SocialAnarchist said:
Theohazard
So we are now going to pick and choose which rights in which manner are appropriate.
Of course! That's called common sense! Every single day I choose which rights I want to exercise based on what's appropriate. I have the right to walk down the street wearing a toga while making out with my mother-in-law and smoking peanut butter, but that would hardly be appropriate.
I completely support the right for people to open carry long guns; there are situations where it's appropriate and I don't think it should be made illegal at all. But when people abuse that right by being completely in-your-face during these protests, that doesn't help anyone. And it will only help us lose that right.
There's definitely a place for protests, but when certain kinds of protests backfire and cause us to lose rights, it doesn't make sense to continue them. And as gun people, we should be the ones to self-regulate and figure out which actions are hurting our cause, because otherwise we're just encouraging the government to come do it for us, and they don't have a good track record with that. I'm going to use common sense and choose what actions I think are appropriate given the circumstances, and it would be nice if others did too.
So is what you're saying that it's a good idea to exercise your rights in a way that will inevitably get them taken away? Sure, let's all carry our ARs everywhere we go! After all, it's our right! Let's keep doing it no matter how many stores ban guns or how many politicians try to pass laws to ban open carry!
SocialAnarchist, from your previous posts you looked like a reasonable guy. Previously you acted like you agreed that these protests were hurting the open-carry cause. So what changed? Why do you think they're a good idea all of a sudden?