I’m with Jeff Soyer in thinking that public displays of arms at protests may be politically risky. But I also have an open mind. The White House reaction to the stunt in Phoenix is quite out of character, but very welcome.
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said people are entitled to carry weapons outside such events if local laws allow it. “There are laws that govern firearms that are done state or locally,” he said. “Those laws don’t change when the president comes to your state or locality.”
Hey, when this crowd does something right I’ll happily acknowledge it. Although I confess it makes me suspicious.
I still think the gun rights community has to be careful. While any sane person longs for a country where open carry doesn’t raise an eyebrow, we have to be careful about giving the anti-freedom crowd any ammo.
It turns out that the people who staged that little show in Phoenix are part of a conspiracy nutcase group called “4409”. They buy into the 9/11 “Truther” nonsense, are anti-vaccine and, in general, seem ready to believe any whacked-out theory. With friends like that…