During one of his episodes of Morning Browser (looking good, btw!) Christian of Nashville Is Talking hones in on one of Lou Dobbs’ more upsetting segments in which he defends the right of people to carry guns to health care reform town halls.
Now, Dobbs’ point is well-taken. Like it or not, an open carry law allows a person to carry a gun in plain sight. For instance, a man in New Hampshire can go to a public event, like a presidential town hall on health care reform, with a loaded weapon strapped to his leg and carrying an intimidating sign.
But what’s upsetting is the defensive quality in which Dobbs receives criticism of the man’s decision to carry in this specific circumstance. It’s about context, right? Dobbs says that the guy carrying openly at the presidential town hall is trying to make a point, but he doesn’t get that carrying to “make a point” is what makes the situation tense. He doesn’t get that openly carrying at this time and this place was not the action of a responsible handgun permit holder.
In the segment, Lou also shrugs off the hateful, menacing statements made by talk radio hosts, including one that he made on his own radio show about driving a stake through the heart of Senator Harry Reid. It’s as if he can’t see that the unyielding angry and violent rhetoric targeted to the person or persons with whom you have policy disagreements, coupled with statements about the disintegrating fabric of American society “as we know it,” has the potential to be incendiary.
In one six minute segment Dobb animosity towards personal responsibility. It’s not that the guy carrying the gun has every right to do so. It’s about Dobbs not seeing that the guy openly carrying the gun and the innuendo-laden sign to a presidential event could have made a better decision that day. It’s not that Dobbs doesn’t have a right to say what he wants on his show, it’s that he could make better choices about his content.
[...] recently seen examples of irresponsible gun ownership. This is an example of the irresponsible fearmongering Delgiorno broadcasts every day of the week [...]
I’m constantly being told that gun owners are responsible people who are concerned for their safety and the safety of their families. That’s fine. But carrying a weapon openly in a threatening manner at a presidential event is irresponsible, is it not? What threat was he or his family under at the time that made him believe he needed to openly display his weapon?
If gun owners are responsible people, then why do they need to “make a point” by flaunting their guns?
Are you sure he has a permit to carry? In New Hampshire, you don’t need a permit to carry openly. So the title of this article is somewhat misleading.
Personally, I think not carrying a firearm, is somewhat irresponsible. Do you intend to depend on others to defend your life in the event of a criminal assault? I for one do not.
As one of our (Pink Pistols)mottos says, “Armed Gays don’t get bashed.”
Are people still shepherded into “first amendment” zones? I hope not.
Dobbs is so defensive at this point that his reflex reaction is to shut down the conversation with anyone that either disagrees with him or criticizes something he said. He doesn’t like being held accountable for his actions.
Mike, I didn’t say it wasn’t protected nor did I say that what he did was illegal. I said it was an irresponsible action by a gun permit holder.
Don’t you like the way that Dobbs wont let anyone finish their sentence?
Come on – open carry is legal in 44 states, usually without any permit. Openly carrying a gun as a form of expressive conduct is protected by both the 1st and 2d amendments.