Seems to me that the Second Amendment Foundation is unclear on the meaning of the Second Amendment.
Thanks for letting us know not to support these idiots with our donations.
SorozNazi is arming his thugs now? Ok, bring it on!!
I have mixed emotions about this.
One the one hand, the right to keep AND BEAR arms is part of our Constitution and our heritage. Having and bearing arms DOES send a message to those who would even think of turning this nation into a tyranny.
OTOH, from a practical POV, every time someone out there carries openly WITH A LONG GUN, it makes every single advocate of guns - let alone open carry or even concealed carry - look like a drooling moron. It actively sets back our agenda of normalizing firearms in the public’s mind, and detoxifying the image of guns and gun owners that has been put forth by the statists over the last century or more. This is all the more so when someone who is clearly a knuckle-dragger (like a guy wearing a hood, waving around a swastika, etc.).
All things considered, I think it best to take this a bit slower until the populace can be educated...and I reluctantly conclude that SAF is correct - for now.
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The story of the Four Boxes of Citizenship/Liberty covers this issue pretty well. Each of the boxes is designed to be used in sequence and in its appropriate setting. Conflating the uses of the boxes decreases the value of each and mixes the message so it becomes unclear as to the overall goal.
The order is Soap, Ballot, Jury, and Ammo Box. A demonstration or protest rally is about words and ideas in competition, i.e. the First Amendment at work. The Ballot Box moves words and ideas into a formal setting to have an official outcome. The Jury Box deals with words, ideas, and actions as measured by citizen peers against established law. Finally, the Ammo Box is there to secure your individual right to life and for protection against forces that have not been restrained by the first three boxes.
IMO, using your 1A rights does not preclude your 2A rights to lawful self-protection. It’s a fine line to walk as some have already pointed out that carrying to a place where there may be trouble goes against common sense gun rules. OTOH, having your voice stilled because of a concern of violence where you may not be able to protect yourself effectively removes you from the discussion and diminishes the effect of being able to measure how many adherents a particular position actually has.
Wait til the shooting starts. Think how upset they will be then. Its called civil war.
I have a problem with people rapping themselves in the confederate flag, KKK, white supremacist, and support groups, just like I would with BLM, and TAntifa and others showing up armed to intimidate. This is not the purpose of the Second Amendment, it is why I have been hostile as well to those supporting the armed insurrection this that joined the Bundys and the Hammonds. It is one thing to be armed for your personal defense, it was another for the state or government call out the militia, but organize games, which this essentially is, is a problem. And when you type that with criminal behavior, which they are often defending, that is a bad combination. It undermines our basic 2nd amendment rights.
None of us can have it both ways.
Discretely carrying (not necessarily concealed, but also not making-a-point visible) is normal. That’s fine for an organized protest, where you might (as in unlikely, and just carrying as routine) have to fight your way out of it. Pistols are generally defensive, conveniently at-hand with near zero inconvenience, able to stop an immediate threat and/or extract from the position.
Overtly carrying (to wit visually shouting “I’m armed, don’t f with me” borderline brandishing) is abnormal. You wouldn’t do it as routine mundane EDC, and doing so at a protest is presumably intimidation. Rifles & shotguns are generally offensive, not convenient and requiring constant attention & handling, carried because you expect a lethal battle and intend to dominate/win/conquer.
You have a long gun for home defense because you intend to stand _your_ ground against others who know they shouldn’t be there and seek to dominate it.
You have a handgun for EDC self-defense because you intend to instantly terminate threats and/or extract from the position.
There’s a difference.
If you’re switching from EDC pistol to CQB rifle/shotgun in preparation for going somewhere, think long & hard about why you’re going there.
Yes, the first rule of gunfighting is “have a gun”.
Remember, the first rule of general self-defense is “don’t be there”.
And yes, we know the difference between carrying for protection vs carrying to make a point or be a jerk. Don’t try to tell me you’re legitimately & properly carrying a .308 to a tense protest _just_ for mundane self-defense - you’re either hoping for an epic shoot-out, or intend to intimidate others into submission.
CCW at an Antifa-targeted event is appropriate. You just want to stop someone from cracking your skull with a lock in a sock.
Rifles at the Bundy Ranch standoff was appropriate. Force was brought to subjugate, force was brought to answer, both stared down and left without a shot.
The guys making a point of carrying rifles into Starbucks, not incidental to any other activity, were jerks.
Don’t be a jerk.
(Which seems one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard of.)
"Alright, let's look at this calmly - we have jobs, and cars and trucks and SUV's and ATV's and boats and mortgages to pay for. We can't just be running off nilly willy to fight some civil war. How else am I going to feed my kids or clothe them or make sure they have insurance? I CAN'T go fight no civil war! I gotta pay muh bills!"
But Bats are OK:-)