Posted on 04/26/2013 7:05:36 AM PDT by LibWhacker
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A man who walks around his neighborhood with a rifle strapped to his back says he is not a threat to harm anyone, but some neighbors fear he is an incident of vigilante justice waiting to happen.
John Schultz, 19, also wears a bullet-proof vest, carries ammunition and has a knife in a holster as he walks through Walnut Creek, which is off Sunset Road in north Charlotte.
The gun is his grandfather’s 303 British Enfield from WWII.
His walks cause double-takes as well as safety concerns for some. Schultz says others thank him and wave at him.
He says his walks are for exercise and picking up garbage, but also for looking out for his neighbors.
"It's nothing to do with the body armor, it's the person,” Schultz said. “Yes, it just so happens to be there."
“It’s a problem and a concern,” said neighbor Vanessa Aidara.
She says the rifle scares her and scares her kids to the point they won’t play in the yard.
"He could be good without the rifle. The rifle is what scares everybody because why do you need a rifle to pick up trash, get a trash bag,” Aidara said.
Schultz says he's spotted peeping toms and potential burglars in backyards while on his walks, which include in nearby woods, but not on private property.
"I won't brandish a firearm or anything, I won't chase somebody around. I will ask them to stop,” Schultz said.
"Let the police take care of that, not you,” said Aidara.
Aidara says she called police the first time she saw Schultz walking down the street.
“I had a panic attack, didn’t know what was going on,” she said.
She fears Schultz could be an incident of vigilante justice waiting to happen, or someone could target him for violence because he is armed.
"He could get hurt,” Aidara said.
"She's not really wanted to talk to me,” Schultz said.
If she did, Schultz says Aidara would feel different.
He's from a military family, hates garbage, loves his neighborhood and says he isn't looking for a fight.
Aidara wants the rifle-strapped neighborhood walks to stop.
Schutlz’s answer is no.
Police say Schultz isn't breaking any laws because he's not pointing the gun at anyone or threatening anyone with it.
Should dry his hair before going outside?
This recently happened in Liberal Harrison NY.
My point was that I don’t think we would, because the media has forced that false ideal that a black man with a gun on the street is a threat. It’s not right, but it’s what society has come to accept.
My spotter for long-distance shooting is a black man, former USMC Devil Dog, and he’s by far the most respectable person I know. I wouldn’t think twice if I saw him on the streets carrying, but I bet there are millions of white Americans who would.
Would you say the same if it was a guy with a towel on his head and a long beard?
More than anything, I don’t see this as a gun rights issue, but as a diplomatic issue.
That is, most people are very conservative about their homes and neighborhoods. Not in a political sense, but in a personal sense. They want orderliness, cleanliness, sameness and quiet, so that they may enjoy their home.
And anything that disrupts this, perturbs them.
Disruptions may be active, or like in this case passive; and in most cases can be forgiven if there is a *reason* for them. For example, repaving the street is noisy, stinky and inconvenient, but forgivable, because its purpose is known and reasonable.
Basically, any “excuse” will do, no matter how improbable, because it is not really an excuse, but a rationalization to soothe their discomfort at there *not* being a “reason”.
You have gun rights, so you use them, oddly enough is not enough to patch this hole. If they have this problem in the first place, they already don’t get it.
Anywhere in the US, in about any situation today, a great rationalization for being armed to someone who can’t deal with “not knowing”, is simplicity itself: “Coyotes.”
Yes, coyotes now live in every US state but Hawaii. And are often a minor pest in every US state but Hawaii. They have even been found in Central Park and Harlem in New York City.
But if somebody wonders why you “need” to carry a gun, it is the fastest way to assuage them, that there is a “reason”, so you can carry on with what you are doing.
If they want to cringe in fear inside their homes for weeks out of fear of coyotes, well, that’s not your problem.
Was going to note the same thing myself. I have a full plate carrier with ballistic plates. Conforms a lot better without the plates in it...
He should shave?
Gee why can’t you just say whats on your mind or are you afraid of an answer?
I can recall a time when folks carried rifles and shotguns hanging from a rack in the back window of their pickup truck, and left the windows down and the doors unlocked when going into a store or to church. This ain’t the same America. Kids won’t go play outisde when they see a rifle? ... Sheesh!
I’m not against what you said re: armor; that was in what I read this morning. I just know it isn’t all that easy to get, that’s all....there are ‘carrier’ vests, utility vests, some variations - let’s call them tac vetst. Some have pockets for breast plates (armor) and the various generations thereof for protection level.
For a civilian to buy one of these plates, there’d be some bucks involved, likely you could buy a nice revolver for that amount, a Mossberg pump, etc.
The media is trained to say armor, bulletproof, etc. when they see a vest. Just like they say AK when they see anything that has a barrel longer than a foot. For the others with barrels shorter than that, they are GLOCKs.
Keep an eye on him until he does something naughty. Then I'd use my OWN personally owned arms to drop him before he hurts anyone else.
You DO own your own firearms don't you?
I don’t have a problem with him....the one I carry has 45ACP DRTs in it. Mine is concealed though.
??? I’m thinking that if this guy looked like the kind of person we don’t like, comments may be very different.
I used to carry one on my bike when I was a kid. It depends a lot on where one lives.
A number of them, and I load my own ammunition also.
Because of the temps in AZ and the fact we are half retired people/half drug route, many old people go walking in the early morning and they have shot more than one dog that attacked them (Pit bull mixes from all the druggies around here).
Not a big deal to see people walking around with guns here. Rifle or handgun. People in the other 56 have a hard time with that I guess.
Here. Let me say it for you. A Muslim? I’m with DC on this. I’m Not into popping people at random even if they have proven to be.
I have a lot of Molle gear, old milsurp and newer stuff, and while it’s great for when I’m afield or going to the range, loading it up and carrying it around the neighborhood would be a pain in the ass. No sense in that.
I was thinking Mormon, but ok
Yeah, I think that's a crock of $h!T. Shes just exaggerating for effect.
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