A pair of mouth-breathing morons strolled around the streets of Portland this week to “educate” the public about the 2nd Amendment.

These fools should take their Shootin’ Arhn Edumuhcayshun Sem-ee-nar Roadshow on up to Seattle.

Wouldn’t it be funny if another gun-totin’ citizen misinterpreted their parade through town and opened fire? Haw Haw, I think it would be hilarious.

No wait, it wouldn’t be funny. It would be tragically stupid, which is what this whole armed populace thing is all about. Too many fucking guns in too many fucking hands.

Oh Betty! I’m blushing. Wish I’d said something worth saying. But since you brought it up I’m wondering why there isn’t some kind of cause of action from the affected citizens?

KPTV’s Kaitlyn Bolduc reported that the demonstration created a “state of panic” in Portland’s Sellwood neighborhood.
“Employees inside of E Hair Studio hid in the back of the salon and locked there doors, while other ran for help for fear the two were really there to cause harm,” Bolduc said.
Police spoke to Drouin and Boyce and said the conceal-carry permit holders had not broken any laws.

Basically anyone who was injured because of their actions, or the stores who lost customers/money during their parade—why can’t they sue these guys for posing a public nuisance?  Why can’t they sue these guys for lost wages? Why can’t the police sue these guys for lost time?  Why is this not analagous to restraint of trade or interference with livlihood or those cases where the state chooses to go after people who required search and rescue?

Personally I think the best thing to do would be to throw a couple of live firecrackers behind these guys and then duck and watch them start spraying bullets and have them arrested for firing their guns. They may have a legal right to open carry in that state but I doubt they have the right to open fire.

A pair of mouth-breathing morons strolled around the streets of Portland this week to “educate” the public about the 2nd Amendment.

They educated me about the 2nd Amendment- the lesson I learned was that guns should only be possessed in the context of a well-regulated militia.  Two yahoos carrying their “shooting irons” in town, scaring the bayjayzus out of the townspeople, does not constitue a well-regulated anything.  These two should have been run out of town on a rail.

I agree with Aimai; these idiots are basically terrorizing the public.  I realize this is Portland but in another context they could have confronted street gangs or even been attacked by a Good Samaritan thinking they were killers and a tragedy would have ensued.

The insanity of the 2nd Amendment, which was clearly intended only to be the basis for organizing a citizen militia and not to have total gun mayhem needs to be overturned through a Constitutional Amendment.  I know, only going to happen when the slaughter becomes truly enormous.

mainmati:

... these idiots are basically terrorizing the public.

Especially when you consider that they were only a few miles away from the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall where a similar weapon was used to kill two people just a few weeks ago.

Hard to know what to say.  Those assholes were just being so assholeish and not even caring.  I guess the only good thing coming out of it is that most people will read about this and think that we DO need responsible gun restrictions if nutcases can wander around fully armed like this.  And this took place in Portlandia?  Wouldn’t have been allowed in Denver.  What’s wrong with this picture?  Or with those two assholes to narrow it down?

Guns = Testosterone OD = TROUBLE.

Wonkette is reporting another incident yesterday in which the crazed father of a kindergartener attending his child’s class, flipped out over what he was hearing when they pledged allegiance (they said the pledge and also added the school code afterwards) and basically threatened the school saying he had “shed his blood” for this country and would do it again because they were teaching the children the pledge without the word liberty.

Of course the school had to go on a kind of lockdown after receiving the letter and have sherriff’s deputies watch the school while the police investigated this guy. According to the thread under the original newspaper posting he turns out to be a white supremacist, nutcase, fantasist divorced guy with some custody of his children but the children were just removed from his care and his wife took out a restraining order.

The only reason I’m saying this is that in the comment thread, which admittedly was a cesspool, a bunch of people were sure this was all “overblown” and just the product of hysterical liberal/anti bush com symp attitudes towards true patriots and their guns. The idea that you couldn’t draw a straight line between deranged, angry, ranting letters and possible action was very popular. Context doesn’t seem to mean much to these people. The guy sent a letter saying he was willing to “shed blood” again and a fair number of commenters said, dreamily “Oh, I just thought he meant he’d serve his country again.” 

aimai

I think we need a constitutional amendment that protects our rights to not be terrorized or shot by gun toting assholes. Seriously, what about the rights of the people who do not believe that the NRA is the equivalent of the Supreme Court in this country?  As stated above, terrorists such as one with dynamite in her belt or a breast feeding mother are not allowed in the public square.

There are tons of laws relating to disturbing the peace and, in the case of stationary things like swimming pools and potentially dangerous play structures even the concept of an “attractive nuisance.”  HOA’s restrict everything from flying the flag to inappropriate color choices in housing paint. Why does the second amendment trump both private and public rights to safe, free, and open civil discourse? 

I understand perfectly well that some people (27 percent) are incapable of generously cedeing the point to the rest of us that their guns are making our social lives less civil, less safe, less open but what the fucking fuck? Why is our society being brought to its knees by the lunatic fringe?

aimai

Why is our society being brought to its knees by the lunatic fringe?

This is the question that troubles me constantly, and it is this lunatic fringe that has made our country into something the rest of the civilized world laughs nervously about.  It isn’t just the guns, it is everything on the wingnut playlist - all part of the same kalidoscope of krazy.

The two were very upset people did not approach and talk to them about guns and instead called the police.

What is the difference between these two and Adam Lanza or James Holmes just prior to their mass murders?

Intent. Unless someone comes up with a fool-proof method of decided showing intent the rational response to men walking around openly displaying rifles is that they intend to use them.

And if they are doing it in a highly populated area it is that they intend to shoot a bunch of people.

These two weren’t dim enough to try this in a neighborhood that hasn’t long ago been gentrified. Or at Clackamas Town Center.

But sometimes they or their friends like to go downtown.