The right to be a fool

Loaded guns at Presidential appearances? Pistols, even an assault rifle. Enough already!

Look, I realize there’s a constitutional right to bear arms. And I realize some states have open carry laws.  So, Mr. Doe in Phoenix, with the loaded assault rifle outside the President’s rally — I understand you had a legal right to be there with your rifle slung over your shoulder.

However, there are plenty of public places that have rules against your carrying your precious weapon — schools, hospitals, government buildings, and airports come to mind. I hope it’s only a matter of time before some of the nation’s more sensible lawmakers also make it illegal to carry a gun or any other weapon within lethal range of the President, wherever he might be.

You, sir, you and your ilk, are fools. By taking your right to carry a loaded weapon to such an extreme, you endanger the very right you hold so dear. The law was intended to give thoughtful, responsible citizens the right to own and use guns appropriately. It was not intended to give you carte blanche to shock, alarm, or possibly endanger a lot of fellow citizens in a public place, any more than the freedom of speech entitles you to shout “fire!” in a crowded theater. You are drawing attention to yourself in a way that is counter to your own best interests. You are reminding us that there need to be more limits on your precious right to bear arms.

If a vigilant Secret Service agent or other law officer — or even a fellow private citizen — should make an erroneous assumption about your intent, the result, sir, will have been entirely of your own making.