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posted by martyb on Tuesday August 21 2018, @10:59AM   Printer-friendly
from the Shall-not-be-infringed dept.

On July 24th, 2018 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Hawaiian officials had violated George Young's rights when he was denied a permit to openly carry a loaded gun in public to protect himself. The decision in Young vs Hawaii (PDF warning) holds that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to enable citizens to defend themselves, and that the right to openly carry a firearm in public is implicit in the 2nd Amendment's "right to bear arms". This expands on the Heller vs DC decision, which guaranteed the right to own and keep firearms in the home.

The scope of this decision is currently limited to the 7 States covered by the 9th Circuit. There is little doubt that Hawaii will petition for an en banc review of the ruling and that no matter how that is decided, it is likely to make it to the Supreme Court. The state's only other choice would seem to be compliance with the ruling and allowing the open carry of handguns. For the time being, nothing is going to change, even in Hawaii. The court did not issue an injunction or otherwise impose any requirement for the state to immediately comply with its ruling and state authorities are simply evaluating their options.

One final link to be taken with a grain of salt: a California resident is seeking lawyers who will help file a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against California Attorney General Becerra restraining him from enforcing California's Open Carry bans (California Penal Code sections 25850, 26350, and 26400). The same article calls out the NRA for not taking action:

In any event, you won't see any of the so-called gun-rights lawyers fighting for Open Carry because they, and the organizations which hire them, such as the NRA, CRPA, SAF, CalGuns.nuts, et., oppose Open Carry. How do we know that? They said so in their Federal court filings and/or in their oral argument before Federal judges.

I find it ironic that a Federal judge seems to be taking a more pro-arms position than the NRA itself.


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:32AM (52 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:32AM (#724123)

    The NRA's position makes sense.
    Open carry wouldn't sell more guns and the added controversy would probably hurt.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by bobthecimmerian on Tuesday August 21 2018, @12:41PM (14 children)

    by bobthecimmerian (6834) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @12:41PM (#724141)

    Open carry makes perfect sense as long as you're not black or Latino. A black college professor in a suit could probably stroll down the road with a sidearm holstered at his hip, and he would get gunned down by a quarter of the cops in the country without saying a word first.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday August 21 2018, @01:12PM

      by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Tuesday August 21 2018, @01:12PM (#724146) Journal
    • (Score: 1, Troll) by DannyB on Tuesday August 21 2018, @01:46PM (10 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 21 2018, @01:46PM (#724152) Journal

      A black college professor in a suit . . . would get gunned down by a quarter of the cops in the country without saying a word first.

      Don't you think that is grossly unfair to cops? They would say a word first.

      GUN !!!!

      Then the professor would be gunned down in a hail of gunfire. The police would call in surplus military gear to destroy and scorch the entire area. Then police would begin tagging evidence, taking photos, etc. and then asking questions about who this person was, why he was here, where he was coming from, where he was going to, etc.

      The police report would indicate that this guy was guilty of obstructing police officers in the performance of their donut eating.

      --
      To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
      • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday August 21 2018, @02:50PM (8 children)

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @02:50PM (#724186)

        This is why we need video surveillance drones hovering 390' overhead, with blue-white countershading and near silent props, difficult to notice in the first place, more difficult to target, and inherently unsafe for officers to be discharging their weapons upwards in a populated area.

        The drone won't stop you from being shot, but its high definition video - live streamed via 4G, multiply archived and publicly shared, should put a hurt worse than a single death on the cops who did the shooting, and their departments.

        --
        🌻🌻 [google.com]
        • (Score: 3, Touché) by Freeman on Tuesday August 21 2018, @04:33PM (5 children)

          by Freeman (732) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @04:33PM (#724246) Journal

          You can keep your Sci-Fi Dystopian Future. I don't want a web of privacy invading robots flying all over the place. I can see them being used in limited fashion, but as a blanket of robots that see all, no thanks.

          --
          Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
          • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:13PM (4 children)

            by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:13PM (#724345)

            I wouldn't expect them to see all, just to see me, and if the footage is boring - delete it before letting it go public.

            However, if I'm a black man open-carrying, I think I'd be making that footage public instantly, just in case - and as an insurance policy for the family.

            --
            🌻🌻 [google.com]
            • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday August 21 2018, @09:06PM (3 children)

              by Freeman (732) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @09:06PM (#724379) Journal

              So, only in the event that it's a black man carrying is it posted publicly. Yeah, that doesn't sound good / better. There are/were rules in place to protect one's privacy. Sure, we may have more or less signed them away with the "Patriot Act", but at least that's not a lets look at everyone, everywhere, for good measure. It's only a we'll look where we want, when we want. Which isn't much, if any better.

              The right to the expectation of privacy, especially from the government, is what's at stake there.

              The scenario around Benjamin Franklin's famous quote may not have been geared toward this, but the man could write. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."--Benjamin Franklin

              The context: https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/14/how-the-world-butchered-benjamin-franklins-quote-on-liberty-vs-security/ [techcrunch.com]

              --
              Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
              • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday August 21 2018, @09:37PM

                by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @09:37PM (#724393)

                So, black is the just shorthand. I'm white, very white, but also have had long hair and/or beards at times, and that can get its own kind of persecution from law enforcement, especially when younger.

                If I were choosing to open carry with long hair in a conservative/rural area, I'd like to have that surveillance of myself, and willingly post it openly as insurance. These are two choices made and controlled by me: 1) to open carry, and 2) to publicly disclose what happens while I'm doing so. If I've got things in my life that I don't want to disclose that openly, I have a choice then to turn off the cameras and still open carry - if I've got enough of a reputation for concealed video surveillance it might just protect me even when it's not there - that's a risk at my choosing.

                In real life, I still wear the hair, but don't open carry (even though I have lived a couple of places/times where it was legal), because I feel that sidearms are mostly for cowards in today's world.

                If you want to talk about the sanctity of the 2nd amendment, that kind of became moot with helicopters, long range sniper rifles, infrared imaging, hellfire missiles, etc. A musket might have evened you up with the Redcoats, but there's no way I want the U.S. populace to be entitled to today's military grade weapons.

                The people's weapon of today is transparency. We should protect, exercise and expand our rights to wield it at our discretion, and also demand it of those who would make and enforce laws for us.

                --
                🌻🌻 [google.com]
              • (Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:33AM (1 child)

                by driverless (4770) on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:33AM (#724514)

                I think people are missing one important point:

                On July 24th, 2018 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Hawaiian officials had violated George Young's rights when he was denied a permit to openly carry a loaded gun in public to protect himself.

                To protect himself. Against what? In Hawaii? Feral pineapples? The Hawksbill Sea Turtle? WTF are you so scared of in Hawaii that you feel you need to carry a loaded firearm?

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 23 2018, @12:31AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 23 2018, @12:31AM (#724959)

                  it's not necessarily about being scared. it's about being prepared instead of going around waiting on your masters to protect you. hawaii has a fairly serious meth problem too, fyi.

        • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday August 21 2018, @10:07PM (1 child)

          by tangomargarine (667) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @10:07PM (#724407)

          How about instead, we just require all cops to wear always-on bodycams while they're performing their civic duty, and if it's found that the camera is turned off at any time, they're automatically fired with no pension or appeal.

          I get the feeling that would drastically cut down on the "oops we lost the footage" or "oops we turned off the dashcam" incidents. Why the fuck is it even possible for the patrol officers to turn off these cameras?

          --
          "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
          • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday August 22 2018, @01:05AM

            by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday August 22 2018, @01:05AM (#724493)

            Because it's not just the officers who lose, it's their supervisors and their department and their city/state.

            Each layer up helps protect the one beneath, and we the people only have the weakest of leverage on the top positions.

            --
            🌻🌻 [google.com]
      • (Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday August 22 2018, @05:07AM

        by driverless (4770) on Wednesday August 22 2018, @05:07AM (#724559)

        It's OK, if you're black there's a useful reference work How Not to Get Shot [harpercollins.com] by Professors D. L. Hughley and D. Moe for just this eventuality.

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:47PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:47PM (#724372)

      This is not true. Snopes bias is showing in that they purposely word this to pretend they're refuting something they aren't, but even with their bias they admit that you're not more likely to be shot even with a firearm as a minority.
      https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/do-police-kill-more-whites-than-black-people/ [snopes.com]
      https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/09/police-violence-against-black-men-rare-heres-what-data-actually-say/ [nationalreview.com]
      . Don't want to get in the way of an awesomely politically powerful narrative though.

      • (Score: 2) by bobthecimmerian on Wednesday August 22 2018, @04:33PM

        by bobthecimmerian (6834) on Wednesday August 22 2018, @04:33PM (#724719)

        Your articles are interesting - especially from the National Review. But I question the validity of the statistics they used. One of the things that caused a public outcry after the Michael Brown shooting was the statistics that came out of Ferguson:

        "Ferguson’s population is 67% African American, according to the 2010 census. Yet between 2012 and 2014, 93% of all arrests were of black people and almost nine in 10 uses of force were against African Americans. In all 14 bites by police dogs when racial information of the person bitten was available, that person was African American.

        The review found 85% of drivers stopped by police were black, and that African American drivers were twice as likely as white drivers to be searched. Yet black drivers were more than 25% less likely to be found in possession of illegal substances or goods. African American drivers were much more likely than whites to be cited for driving offences when these were observed by police officers in person rather than detected by radar or similar technology."

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday August 21 2018, @01:13PM (18 children)

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Tuesday August 21 2018, @01:13PM (#724147) Journal
    • (Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday August 21 2018, @03:19PM (17 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 21 2018, @03:19PM (#724204) Journal

      I'm not one to praise Snopes extravagently, because it has oft been demonstrated that they have a liberal bias. But, that article is a good read.

      I've often puzzled over this nonsense. A white guy can go almost anywhere, in most states, with or without a weapon. It's unremarkable. A black guy with a gun? People get nervous. Why? Either the black guy with the gun has his shit together, and will act responsibly - or he'll soon be dead. That's why EVERYONE should have a weapon at hand. Then, it's mutual respect. Any asshole can pull a gun, and take a shot at you - but then it's like Gunfight at OK Corral - everyone in sight takes a side and starts firing. Nobody with a wit wants to go there. The witless wonder might do it - once. He won't have the guts to do it again!

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @04:21PM (15 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @04:21PM (#724240)

        You're confused. It's not *mutual respect* if everyone has to wear a weapon. That's not how respect, trust, and friendships are built. Too many guns is how school shootings and shit like that happens. Silly americans haven't figured it out yet. I read somewhere that there is a mass shooting every week in america. Is that true?

        • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday August 21 2018, @04:34PM (5 children)

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 21 2018, @04:34PM (#724247) Journal

          has to wear a weapon

          I don't recall requiring you to carry a weapon. I have suggested a few times that all able-bodied, sane, rational, males be required to maintain a weapon - that is, the militia should have weapons at their disposal. All able bodied males between the ages of 18 and 40-something. But, I don't recall requiring that you carry your weapon at all times, when you are in public. Your choice. Lock the damned thing in your bedroom, or your car, or just stow it in your mama's freezer while you're wasting time in her basement.

          Now, I expect the same courtesy, in return. Just don't worry about whether I'm armed. At any given time, chances are that I don't actually have a weapon within reach. That doesn't matter much, though, because I am the weapon. My mind, and my will, and my training are far more formidable than any AR-15.

          You don't worry about me, I won't worry about you. I may or may not be armed, you may or may not be armed, but it shouldn't matter to anyone.

          • (Score: 2) by number11 on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:20PM (1 child)

            by number11 (1170) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:20PM (#724350)

            I have suggested a few times that all able-bodied, sane, rational, males be required to maintain a weapon - that is, the militia should have weapons at their disposal. All able bodied males between the ages of 18 and 40-something.

            Why just males? Aren't females victims of assault as well? (The supply of spouse abusers and rapists would dwindle quickly if every woman had a .380 in her purse.)

            The "militia" aspect is of more concern. A militia needs to be organized (or, in the words of the Constitution) "well-regulated". That requires practice and drilling. How about requiring every gun owner to participate in a weekly (or monthly) militia drill, so that we'd have a "militia" instead of a "mob"?

            • (Score: 2) by RandomFactor on Wednesday August 22 2018, @01:50AM

              by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 22 2018, @01:50AM (#724498) Journal

              "Why just males? Aren't females victims of assault as well? "

              Decades ago there was an advertisement (for the NRA?) about that.

              Best I can recall:

              It showed a woman with scared young children on a dark street with a thug coming after them. She was pulling a gun out of her purse to protect the kids.
              The caption "It's not just a right, it's an obligation"

              Apparently, there was a huge stink from the usual suspects and it wound up being pulled by whatever magazine(s) it was in.

              --
              В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:25PM (2 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:25PM (#724455)

            Blech!!! At times like these, this site could really use a rolling eyes emoji. Also, could someone please step forward and justify the "Insightful" upmod?

            That doesn't matter much, though, because I am the weapon. My mind, and my will, and my training are far more formidable than any AR-15.

            Hey, Internet Tough Guy! It's been awhile since we last saw you. We have kind of missed you. So, what's the plan? Are you going to tell us all how you would bravely take down an entire team of terrorists with your bare hands? Are you going to accuse those of us who do not own any firearms of not "manning up" in the defense of our communities? I'm just curious....

            You don't worry about me, I won't worry about you.

            I'm not so much worried as amused. But that could be just me. Whatever.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @01:14AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @01:14AM (#724494)

              It's just you.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @10:42AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @10:42AM (#724602)

              His real name is Ryan. Jack Ryan.

        • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday August 21 2018, @04:35PM (2 children)

          by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Tuesday August 21 2018, @04:35PM (#724249) Journal

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shootings_in_the_United_States [wikipedia.org]
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States#2015_to_present [wikipedia.org]
          http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting [gunviolencearchive.org]

          If you use the "4 people shot, but not necessarily killed" standard, then it is basically daily. But it's not a satisfying definition. A guy murders 4 family members in his home with a gun, is that a mass shooting? By some other standards it might be 1 incident every other month.

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
          • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @07:06PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @07:06PM (#724312)

            "I have suggested a few times that all able-bodied, sane, rational, males be required to maintain a weapon"
            All two of them?

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @10:53AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @10:53AM (#724608)

              Who's the other one?

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Zinho on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:14PM (5 children)

          by Zinho (759) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:14PM (#724347)

          It's not *mutual respect* if everyone has to wear a weapon. That's not how respect, trust, and friendships are built.

          Respect, trust, and friendship can only exist among equals; where there is an unbalance of power they are all replaced by fear. Schoolyard bullies have no need of guns, their stature lets them throw their weight around to get what they want. The popular kids at school don't need guns to ruin your life, they'll do it with a rumor. The rich and politically powerful are happy to buy/write laws denying arms to the poor and powerless, while spending their own/tax money on private security guards and police to protect them.

          Society's focus on keeping the peace promotes an environment where, as long as peaceful appearances are kept, the strong (physically, socially, financially, politically, etc) are free to abuse the weak with no fear of repercussion. Those who promote the view that "an armed society is a polite society" aren't arguing that everyone will magically become nice if we all carried weapons. They're arguing that we need a way to make everyone equal in each others' eyes, and that the threat of lethal force (barbaric as it may be) provides that where society does not.

          I'm going to risk quoting Anne Coulter, as she said something witty once that I kinda agree with:

          "...What the arms-control faithful really want is a world without violence, not a world without weapons. These are the ideological descendants of the authors of the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which purported to outlaw war. But we can't have a world without violence, because the world is half male and testosterone causes homicide. A world with violence -- that is to say, with men -- but without weapons is the worst of all possible worlds for women. As the saying goes, 'God made man and woman; Colonel Colt made them equal'."

          Leaving out the misandry, she's got a point. Women should be armed as a deterrent against rapists. The Black Panthers should be armed as a deterrent against police abuse. Everyone has the right to defend themselves, firearms provide them the ability.

          --
          "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:34PM (3 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:34PM (#724460)

            Respect, trust, and friendship can only exist among equals...

            Is that a USA thing? Seriously, you can't respect, trust, or be friends with someone who doesn't make the same amount of money as you? Or doesn't have the same education as you? Or doesn't live like you live? Or doesn't look like you or believe the same sky daddy as you?

            No wonder you think you need to carry a gun all the time. It must be terrifying living in fear constantly. Take a deep breath and remember that different is not bad or evil.

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:18AM

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:18AM (#724509) Journal

              Is that a USA thing? Seriously, you can't respect, trust, or be friends with someone who doesn't make the same amount of money as you? Or doesn't have the same education as you? Or doesn't live like you live? Or doesn't look like you or believe the same sky daddy as you?

              Even as a rhetorical question, that doesn't have legs. After all, communism happened worldwide because the poor aren't equal to the wealthy, combined with a very hearty disrespect for the wealthy.

            • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Zinho on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:32AM (1 child)

              by Zinho (759) on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:32AM (#724513)

              Is that a USA thing? Seriously, you can't respect, trust, or be friends with someone who doesn't make the same amount of money as you? Or doesn't have the same education as you? Or doesn't live like you live? Or doesn't look like you or believe the same sky daddy as you?

              No, it's an unfortunate aspect of the human experience. Here in the US we're struggling to overcome our all-too-recent history of allowing people with light skin arbitrarily kill people with darker skin [1]; other places around the world had their own problems that they're working to overcome in their own ways. It wasn't too long ago that in Europe a member of the upper class/Aristocracy could literally run over a commoner in the street with their horse and carriage without any remorse or even a suggestion of legal consequences. Japanese warriors were once in the habit of testing the sharpness of their sword by slicing unsuspecting peasants in half. In 1994 the Hutu tribe who ruled Rwanda killed between 500,000-1,000,000 members of the Tutsi tribe, for a combination of the reasons you listed. Immigrant workers in the Middle East today are hardly better off than the european peasants I mentioned earlier.

              As another commenter pointed out, even the officer/enlisted split in the military and the boss/employee split in business/industry create barriers to trust, respect, and friendship that are baked into the system intentionally. No matter how much trust, friendship, or respect may exist between a soldier and their commander, if they have sex then in the U.S. Army the commander will be brought up on rape charges because the power imbalance between them makes the soldier unable to meaningfully consent.

              You appear to believe [2] that people are generally decent and will treat each other well just because we're all human. Psychology tells us that tribalism is far too common, and that any us/them divide is sufficient cause for some people to distrust, disrespect, and be generally unfriendly to anyone in the "them" category. Our human rights should not be dependent on others being nice. Since we cannot actually legislate civility nor regulate friendship, we should seek a means for preserving the human rights of everyone.

              Runaway1956 proposed a solution, which you have dismissed as unnecessary. What alternative do you propose?

              [1] Dark-skinned soldiers returning from foreign wars to their homes in the US have been literally told by their neighbors never to wear their uniforms or medals in public, because "we don't hold no truck with negroes getting medals for killing white folk". Our WWII veterans still living bear heartbreaking testimony of this treatment.

              [2] call me out, please, if I'm strawmanning you here

              --
              "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
              • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @10:48AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @10:48AM (#724605)

                It wasn't too long ago that in Europe a member of the upper class/Aristocracy could literally run over a commoner in the street with their horse and carriage without any remorse or even a suggestion of legal consequences.

                That's not quite true. If the horse or carriage was damaged, the peasant's family was quite likely to be sold into 'indentured servitude' to pay for it.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:11AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:11AM (#724506)

            They're arguing that we need a way to make everyone equal in each others' eyes, and that the threat of lethal force (barbaric as it may be) provides that where society does not.

            So gun ownership is a form of socialism. I see that as a positive aspect of firearm ownership.

      • (Score: 2) by jmorris on Wednesday August 22 2018, @03:03AM

        by jmorris (4844) on Wednesday August 22 2018, @03:03AM (#724525)

        You are stuck in a single moment in time, which happens to be when we are living in Clown World.

        A black guy with a gun? People get nervous.

        Dr. Thomas Sowell tells a story of when he was a child in New York City and he would carry a rifle home from school on the subway. That it was an utterly unremarkable thing at the time. A black teen on a New York subway with a rifle (in a case) and schoolbooks. And nobody cared. Now wrap your mind around the other part of that story, a black teen carrying a rifle into school, shooting it and it also being an utterly normal part of the school day.

        That of course is not the world we now live in. However we could have that world back in a generation if we could find the courage to give a few Communists a quiet helicopter ride.

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by DannyB on Tuesday August 21 2018, @01:40PM (17 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 21 2018, @01:40PM (#724149) Journal

    The NRA's position makes sense.
    Open carry wouldn't sell more guns and the added controversy would probably hurt.

    I came to say something like this!

    The NRA doesn't care about gun rights, or open carry, or self defense, or even the 2nd amendment. The NRA cares about gun SALES. Period. The NRA is a gun manufacturers organization posing as some kind of concerned citizen's political movement. Some people will recognize this, but many are too, um . . how to put this nicely . . . too clue challenged to recognize this.

    --
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    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @02:45PM (14 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @02:45PM (#724184)

      But I guess you have been able to find and decipher the golden tablets of knowledge, eh?
      And what about the NRA's 6 million members?

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Tuesday August 21 2018, @03:15PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 21 2018, @03:15PM (#724201) Journal

        Do NRA positions align more closely with:
        [_] citizens who blindly unthinkingly support it as a knee jerk reflex reaction
        [x] or with gun manufacturers?

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      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @03:17PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @03:17PM (#724203)

        Many NRA members DO recognize this. But we also recognize that if we let the perfect be the enemy of the good, at least right now, the grabbers will likely win. In the future we might be able to ditch them but right now they are useful.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Tuesday August 21 2018, @03:30PM (11 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 21 2018, @03:30PM (#724216) Journal

        And what about the NRA's 6 million members?

        The gun industry markedriods managed to create a religion.

        To put it in perspective, the number of yoga practitioners in US is estimated to over 36 million [forbes.com]; and I don't think the Indians have had NRA budgets to achieve that.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 3, Touché) by khallow on Wednesday August 22 2018, @03:12AM (10 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 22 2018, @03:12AM (#724527) Journal

          And what about the NRA's 6 million members?

          The gun industry markedriods managed to create a religion.

          Why should one's support for an advocacy group rule out their opinion? Should your growing up [soylentnews.org] in a "former East European communist block countries" rule out your opinion on such matters? Ad hominem-based disregard for peoples' opinions is very caustic. It attacks you just as readily as it attacks those you accuse.

          To put it in perspective, the number of yoga practitioners in US is estimated to over 36 million [forbes.com]; and I don't think the Indians have had NRA budgets to achieve that.

          To put that into perspective, who's trying to deny yoga practitioners from practicing yoga? Suppose some future US theocracy tries to ban yoga. Should these practitioners roll over and accept this tyranny merely because any yoga advocacy group would be in large part funded by yoga-related business? It's interesting how poorly thought-out these arguments against the NRA are.

          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday August 22 2018, @09:39AM (9 children)

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 22 2018, @09:39AM (#724591) Journal

            Ad hominem-based disregard for peoples' opinions is very caustic. It attacks you just as readily as it attacks those you accuse.

            True.
            But, once in a while, the temptation is huge.

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday August 22 2018, @12:48PM (8 children)

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 22 2018, @12:48PM (#724629) Journal

              But, once in a while, the temptation is huge.

              Consider why the temptation is huge. It's because you don't have a good argument.

              • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 23 2018, @12:12AM (7 children)

                by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 23 2018, @12:12AM (#724949) Journal

                As good an assumption as any other
                For instance, I don't have any kind of argument, but the temptation to post shit at the time was overwhelming.
                Doesn't necesarily make me proud, but there you have it.

                --
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
                • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 23 2018, @03:52AM (6 children)

                  by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 23 2018, @03:52AM (#725053) Journal
                  I guess that happens to all of us now and then. But my take is that if you really don't have anything to say, but just have to say it anyway, then that's time to revisit your beliefs. Something's probably broken.
                  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 23 2018, @04:24AM (5 children)

                    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 23 2018, @04:24AM (#725066) Journal

                    then that's time to revisit your beliefs. Something's probably broken.

                    Oh, so sure of your assumptions, aren't you? Just from curiosity, did they reach the state of beliefs?

                    How about resistant insomnia, have to do something, can't do anything useful in a zombified state? I'm not gonna examine the beliefs of anyone in such a state, much less mine.

                    --
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
                    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 23 2018, @11:25AM (4 children)

                      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 23 2018, @11:25AM (#725150) Journal

                      then that's time to revisit your beliefs. Something's probably broken.

                      Oh, so sure of your assumptions, aren't you? Just from curiosity, did they reach the state of beliefs?

                      Assumptions generally start as beliefs unless you're speaking hypothetically. And not much point to criticizing the assumption/belief when it happens to be right.

                      How about resistant insomnia, have to do something, can't do anything useful in a zombified state? I'm not gonna examine the beliefs of anyone in such a state, much less mine.

                      Or you could be drunk-posting or knee-jerking to some ideological thing. The thing about my observation is that it covers a lot of different causes.

                      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 23 2018, @01:00PM (3 children)

                        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 23 2018, @01:00PM (#725185) Journal

                        Or you could be drunk-posting or knee-jerking to some ideological thing.

                        Glad you acknowledge that many explanations are possible and plausible; don't feel compelled to pick any one of them, the probability to be right goes down with the number of possible explanations (and you hate being wrong, dontcha?)

                        Just as a true albeit irrelevant fact, this very one is drunk-posting - glad I had my long due dose of anti-hypoalcoholemia medication; my only regret is that I discovered peat scotch so late in my life; have a lot of catching up to do now.

                        Cheers, mate.

                        --
                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
                        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday August 24 2018, @04:17AM (2 children)

                          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 24 2018, @04:17AM (#725607) Journal

                          Or you could be drunk-posting or knee-jerking to some ideological thing.

                          Glad you acknowledge that many explanations are possible and plausible; don't feel compelled to pick any one of them, the probability to be right goes down with the number of possible explanations (and you hate being wrong, dontcha?)

                          I think it'd be a better world if more people hated being wrong rather than merely the embarrassment of being caught being wrong. And a thousand dumb reasons don't make for one smart reason.

                          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday August 24 2018, @04:29AM (1 child)

                            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 24 2018, @04:29AM (#725612) Journal

                            I think it'd be a better world if more people hated being wrong

                            I think the world would be a better place if everyone would be conscious s/he can be wrong at any time, especially when teh may slide in pretending they are the ultimate owners of the truth.
                            But then, I can be wrong on that. I can't, therefore, hate myself for it.

                            --
                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
                            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday August 24 2018, @04:55AM

                              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 24 2018, @04:55AM (#725627) Journal

                              I can't, therefore, hate myself for it.

                              I don't hate myself for being wrong when I am either. Hating ignorance and error is not the same as hating the person who is ignorant or in error.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Joe Desertrat on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:05PM (1 child)

      by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:05PM (#724444)

      The NRA cares about gun SALES. Period.

      The NRA cares about donations to the NRA. Period.
      If they can do that by fueling gun sales, fine, but it is not their primary objective. If gun sales were the goal, they would work to elect Democrats in enough quantities or in positions to threaten to pass gun control legislation or rules. Gun sales soared under Obama, and they have tailed off significantly under Trump.

      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:34PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:34PM (#724459)

        Gun sales soared under Obama, and they have tailed off significantly under Trump.

        Yes, the phenomenon is an example of what is called moral panic. One wonders how long it will take before all those gun buyers realize they have been played by the NRA.