Idiot

A 22-year-old man in Charlottesville, Virginia, scared the bubblegum out of a group of people Sunday night when he walked into a grocery store with a loaded AR-15 strapped to his back. As a result he pissed of folks on both sides of the debate.


I wish MSM news actually said bubblegum.

 

There are morons on our side unfortunately.....

 

Unfortunately there's nothing to do about it. Not every gun owner is responsible. But with the latest bit of intense scrutiny, expect us all to be knuckle dragging idiots to the media.

 

The problem is that a moron without a gun is just a moron, a moron with a gun can be dangerous to themselves and those around them. Each one of these idiots will get more press than a woman who defends her home and family against intruders. The media wants to make gun owners look like either psycho militia members or drunk hillbillies, and these guys just make it that much easier.

 

Time for smart people gifted with sensible communications skills to step into the forefront (locally, nationally and worldwide) and speak up about gun rights, so libs have something to consider other than red-faced, bug-eyed, spittle-spraying idiologues, chanting 2A slogans at the top of their lungs. Which often includes defiantly showing weapons in public places where some folks just can't grasp the value of the so-called "lesson."

I don't pretend for a moment to know the answers. I guess I hope to stir up some constructive ideas about who would be best to speak up. What sort of message can we put out there that might sway those socially acclimated libs still capable of reasonable persuasion?

The bottom line is that people hearing the truth will often recognize it even if they've been steeped in subversive doctrine for decades.

Open to ideas here. Let's put some legs on this concept and try to win some minds. Blunt steamrolling (however accurate) is usually ineffective for changing opinions.

 

And the problem is? The Sheep need to learn, there were probably 16 million AR that did not shoot anything yesterday. If it was strapped to his back how was it a threat?

Do I advocate doing same? No, I'll stick to a holstered pistol, but I am not going to soil my shorts because someone is walking down the street, or even into a store with a slung rifle.

The idots are the ones that ran out of the store.

 

I disagree. Yes it is within his right to do so, so I'm not going to tell him he can't or call the police because he's legally armed, but it's not necessarily a good idea, and not just because you're scaring "sheeple".

You're drawing attention to yourself that you don't want. The point of a carry weapon is self-defense, so lets put him into that scenario. He goes into the store in his AR, and someone else is in the store with a pistol with the intent to rob it. The criminal sees the dude with the AR and thinks "I'm gonna shoot him first so he won't shoot me." It'd be to your advantage to carry a low profile pistol so you don't get targeted first. A pistol in a good carry holster is also more obtainable quickly than a rifle on your back.

Also, while I may not call the police or flee from said AR carrying citizen, I would definitely use caution around him. You always need to be aware of your surroundings and asses potential threats, and a guy with an AR is pretty much #1 on that list.

 

No it isn't. The point for carrying a gun or rifle is to have a tool for killing close at hand. If you choose to use it only for self defense, then that's your choice. When I carry a gun or rifle, I'll do it for my own purposes, until the 2A is amended to state that it is merely for self defense.

 

Some people only need to be told what the law is, some need to be slapped in the face so they wake up. As long as the gays stayed in the closet, everyone was content. When they started to come out of the closet, many many people got very very upset...so? I'm not gay, been married to the same woman for 45 years, have 5 kids and 14 grandkids...just saying. There are still people out their that do not like the gays out of the closet, but they are learning that they can do nothing about it.

Same goes for blacks in the back of the bus. I know some people that still want blacks in the back of the bus, but they have learned to live with it.

If all we do is hide that we are fiirearms owners, and do not overtly assert our right to carry peacefully, we will have problems with the anti's and the sheep...and some elitist LEO's. When they finally realize that OC of firearms, both pistols and rifles, is totally legal, the BS will be behind us. That is one of the reasons I OC almost exclusively, and always have. I am proud of being a gun owner, I am proud of being able to protect myself and my family (an others if necessary) I have nothing to hide, and don't hide my carry (unless it is cold enough for a heavy coat)

The people, and LE need to learn to live with it. You need to stop worrying about teh anti's and actively work with and for your pro-gun politicians to remove the restrictions you live under.

 

The only other reason I can think of for having "a tool for killing close at hand," besides self-defense, is hunting. I hope that is the one you are talking about. And probably doesn't do any of us much good to describe guns in that way.

 

At least the media did not call it an assault rifle lol

 

Many many years ago (1964) I walked out of a LA gun dealership (one of the few at the time, most people purchased guns at their local hardware store back then) with a scoped Rem 700 BDL...the "sniper rifle" that was used in Nam at the time. There is no way you can tell if that rifle is loaded, or not, by just looking at it.

California, LA no less...nobody gave a glance...just someone that had just purchased a new hunting rifle is what they would have thought, if they noticed.

Today, the AR platform is the most popular hunting rifle platform available. Even my daughters own them. They are available in a wide range of calibers and are very easy to adjust to a "non-standard" body configeration...Like our #4 daughter is 5'3" and 125 lbs...hers is in 270. our oldest daughter is 5'9" and 150 lbs, and has an AR in .223, that she shoots in compitition. Neither one likes my old 700 (but I still do) both really like their ARs.

Now, what do any of the above weapons have to do with SD (not that they could not be used for such) If you were in a bad neighborhood, had an SUV with no trunk, and were going into a store to pick up a quick item, and you had your $3K custom AR with you, would you leave it in your SUV?

 

From the thread title, I thought it was another story about our own local long rifle toter, Warren Drouin. That kid is idiot enough.

 

According to manufacturing reports, there is slightly less than 4 million AR's in circulation in the US of A.

I am surprised that this does not happen more often. Guess the majority of gun owners ARE sensible people, after all.

 

You and I might not want the attention, but getting attention is what this kid is all about IMO. One more late adolescent with no other way to show he's a man.

 

I remember a day when I was a teenager I rode a bicycle with a shotgun strapped to my back through the middle of town to get to my favorite hunting spot. There wasn't a single soul that said a word to me and/or called the police.

 

Yep, and we need to get back to that condition...and the way you condition people to the fact that the vast majority of weapons are used responsibly, we have to quit calling people that openly carry their firearms idots, thinking of them as idots. We also have to stop hiding the fact that we are firearm owners.

The major problem with people in general are they are afraid of the unknown. Way more people are killed by vehicles then rifles, actually more people are killed by fists and hammers than rifles, so why are people not afraid of vehicles, fists and hammers? They know what they are and how they can be properly used, and they know they are normally properly used....they do not automatically assume that they are things that are going to be misused,
That is how we need to get firearms back to...they are tools, and the vast majority of time they will be used properly and are not something to be afraid of.

 

We had one from Oregon carry an AR into a Fred Meyer in Garden City last week. The store was ok with it, but, someone called the pd who completely overstepped and over reacted. Took it upon themselves to tell the guy that the store tresspassed him. He later called the store and they told him he was welcome back with his AR.

 

Heard about that one, waiting for the 1983 law suit.