BrassButtons said:
Overusedname said:
So, we're all gonna act like walking around with a gun in the open in a populated area ISN'T enough reason to be approached by cops? Or hell, arrested on sight?
Why should not breaking the law be a reason for cops to arrest someone?
To put it bluntly, no. There is not a conversation to be had. You don't walk around with a gun in plain sight and expect it to be alright.
Why not?
I'm tired of people only responding AFTER the death occurs.
So instead we should respond before anything has happened at all?
So you're fine with people carrying guns around in public, you just don't want to be aware of it?
People need to be aware of other human beings if they live in a society. If you think being worried about a guy walking down the street with a rifle in plain view is childish or paranoid, then well...I don't know what to say to that, other than the fact that my sub-burb is not a war zone.
There are three clear reasons to do this: He wants to scare the fuck out of people and make them stay away, he's going to kill someone, or he's doing this to raise a stink like this guy did. If another reason exists, it evidently isn't clear to the average citizen considering the fact that people will typically run from a gunman or get down on their knees if they so much as see one.
Carrying around a RIFLE in a ready position is more likely to be a potential communication of 'I'm about to shoot people'. Concealed carriers usually say they never want to use their weapon; it's for protection. A gun is not a Ferrari. You don't flaunt it.
Even if there's some way of justifying the behavior, it's going to send a different message to people. If 'someone's gonna die' is not the intended message, that's real spiffy. Miscommunication will still happen, panic will still happen, and to the average human being this has been made clear.
If you want a gun, fine. Show the world you acknowledge what a gun is and what it does. There's a reason pro-gun peeps are complaining about this guy more that pacifists. He gives their argument a bad name, as a responsible gun-owner acknowledges how threatening the gun they have is. This man clearly did not, or if he did, he didn't care.
This man's actions might just increase gun control, ironically. Pro-gun people where complaining about how this provides ample ammo (damn puns, I must oust thee) for people for gun control. Because even they will say this was a stupid and reckless thing to do. Not every legal action is a safe one, and not everyone views the world the same way. And when the threat of death comes into it, anyone on either side needs to act with maturity and maximum safety.
It blows but nearly every group in the world has a public face represented by extremist and the nutbars.
