Reply #183: Just to point out a

[billh58]

few flaws in your assumptions of my assumptions:

Do you trust cops when you see their guns? WHY? Because they have a badge? All THAT means is they work for the state and were attracted to a position of petty power.

Actually, most "cops" have been psychologically tested, and undergone extensive training, before they are allowed to carry in public and be trusted with the use of deadly force. So, yes, I trust them to exercise good judgment when carrying out their job of protecting and serving the public. I concede that not every private citizen who openly carries is a nut job, but since I don't know them, I have no way of knowing their skill level or mental state, and caution is the mother of longevity (learned that in Viet Nam). Those carrying concealed are below the radar, so they are non-issues (until it's too late).

Basically the thing i have a HUGE problem with is that you are automatically assuming someone carrying in public is a threat, just because he is carrying. Thats no different than saying a black man in public is a threat just because he is black.

WTF? Uh, no one I know was born with a gun strapped to them, nor was I aware there was a difference between a "black man in public" and all other unarmed men (or women) in public. The comparison between choosing to wear a loaded gun in public, and someone's race says more about you than anything else you've argued, and I have absolutely no response to that assinine statement. I'm seldom at a loss for words, but you got me with that one.

You ARE trying to restrict my rights by asserting your right to speech because you're forgetting that your rights end where mine begin. I have a right to be armed, and in doing so, that does not threaten you in and of itself. If you FEEL scared, that is YOUR problem. It is wrong to attempt to use the power of the state to suppress my rights because of your feelings.

Your first sentence here totally escapes me, but I have never argued about the "legality" of open-carry where it is indeed "legal," but only the common sense of openly carrying in a crowded public place. As I have stated in other posts, I am quite willing to vacate the area where you are openly carrying, and retreat to safer grounds. That, I believe, is exercising my right of association, is it not? In actual practice, I will most likely never have to make this decision, as I live in Hawaii.

Last but not least, you absolutely SHOULD learn more about the NRA. The garbage you have regurgitated about them is just that - garbage. They dont give two shits about the manufacturers. They have their own lobbying groups. The NRA's focus is the private citizen - always HAS been.

I have already conceded this point, and although I don't agree with the aims and goals of the NRA (for vastly different reasons than you), I concede that they are not direct lobbyists for gun manufacturers, nor are they a totally evil organization. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

And lastly, I support your right to "keep and bear arms," but see no earthly reason to openly carry a loaded weapon in a brightly lit, crowded public place. Obviously you believe otherwise, and that's what makes this country so great. We do not need to agree, or even be friends, in order to peacefully co-exist.