Gun-toting protesters show need for control
In at least two places where President Obama has spoken recently, people have shown up openly displaying weapons. One was a neatly dressed African-American guy with an AR15 assault rifle slung over his shoulder.
In my opinion, this individual was a carefully chosen gun rights test case person at the event to taunt Obama's security force into making an arrest. If his security folks had taken the bait, we would have seen a long, well-publicized, NRA-funded, 2nd Amendment court case causing one more diversion away from the important issue of affordable health care for Americans.
These actions along with those of states that now allow people to carry concealed (or displayed) firearms into bars, taverns, and saloons have crossed a lot of "lines in the sand" with me. Didn't America learn long ago that guns and drunks yield dead bodies? I'm sure the police and bar owners in those states love these laws.
Such people are making a statement about much more than health care. They are saying to other folks coming to the event that their opinion is much more important than yours, and they're backing it up with a rifle.
My response now is to contribute to gun control groups; because there will soon be tragic results from all these wild west type gun laws, and the backlash that will follow gives gun control laws a big chance. Next, I will educate myself on what states have liberal gun laws, and do my best to avoid them when organizing trips or vacations; therefore spending no money in them. Also, I will do everything I can to encourage federal security teams at all public events involving our president, congressmen, or other government leaders. Intimidation can be neutralized to protect those with strong opinions (but no gun) at these political events.
Jim Peterson
Hoffman Estates