or conservative speakers, burning down of our major cities, riots for liberal causes, threats of "No Justice No Peace", sexual harrassment suits (85% of which are found to be without merit), MS-13 and other gangs, illegals openly flaunting their status, women killig men and getting off by claiming spousal abuse, or PMS. Not OK: Anything Christian, conserative, white male, logical or sensible. Blacks dressed in hoodies kill eachother in record numbers and blame whites, yet when a white shows up dressed nicely openly carrying a weapon, oh well lets all hit the panic button. When UNC students shout down a conservative congressman so much so that he can't even deliver his speach, well now that is OK. These same students however, welcomed Senator Kerry, applauded loudly, and hung on every lie. Oh well now that was alright. Interesting that there is nothing liberal (tollerant) about a liberal. Agree with them and one is "in". Disagree and they will call you names, hurl insults and mis-characterize. Just look at the upset over a few white people exercising their constitutional right to carry arms, all the while remaining resoundingly silent about their own actions. News: The law and principles apply equally. Get over it.

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August 18, 2009
Votes: +6

All for it. said:

I am all for it I am all for it and better yet, everyone in these open carry states should start taking their guns. If the 'pink', I mean black panthers were to do it and they had a license to do so then more power to them.... (Hold'n my fist in the air.) That is their second amendment right. The only difference is - yes i would be quick to assume - the black panthers probably purchased their weapons illegally and did not believe they needed to go through the process of getting a license to carry. That was just the "white man holding them down". Anyways, keep it up fellow patriots and it’s time to “take the power back” and put it back in the hands of the citizens… Of all colors!!!

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August 18, 2009
Votes: +4

Flu-Bird said:

	2nd amendment rights Those people are just showing their rights uner the 2nd amendment and if the liberals dont like it tell them to go and jump in s swimming pool full of deranged robins
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August 18, 2009
Votes: +5

Thomas Paine said:

	Right to bear arms We must begin to show our rights. We have to regain our guts to stand up to progressive Fascism. These heated health care meetings are just what the doctor ordered. Let people feel comfortable again openly challenging the Institution of Big Brother.
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August 18, 2009
Votes: +6

Zee said:

	... When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. -- Thomas Jefferson maybe every once and a while its a good thing to remind the kings and queens of our 'noble' class who really rules here. otherwise truly we are but peasants.
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August 18, 2009
Votes: +6

It's Phallus Worship, Lowly rated comment [Show]

Patrick Henry said:

	... I am hoping that the black man carrying that AR will encourage other LAW ABIDING citizens to do the same under their local laws, if permitted. I love hearing and seeing you liberals freak out like you just walked into a face full of spider webs! What entertainment!!! More please!!
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August 18, 2009
Votes: +6

Bill said:

Cars and Guns Of course we can trust our fellow citizen to carry weapons as it takes only a minimum of care with statistics showing armed communities have much lower crime rates. Do consider that we trust our fellow citizens to obey stop signs and drive within their lane in traffic and yet slaughter one another to the tune of 50k yearly. If any energy is to be expended to improve society, the problem of getting around in cars really needs to be rethought. At every presidential event, there are hundreds of weapons..why should only the uniformed thugs be armed in a free USA? So authorities can move us into unconstitutional "free speech zones"? No more. Full accountability to the People or certainly there will be tar and feathers in the near future.

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August 18, 2009
Votes: +7

DDS -- NRA Life Member said:

Wrong Question Law abiding citizens were seen exercizing their civil rights, and the left goes nuts. About what? How many people were actually threatened, not just made "uneasy"? No guns were pointed at anyone, no rounds were fired, no one wounded, no one killed. What, exactly, is this story about? Some people still see guns as dangerous. Pay attention. Here's the important part. There are no dangerous weapons. But there are dangerous people. Focus on the danger.

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August 19, 2009
Votes: +4

Cajun2010 said:

... First to clear something up, some of the above posts have very incorrect terminology. The term "assault rifle" is a misnomer; is an AR-15 variant really used by law-abiding citizens to assault persons? No, in fact it is a "semi-automatic rifle," most likely used shoot at the range for fun, or possibly a collectors item. Think about it, how many crimes have been commited with assault rifles? You can't stick one in your pants, everyone will know you are carrying. And that brings to law-abiding citizens open-carrying these rifles; do you really think a criminal will sling an AR-15 over his shoulder if he is going to commit a crime? There is a small chance that he may be highly unstable in a mental fashion, but more than likely he will carry a smaller firearm that he can conceal until he wishes to wield the weapon, keeping the element of surprise. Now I don't necessarily think carrying an assault rifle to a protest is such a great idea; my main concern is that if the rifle is "cocked and locked", a bystander could easily swipe off the safety and fire multiple rounds into the crowd. Hopefully the protestor does not have a round chambered, or has very good control of the weapon.

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August 19, 2009
Votes: +6

"There are no dangerous weapons. But there are dangerous people.", Lowly rated comment [Show]

Ban the weapons, Lowly rated comment [Show]

bg said:

	... Well goodwolf - I feel safer around a person carrying an open-carry weapon than the likes of the gun-haters. The only danger I see are the people who would want to remove our right to carry and protect.
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August 19, 2009
Votes: +3

imil delerosa said:

This is them, testing the waters They are trying to see what they can get away with. Rmemeber, there are some KKK fanatics with college educations figuring out how to kill obama. its sad- There are people like this actually fearful enough over this black president, to want to kill him. People carrying guns like this in the open are sending a message- they are so frustrated, they want to kill......... GUYS HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF. YANKEES AND CONFEDERATES...

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August 19, 2009
Votes: -4

usafnodak said:

The Crown was Also Nervous about Citizens Openly Carrying. This led to Lexington. The British did not like the Colonists protests either. They especially didn't like them having arms and protesting against the government (the King). Does this sound familiar with what's going on today? By the way, before we kick off the racist remarks about the KKK and whether the Black Panthers would be supported bearing arms, keep in mind that the guy with the AR-15 at the President's town hall meeting was black himself. Let's keep the racism card out of play. It doesn't belong here.

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August 19, 2009
Votes: +3

goodwolf said:

	"The only danger I see are the people who would want to remove our right to carry and protect." BS!! WTF are you protecting yourselves from at a peaceful public rally?!
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August 19, 2009
Votes: -5

Elmer said:

	*** are you protecting yourselves from at a peaceful public rally? People like goodwolf!
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August 19, 2009
Votes: +0

Robin said:

"BS!! WTF are you protecting yourselves from at a peaceful public rally?!" Is a "peaceful public rally" somehow 100% safe or something? Why do you need to protect yourself anywhere? I'll give you a hint. Courts have ruled repeatedly that police are not required to respond to crimes or to protect citizens. And besides, even if they were, do you expect me to carry a cop on my back everywhere I go? If most people carried firearms and actually took responsibility for their own protection, not only would the crime rate be about non-existent, but we wouldn't want or need so many uniformed thugs walking around on power trips.

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August 19, 2009
Votes: +3

Robin said:

Why do people keep saying "assault rifle"? The gun-phobes who keep bleating about "assault rifles" are doing nothing but demonstrating their utter ignorance of the very things they want to ban. An assault rifle is selective fire, which means it is capable of fully automatic operation. Fully automatic weapons have been heavily restricted since 1934, and even if you manage to somehow get a permit to own one (good luck) they cost upwards of $15,000 and you CAN'T just carry them around like that. The rifle that the young man is carrying is semi-automatic, just like a lot of common hunting rifles. What bothers the gun-phobes obviously is the fact that it's a black rifle, and therefore it's "scary looking" and must be an "assault machine gun" capable of shooting down jumbo jets.

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August 19, 2009
Votes: +5

goodwolf said:

	"uniformed thugs walking around on power trips." Interesting --- because my description of the gun carriers at these rallies is "UN-uniformed thugs walking around on power trips". It's a bully-thing. You're the very same bullies who terrorized playgrounds decades ago. What kind of pathetic weakness are you compensating for?
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August 19, 2009
Votes: -3

Reader said:

	Playground bullies I don't know if goodwolf is uniformed, but he/she certainly is uninformed. I remember those playground bullies. Had more than my fair share of them. Funny thing is, most of the ones I remember grew up to become either uniformed thugs or liberal politicians!
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August 20, 2009
Votes: +3

Patrick Henry said:

... What are liberals so scared of?? AR-15s are made of Steel, aluminum, chromium and plastics. Nothing evil in that..is there??? I was greatly impressed with this well spoken black American who is reported to be a member of the John Birch Society.Could it get any better than that??? We need many more people with backbone like him to educate people against the tyranny that is infecting America one step at a time. Goverment has been stepping over the constitutional lines for years they need to put back where they belong WITHIN THE LAW. That was for all you FBI trained bloggers.

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August 20, 2009
Votes: +3

Bonnie said:

	More on the bullies The playground bullies are now in big government. The few people who carry weapons around the bully pulpits (aka, political rallies) were the few kids who got fed up with the bullies, stood up to them, and said they weren't taking any more of their crap! This made the playgrounds safer for everyone.
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August 20, 2009
Votes: +1

goodwolf said:

	... The fact that the President appears at a town hall meeting doesn't make it a "bully pulpit". You paranoid idiots are anti-social LOSERS.
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August 21, 2009
Votes: -1

Elmer said:

Who's paranoid? Ever notice how the play ground bullies become very defensive, one may even say paranoid, when someone challenges their "authority"? I don't believe Bonnie said anything about the president. She was referring to the play ground bullies who grew up and became liberal politicians (and with the current crop of republicrats and demolicans on all levels, that is practically all of them). Is goodwolf implying that the current president is a bully and liberal politician? Why must goodwolf have to call people names, like pathetic, or idiot, or loser, or anti-social? Isn't that one of the things we remember the play ground bullies doing? Why must goodwolf resort to profanity? I recall the bullies using profanity, too.

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August 22, 2009
Votes: +1

Patrick Henry said:

	... Liberals like Goodwolf call names and do a Saul Alinsky tactic of some sort because that is all they have. Nice words NO substance. Like " Hope you can believe in". Frank Marshall Davis would be proud of his young pupil taking his communist ideology all the way to the White House.
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August 22, 2009
Votes: +1