Gunning for Health Care

[babylonsister]

Gunning for Health Care

By GAIL COLLINS
Published: August 12, 2009


Interestingly, we do not have any agreement at all on the question of whether it is a good plan to bring a gun to a gathering of angry and overwrought people. To be honest, I thought we might be able to nail this one down.

But no.

“The question is, why don’t people bear arms these days,” said William Kostric, when asked why he came to welcome President Obama to Portsmouth, N.H., on Tuesday with a protest sign and a loaded handgun strapped to his thigh. This turned out to be completely legal under New Hampshire law.

Meanwhile, over in Arizona, a protester who showed up to meet the local congresswoman at a supermarket was removed by police when the pistol he had holstered under his armpit fell, bouncing on the floor and alarming the nonprotesting attendees. This, too, turned out to be legal, although the dropping part is not recommended.

Also escorted away but not arrested: an armed man at a loud and rancorous town meeting hosted by Representative Steve Cohen of Memphis. Both the armpit guy and the Memphis guy had the required permit to carry a concealed weapon. Kostric did not even have to have a permit since his gun was not concealed, which in New Hampshire makes it completely O.K. This is under the theory that as long as you know that the strange-looking guy waving the big protest sign is packing heat, you can take steps to protect yourself, perhaps such as purchasing a bulletproof vest from a nearby street vendor.

(Actually arrested: Richard Terry Young, 62, in Portsmouth. While Young’s loaded gun was in his parked car, not on his person, the fact that he did not have a license and that police discovered him lurking inside the high school where the president was scheduled to appear later in the day apparently tipped the scales.)

We are getting yet another series of reminders of the vast gun gap in this country. There is the part that thinks a room full of red-faced men and women screaming at one another is the worst place in the world to bring a firearm. And then there is the part that holds it is exactly the place where you need it most.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/opinion/13collins.html?hp