I know about "Second Amendment" and "Open Carry" and all the rest. I know you CAN legally walk into the front door of a Burger King (MacDonalds, Wendy's, etc.) with a shotgun or a rifle slung over your shoulder.
But .. should you? What would the people in the restaurant think?
If you do that, is it unreasonable for the citizens to freak out?
I don't think so.
Why would you do that?
(To recap: the original article had some guys walk into a fast-food restaurant with their "rifles and shotguns slung over their shoulders.")
(And ... recent news suggest that this was not a bunch of guy coming home from a day of shooting; instead, it may have been a deliberate "Open Carry" demonstration". Not helping, guys!)
Video here?
Someone posted a comment to the effect of "Would you walk away from a $3,000 rifle sitting unattended in your car?"
Hell no! I would have one of my buddies sit in the car and watch it!
There was no reason for those people to bring shoulder-slung weapons into a public place. It may have been legal, but it sure as hell was stupid. They didn't pay any attention to the sensibilities of the people involved. Of COURSE the soda-jerks assumed that they were about to be murdered. Haven't you read the papers recently?
Big Surprise: It Was a 2nd Amendment Demonstration!
But ... latest news suggests that this wasn't some guys coming home from a day at the range: it was a deliberate demonstration of Open Carry.The whole thing about Second Amendment people is that we accept the responsibility of carrying firearms. In our homes, on the street, in a public place.
"Responsibility" isn't about In Your Face display of weapons! It isn't about arrogance .. which this situation is VERY much about (and some readers have refused to acknowledge). Yes, you are legally acknowledged to have the right to carry firearms; but you do not NOT NOT have the right to flaunt them to intimidate your fellow citizens.
Which is what this bunch of YAHOOS were doing.
I don't care what the local culture demands ... you do NOT walk into a public place with your "rifles and shotguns" slung over your shoulders. Of COURSE it's stupid! And, if the counterman assumes that you are about to shoot up the place, he/she is not over-reacting.
If you are going to demonstrate .. it's probably A Good Idea to let the folks in the venue know about it ahead of time. It's private property, Dude! They have rights, too; among those rights are the right to refuse entry to people who scare the crap out of them.
A demonstration, you say? A Faux Pas, I say. Just because you CAN do a thing, that doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. Was their intention to demonstrate that you can be carrying a firearm, and not be a threat to the community? If so, the effort clearly failed to accomplish the goal. Instead of reassuring people that armed men do not necessarily constitute a threat, they have managed to
The mini-spate of negative comments notwithstanding, I remain convinced that the jokers with the slung rifles and shotguns could have found a less confrontational way to handle their lunch. What they ended up with can be filed under the heading: "Bad Press!"
What a bunch of maroons!
UPDATES: It Isn't Just Me!
May 20, 2014 (Walls of the City: "Seriously, get off of my side")
May 20, 2014 (In Jennifer's Head: "Ur Doin It Wrong")
2 comments:
I agree with you (a first maybe ;-) ). The guys were making a statement, but their choice of venue was ill advised.
Now I don't agree with you, Mark. It wasn't the choice of venue, it was the lack of preplanning. They didn't talk to the management of the joint, they didn't talk to the police. They just walked in, unannounced; unexpected, unannounced. Folks that act like that aren't an organization; they're a bunch of maroons.
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