August 18, 2009 05:04 PM UTC

Why bring a machine gun to a political rally?

•  
• by: ThillyWabbit

I reported last week that the Colorado AR-15 shooters were planning on showing up in Grand Junction. As far as I know they did, but nobody took a picture of them.

Not so in Arizona.

A man is shown legally carrying a rifle at a protest against President Obama on Monday in Phoenix, Arizona.

A man toting an assault rifle was among a dozen protesters carrying weapons while demonstrating outside President Obama’s speech to veterans on Monday, but no laws were broken. It was the second instance in recent days in which weapons have been seen near presidential events.

Video from the protest in Phoenix, Arizona, shows the man standing with other protesters, with the rifle slung over his right shoulder.

Phoenix police said authorities monitored about a dozen people carrying weapons while peacefully demonstrating.

“It was a group interested in exercising the right to bear arms,” police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said.

Arizona law has nothing in the books regulating assault rifles, and only requires permits for carrying concealed weapons. So despite the man’s proximity to the president, there were no charges or arrests to be made. Hill said officers explained the law to some people who were upset about the presence of weapons at the protest.

So here’s the question: Why?

There is no question that they were within their rights, but was it wise? Why was the purpose of bringing an 800 round-per-minute machine gun to a Presidential healthcare rally other than to either be menacing or shoot somebody–maybe even the President? Is it not at least possible that the public will be so shocked as to demand a new round of gun control laws?

Moreover, why the double standard? Why is a bunch of guys in purple SEIU shirts handing out “pre-printed signs” “thugs” who are “intimidating”, but a bunch of guys with machine guns and pistols wearing the same message pre-printed  on their clothes that executed terrorist Timothy McVeigh wore when he committed mass murder isn’t?