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Author Topic: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal  (Read 4243 times)

Offline FarmerRick

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Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« on: August 18, 2009, 12:29:48 PM »
I'm liking this one....

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/obama.protest.rifle/index.html

Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal

 PHOENIX, Arizona (CNN)  -- A man toting an assault rifle was among a dozen protesters carrying weapons while demonstrating outside President Obama's speech to veterans on Monday, but no laws were broken. It was the second instance in recent days in which weapons have been seen near presidential events.
A man is shown legally carrying a rifle at a protest against President Obama on Monday in Phoenix, Arizona.

A man is shown legally carrying a rifle at a protest against President Obama on Monday in Phoenix, Arizona.

Video from the protest in Phoenix, Arizona, shows the man standing with other protesters, with the rifle slung over his right shoulder.

Phoenix police said authorities monitored about a dozen people carrying weapons while peacefully demonstrating.

"It was a group interested in exercising the right to bear arms," police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said.

Arizona law has nothing in the books regulating assault rifles, and only requires permits for carrying concealed weapons. So despite the man's proximity to the president, there were no charges or arrests to be made. Hill said officers explained the law to some people who were upset about the presence of weapons at the protest. Video Watch the rifle being legally carried at rally ?

"I come from another state where 'open carry' is legal, but no one does it, so the police don't really know about it and they harass people, arrest people falsely," the man, who wasn't identified, said in an interview aired by CNN affiliate KNVX. "I think that people need to get out and do it more so that they get kind of conditioned to it."

Gun-toting protesters have demonstrated around the president before. Last week, a man protesting outside Obama's town hall meeting in New Hampshire had a gun strapped to his thigh. That state also doesn't require a license for open carry.
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U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan acknowledged the incidents in New Hampshire and Arizona, but said he was not aware of any other recent events where protesters attended with open weapons. He said there was no indication that anyone had organized the incidents.

Asked whether the individuals carrying weapons jeopardized the safety of the president, Donovan said, "Of course not."

The individuals would never have gotten in close proximity to the president, regardless of any state laws on openly carrying weapons, he said. A venue is considered a federal site when the Secret Service is protecting the president and weapons are not allowed on a federal site, he added.
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In both instances, the men carrying weapons were outside the venues where Obama was speaking.

"We pay attention to this obviously ... to someone with a firearm when they open carry even when they are within state law," Donovan said. "We work with our law enforcement counterparts to make sure laws and regulations in their states are enforced."
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Offline rugermanx

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2009, 04:22:23 AM »
Dang I posted the video from cnn on this elsewhere on the forums. I believe in the newsworthy section. But they took down the youtube video and I couldn't find it anywhere else.
The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. Benjamin Franklin

Offline FarmerRick

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2009, 08:07:47 AM »
Here are the CNN news boys wetting their pants about the whole deal:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/obama.protest.rifle/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
« Last Edit: August 19, 2009, 08:22:19 AM by FarmerRick »
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Offline Rich B

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2009, 09:39:05 AM »
"Thought crime!  Thought crime!  Someone arrest him!!!"
NRA Life Member.

Offline rugermanx

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #4 on: August 19, 2009, 11:12:12 AM »
Since people have been playing the race card if you disagree with obama you are a racist..... does anyone find it funny that one of the guys carrying the ar, and a side arm is black? Just wondering. What does that make him? I know I have been told that when I called some of the admin's policies socialist I was a racist that just couldn't stand the thought of a black president. (which is totally bull) I don't care what color a man's skin is a socialist by any color is a socialist.
The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. Benjamin Franklin

Offline Roper

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #5 on: August 19, 2009, 06:35:40 PM »
the libs are all a twitter... black man, ar-15, anti-Obama or at least anti-health care.  I appreciate the fact that the open carry citizens are all demonstrating as is their right.  I agree with rugermanx - a socialist by any color is a socialist; the rest doesn't matter.
Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.
Ronald Reagan

Offline armed and humorous

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #6 on: August 19, 2009, 07:23:28 PM »
I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time with this one.  I fully believe in our 2A rights, and no law-abiding citizen should be guilty of anything for simply "bearing arms" in this country.  However, given the reality of our war with the antis, I can't help but think this kind of flaunting our rights in a situation like this is only going to cause more people to fear us, and join the ranks of our opposition.  I'm not saying the guy shouldn't be allowed to do it.  I'm just saying I don't think it's helping our cause, especially in this situation.  I'm no Obama lover, and I don't agree with a lot of the government spending he has promoted, (stimulus packages, bank and auto takeovers, government run healthcare, cash for clunkers, etc.).  It would have been different if Obama was conducting a town hall meeting to talk about gun control.  Then, it would have been making a statement that was relevant.  As it is, we get nothing out of it but a lot of this kind of negative publicity.

I might have a similar response if someone asked me why I carried a gun (because I can).  On the other hand, I don't intentionally go carrying to places where I know it is going to create a scene, especially one that would have lots of cops and news people around.

I'm basing all this strictly on what I saw of the CNN coverage, which was obviously not gun-friendly coverage.  Perhaps there are things I don't know about this particular situation that would alter my opinion.
Gun related issues are, by nature, deadly serious.  Still, you have to maintain a sense of humor about them.

Offline FarmerRick

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2009, 08:27:32 PM »
Apparently, open carry of all types of weapons is quite common in the Phoenix area. 
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Offline RLMoeller

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #8 on: August 19, 2009, 08:28:54 PM »
There are subtle little things slanted in a negative way in the "reporting".  The AP news article used the word "incident".  I thought the cool part of this display was that there was no incident. 

Maybe I'm reading too much into it and the two gals who wrote the article couldn't come up with a better word.  Really, I have come to expect so little from the media.  Sometimes they are able to meet those expectations.

Rod

Offline armed and humorous

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2009, 08:44:06 PM »
I suppose, if open carry is so common down there, that this guy (or guys) were just on their way somewhere and happened upon the event.  I  suspect, though, that they were there intentionally (not that it matters much).
Gun related issues are, by nature, deadly serious.  Still, you have to maintain a sense of humor about them.

Offline rugermanx

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2009, 11:55:43 PM »
For some reason the one thing that keeps coming back to me is a comment about a class with Farnam. Made by Joe merchant... over at the crabby shack.

Israeli-style in that we were to be armed with pistol and rifle at all times. John very much prepares his students for SHTF times, and that means armed. His opinion is that within 10 years, the sight of Americans with slung M4s will be as common as it is in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.



Edit to add. And it didn't take them long to release the "background story" true or not it says what it says and they are being tied to "right wing extremists" of the 90's who are the same as they are today right, you know the report, and most people will make the connection and never let that go.


http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/ernest_hancock_viper_militia_gun_obama_event.php


Ernest Hancock, the online radio host who staged an interview with an assault rifle-wielding associate at the Obama event in Arizona yesterday -- and was himself armed with a 9 millimeter pistol -- was a vocal supporter and friend of right-wing anti-government militia members who were convicted of conspiracy and weapons charges in the 90s.

And in an interview today with TPMmuckraker, Hancock said he still believes the Viper Militia case was "manufactured" by the same government that manufactured Waco and lied to its people about 9/11.

The federal government initially accused the Arizona Viper Militia of plotting to blow up federal buildings, which the twelve-member group cased on videotape.

In July 1996, after a grand jury indicted the suspects, federal agents "seized about 90 high-powered rifles and hundreds of pounds of a bomb-making compound from the shabby bungalow of a man whom officials identified as the ordnance specialist of a local paramilitary group," the New York Times reported at the time.

Hancock, who in recent years designed the famous "Ron Paul rEVOLution" graphic, was an oft-quoted defender of the militia members. The tapes of the government buildings, he said at the time, were purely "educational."

"They don't have criminal records," another press account quoted Hancock, who knew all twelve militia members, as saying. "They just like their guns. And in Arizona, gosh darn it, that's normal."

Reached by TPMmuckraker at his home in Arizona today, Hancock said he continued to believe the Viper Militia case was a fraud.

"I was good friends with Dean Pleasant, one of the guys that did five and half years," Hancock said, who added the entire case was "made up."

"I've been feeling this coming again," he continued. "It's the same people. It's Rahm Emanuel, it's Janet Napolitano. It's Hillary Clinton. All these were the same people that were doing it back then."

Napolitano, who later became Arizona governor and is now secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, was the prosecutor in the Viper Militia case.

"This militia scare is what got them their crime ban. It was all manufactured," said Hancock, scoffing at the term "White Al Qaeda," which he said he's been seeing in the local press.

« Last Edit: August 20, 2009, 12:23:22 AM by rugermanx »
The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. Benjamin Franklin

Offline FarmerRick

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #11 on: August 20, 2009, 10:52:20 AM »
I'm not surprised, but MSNBC edited the video to make it appear that it was a Caucasian person with the ar15, because of course, black people can't be conservative or support the 2nd amendment(  ::) ): 
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Offline rugermanx

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #12 on: August 20, 2009, 05:45:08 PM »
I was watching the cnn video on youtube (which was later removed) and I saw the racist black guy carrying the gun. Not surprised that its edited out in some versions. Look at what they did with the "assault weapon ban" Where they would talk about the evil aw's and then show fully automatic weapons that have been illegal since 1930 something. I always thought they were just that stupid on the topic of guns then I started seeing the light about how they were editing stuff to make it seem one way or the other.
The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. Benjamin Franklin

Offline armed and humorous

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #13 on: August 20, 2009, 05:47:23 PM »
Oh for another Walter Kronkite!   :'(
Gun related issues are, by nature, deadly serious.  Still, you have to maintain a sense of humor about them.

Offline JimP

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #14 on: August 20, 2009, 11:43:24 PM »
The only difference between Walter the Kommie Kronkite and the majority of "journalists" of today is that he hid his biases better. 
The Right to Keep and BEAR Arms is enshrined explicitly in both our State and Federal Constitutions, yet most of us are afraid to actually excercise that Right, for very good reason: there is a good chance of being arrested........ and  THAT is a damned shame.  III.

Offline Mosin

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #15 on: August 21, 2009, 12:31:39 AM »
Check out the video at FoxBusiness.  Listen to the guy on the right.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/search-results/m/25952317/right-to-protest-with-a-gun.htm

Offline JimP

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #16 on: August 22, 2009, 10:28:06 PM »
Jim Rawles is dead on.
The Right to Keep and BEAR Arms is enshrined explicitly in both our State and Federal Constitutions, yet most of us are afraid to actually excercise that Right, for very good reason: there is a good chance of being arrested........ and  THAT is a damned shame.  III.

Offline Mosin

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Re: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal
« Reply #17 on: September 01, 2009, 01:10:22 AM »
I don't know if this is ok, but have any of you been on Jim Rawles web sight survivalblog?  It seems to have a lot of information.  A cousin of mine has read his book.  He said it was very good and full of detailed information about survival.  The book is fiction of course not a true story.

http://www.survivalblog.com/