The Guns-Are-More-Important-Than-People Crowd Is Up In Arms
Imagine, you’re out for a nice day of shopping and you see an 18-year-old kid. He’s walking casually. No alarms go off…he’s not wearing a hoodie or anything. Then you catch a glimpse of his back and you see it, in plain sight, an M-1 rifle. How would you respond?
This isn't the guy whose right to carry a rifle is being defended by gun advocates
This is the guy - the one on the right
Oh, did I forget to mention that the kid is white? Would you feel frightened? Would you even feel the need to “stand your ground?” I would imagine that you could successfully make the argument that an M-1 rifle is more threatening than a hoodie, Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea (even combined). But that would mean that you weren’t a guns-are-more-important-than-people advocate.
Thugwear
Not thugwear
Birmingham, MI has a new martyr. His name is Sean Combs (no relation to the much darker skinned millionaire). He is 18-years-old and he received a gun for his birthday – a big gun – an M-1 rifle, to be exact. Like a lot of people with shiny new presents, he wanted to show it off. Instead of inviting people to his house or to go hunting, Combs decided to take a walk through downtown Birmingham, with the rifle, fully loaded with a round in the chamber, strapped to his back.
The police, who presumably don’t yet take orders directly from the National Rifle Association, stopped Combs and asked whether he had a permit for the gun, which I guess is an out-of-bounds question, unless the person carrying the gun is wearing a hoodie and a permanent tan. Combs allegedly refused to identify himself and he was allegedly uncooperative. He’s now facing three misdemeanor charges, brandishing a weapon, resisting and obstructing police, and disturbing the peace. Each charge is punishable by up to 93 days in jail, but I’m sure when he flashes his pearly whites, he’ll get a much lighter sentence.
Taking their cue, I guess, from the hoodie marches in memory of Trayvon Martin (you remember, the teenager that according to the right, “deserved” to be slain in cold blood, because, you got it, guns-are-more-important-than-people), supporters of Combs have taken to the streets, wearing rifles.
The whole thing is going to court. I wonder if as many people will donate to his defense fund as have donated to the defense of George Zimmerman, the man who killed Trayvon Martin?
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6:41 pm
Once Thomas Jefferson was asked if there were any bill of rights he would change. He said the right to bear arms. He said it was a good idea at the time because the British were trying disarm the colonists to prevent the revolution. But, after gaining their independence he believed that only the military needed to be armed and ready to defend the newly found country.