Having the “Right” to carry a gun does NOT make you smart enough to actually do it.

[riqster]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by hlthe2b (a host of the General Discussion forum).

https://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/having-the-right-to-carry-a-gun-does-not-make-you-smart-enough-to-actually-do-it/

Source info at the link.

Ron White, a very funny comedian, once made a joke about being busted by the cops while drunk: he had the right to remain silent, but “did not have the ability”. Not only funny, but instructive. We all have rights, but we don’t always have the ability to use them as the law intended.

Here is a very good example: a man exercising his right to openly carry a gun was robbed of said gun by another man carrying a concealed weapon. Pretty dumb move, to put a just-purchased weapon on public display without being prepared for what might happen:

William Coleman III was robbed of his Walter- brand P22 just after 2:00 a.m. October 4 in Gresham by a young man who asked him for it — and flashed his own weapon as persuasion.

Coleman, 21, was talking to his cousin in the 17200 block of NE Glisan St., after purchasing the handgun earlier that day, when a young man asked him for a cigarette, police said.

The man then asked about the gun, pulled a gun from his own waistband and said “”I like your gun. Give it to me.”

Coleman handed over the gun and the man fled on foot.

Once can debate the Second Amendment all one wishes (this writer is a proponent of RKBA), but just like any other right, one must use a brain cell or two when exercising it. When speaking freely, one should be aware that other people might disagree with their speech. When assembling freely, one should be prepared for someone else putting together a counter-demonstration. And when hanging a gun on one’s hip, one should be trained and prepared for how to responsibly handle it.

Mr. Coleman was NOT at all prepared. He could have carried his own gun as the robber did, concealed. That way he’d be equipped to defend himself without risking theft. Or he could have taken other measures to guard against theft. (Helpful hint: a gun is not a magic wand. It is a weapon that can be defeated, or taken away, by an opponent who has more skill than you have.)

Ya know, if it’s the possibility of armed conflict you are trying to cope with (as Mr. Coleman clearly was), you should learn something about, well, armed conflict. Only a completely uneducated idiot would allow the enemy to know the details of his own offensive and defensive capabilities (read Clausewitz and Sun-Tzu for the basics of military straegy and tactics). And a complete idiot is what Mr. Coleman surely was, because he did not bother to learn Thing One about HOW to exercise his rights: he just ran on out and started exercising them.

Too many Americans stop thinking once they get to “rights”. We all need to consider our responsibilities as well. But FIRST, we must think about our capabilities.

[Neon Gods]

1. Funny story

...and instructive. I hadn't thought about how vulnerable those jerks who strut around with their big guns might be to clever thieves. In groups, they are safe, but once they are alone...

[riqster]

2. Intimidation is the only reason for open carry.

If others aren't intimidated...

[samsingh]

3. we have the right to bear arms - who said anything about carrying it in public

[riqster]

4. State law as an interpretation of the Constitution gave him the right.

Unless and until the USSC decides otherwise. That is how our system works.

FWIW, I think open-carry is moronic.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. This will be locked, but there is no right to carry a concealed weapon.

Any such right was invented out of whole cloth by the gun nut lobby.

[KG]

6. walking strapping a gun 24/7 wasn't what they had in mind, pretty dam sure

[hlthe2b]

7. Locking... sorry, but GD has strict restrictions on gun-related posts per the SOP

which may be found at the top of the forum.

Please consider re-posting in the gun control forum. Thank you for your understanding.