“Look at my gun!” Why NRA’s scary “open carry” craze is not about freedom

Salon ^ | May 7, 2014 | Heather Digby Parton

[2ndDivisionVet]

How did we ever conquer and settle a continent, win two world wars and defeat the Soviet Union?

[Iron Munro]

[gundog]

We’ll be lucky if Putin doesn’t annex Alaska before Odingo leaves office.

[Da Bilge Troll]

It’s gonna be de wil wil West agin!

[saganite]

For every guy walking around with a gun on his hip in plain sight there are probably 100 carrying concealed. I bet that gives the guys at Salon nightmares too.

[cripplecreek]

Frankly I couldn’t care less what they “feel”.

[tet68]

So when it comes right down to it, when you are in the presence of one of these armed citizens, you don’t really have any rights at all.

So Heather, are you such a moron that you can’t figure out
that the thing to do is GET A GUN and protect your rights
like other citizens?

Sheeesch, liberals, the stupid it BURNS!

[Ouderkirk]

and waved his gun around

is known as brandishing, and is still illegal. So, the author is a liar.

[BitWielder1]

Can I use those same arguments next time I see a naked man in downtown SF?
He's obviously not using his "weapon" for self defense or freedom, he just wants others to look at it and don't care if it makes anyone uncomfortable.

[doorgunner69]

The rest of us just have to be very polite, keep our voices down and back away very slowly, saying, “Yes sir, whatever you say, sir,” and let them have their way.

Why should liberals whine? They love the police state, and this sounds like the way cops think we should behave in their presence............

[cripplecreek]

That’s why I think concealed and open carry compliment each other.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

You are right about conquering and settling a continent, winning two world wars and defeating the Soviet threat.

But we are completely giving away the future.

America needs to make things. America factories are what made America run.

We are currently building up China. Not America.

Bring back factories and build stuff here once again. Republicans. Democrats. Someone stand up for Americans once again.

Tea Party, stand up.

[Starstruck]

Imagine you’re sitting in a restaurant and a loud group of armed men come through the door. They are ostentatiously displaying their weapons, making sure that everyone notices them. Would you feel safe or would you feel in danger?

Now imagine they are cops.

[combat_boots]

You mean, they’d actuall7y say, “Sir”?

Proof that armed citizens make for polite society.

[Vaquero]

We’ll be lucky if Putin doesn’t annex Alaska before Odingo leaves office.

naw...Palin’s on it.

[Ouchthatonehurt]

“Why should liberals whine?”

Their nature.

[rlmorel]

"...Freedom for a man with a gun trumps freedom for parents of kids who feel endangered by him..."

It's all about the children, don'tcha know.

Hahaha...stupid liberal couldn't even get past the first sentence.

[Billthedrill]

...is known as brandishing, and is still illegal. So, the author is a liar.

Correct. She took care to use the phrase twice just to get the image set. And yes, that is illegal and she is a liar.

It's odd - I thought this sort of "consciousness-raising" was supposed to be a good thing. The Left uses it to excuse outright lying when it comes to racist and sexist incidents. Not, apparently, when it comes to the horror of viewing a firearm in public that isn't attached to a police officer. That's a different sort of dread.

One does need to be very careful to stay inside the law of the state when exercising this sort of political demonstration. There will be provocations in an attempt to force the firearm holder to break the law or act in a threatening manner. But liberal use of their personal feelings to control other people's lives is an old, widespread, and dishonorable tactic.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Sounds like the author came to the correct conclusion.

Normally lefties resort to violence when they encounter conservatives protesting.

[oldbrowser]

Naïve liberals are what scare me.