# Nut With Gun at Town Hall **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 14, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377 "2009-08-14T03:04:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/1 "2009-08-14T03:04:07Z")
So you want to make a point and where your gun to a Town Hall. Kinda dickish, but it’s legal. But to do so while holding a sign that says “Time to Water the Tree of Liberty” is beyond pale. Really, you think it’s time to SPILL BLOOD over the health care debate? So who are you going to shoot first you moron? I hope for our sake that UHC has good coverage for mental illness. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/2 "2009-08-14T03:38:01Z")
Ontopic, Hmm, I got nothing. Offtopic, however, what’s with all the “town hall” pits? There’s one [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=527869) and another [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=526796) and now this one. All replied to last today. :dubious: Is there some sort of craziness that is spreading to town halls? Should I be afraid? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/3 "2009-08-14T03:41:31Z")
Wouldn’t that fall under laws regarding brandishing or threatening with a weapon? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/4 "2009-08-14T03:41:31Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > But to do so while holding a sign that says “Time to Water the Tree of Liberty” is **beyond pale**. Really, you think it’s time to SPILL BLOOD over the health care debate? So who are you going to shoot first **you moron**? Aaaaaaand FAIL. ---
**Author:** ![Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichini_Sanshigo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/5 "2009-08-14T03:45:27Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Aaaaaaand FAIL. Grammatical nitpicks? That’s the best you’ve got? Get some sleep **RandRover**. Trolling _is_ hard work. Come back tomorrow when you’re fresh. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/6 "2009-08-14T03:49:12Z")
> [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](#): > > Grammatical nitpicks? That’s the best you’ve got? Get some sleep **RandRover**. Trolling _is_ hard work. Come back tomorrow when you’re fresh. And he had to edit his post for spelling. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/7 "2009-08-14T03:50:51Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Wouldn’t that fall under laws regarding brandishing or threatening with a weapon? Apparently the only punsishment he got was being invited to speak on Fox. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/8 "2009-08-14T04:06:17Z")
Is he planning to shoot patriots or tyrants? That’s what I want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/9 "2009-08-14T04:27:55Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Wouldn’t that fall under laws regarding brandishing or threatening with a weapon? It would have, if he had done those things. Since he didn’t do those things, he didn’t have to worry about it. I have seen posts in various places with people screaming he should have been arrested. But he didn’t break any laws, so arresting him would have been a really bad idea. Not to mention, illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/10 "2009-08-14T05:33:40Z")
> [@danblather](#): > > apparently the only punsishment he got was being invited to speak on fox. msnbc. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/11 "2009-08-14T05:37:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Is he planning to shoot patriots or tyrants? That’s what I want to know. Or perhaps patriotic tyrants? Two for one! ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/12 "2009-08-14T05:45:10Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > But he didn’t break any laws, so arresting him would have been a really bad idea. Not to mention, illegal. Not illegal, just mistaken. Something to keep in mind before this degenerates into a gun control flamefest. This bozo is to gun owners what Phred Phelps is to Christianity and Rush Limbaugh/Michael Moore are to politics. Entitled to his opinion, but nothing resembling the responsible majority. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/13 "2009-08-14T05:58:00Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Aaaaaaand FAIL. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > And he had to edit his post for spelling. He had to add an ‘a’. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/14 "2009-08-14T06:39:16Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Aaaaaaand FAIL. You contribute very little, I have observed. I suggest trying puns. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/15 "2009-08-14T06:54:45Z")
That wasn’t the only one. [nytimes.com/2009/08](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/opinion/13collins.html) Three recent incidents. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/16 "2009-08-14T10:43:24Z")
Disrespectful as hell, plain stupid, but not something you can really make illegal. Darn it, if only we could make the 2nd amendment a liberal virtue, most of these people would drop 'em in terror. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/17 "2009-08-14T11:11:00Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Disrespectful as hell, plain stupid, but not something you can really make illegal. > > Darn it, if only we could make the 2nd amendment a liberal virtue, most of these people would drop 'em in terror. Free guns with every gay marriage. Government provided (socialist) gun safety classes. Concealed carry permits for every abortion doctor. Start the ARA: Atheist Rifle Association. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/18 "2009-08-14T11:19:12Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > So you want to make a point and where your gun to a Town Hall. Kinda dickish, but it’s legal. But to do so while holding a sign that says “Time to Water the Tree of Liberty” is beyond pale. Really, you think it’s time to SPILL BLOOD over the health care debate? So who are you going to shoot first you moron? > > I hope for our sake that UHC has good coverage for mental illness. The police chief was right there with him. While the chief asserted he had a right to do it (which he did), do you really think that he would have even reached down for the weapon under those circumstances? When the totality of the story is taken into account, this becomes much ado about nothing. Nobody was threatened in any way, unless of course you think that a gun is always threatening, in which case there’s nothing else to say. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/19 "2009-08-14T11:28:16Z")
For a revealing slice of right-tard insanity see the comments on this [report](http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9A140QG0&show_article=1) on militias from the Southern Poverty Law Centre. > [@](#): > > Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends. > > The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration. > > Bart McEntire, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told SPLC researchers that this is the most growth he’s seen in more than a decade. > > “All it’s lacking is a spark,” McEntire said in the report. > > It’s reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s—right-wing militias, people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called “sovereign citizens” are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups. > > Last October, someone from the Ohio Militia posted a recruiting video on YouTube, billed as a “wake-up call” for America. It’s been viewed more than 60,000 times. > > “Things are bad, things are real bad, and it’s going to be a lot worse,” said the man on the video, who did not give his name. “Our country is in peril.” > > The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages viewers to buy one. Comments > [@](#): > > the southern poverty law center is a hard LEFT oraganization with close ties to the international workers party, they are NOT an authority on militias as they themselves call them hate groups, which may or may NOT be true, it has NOTHING to do with barry being black it has EVERYTHING to do with his leftist policies , we will never be ruled, we will never bend the knee , AND REMEMBER, HATE IS NOT A CRIME ITS A RIGHT! > [@](#): > > Uh, if the government aggressively pursues policies that threaten the rights of individuals, and openly pursues economic policies that attempt to replace American capitalism with European socialism, what does everyone think will happen? OH, and about the time there are 20 million illegal alien Mexican in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, I think the “secret conspiracy” of Mexico to regain those territories isn’t much of a secret, unless you’re SERIOUSLY stoned, or you’re living on Mars - or Washington, DC. The United States is no less vulnerable to civil war than any other country, and the more our government attacks certain cultural or other groups, the more likely it is that we will have one. > [@](#): > > OKC was an islamist operation. Search “John Doe #2” & Jayna Davis. > > Any rise in militias has to do w/ a hellbent marxist in the WhiteHouse, & NOT a black man. > [@](#): > > I’m reporting all of you to the White House. ROFL! I will also be reporting myself for saying that Obama is a lying, foreign born, Marxist thug too embarrassed to release his transcripts because it will show just how dumb he truly is… Also, that he should be impeached immediately for NEVER proving he was born in America. He’s a Red Coat, with a bunch of brownshirt followers. The British aren’t coming… > …they’re already here. > [@](#): > > The SPLC, the MSM and the democrat leadership are simply trying to pave the way for a legal means to separate Americans from their guns and property. > [@](#): > > One tactical note. An AR-15 is good, but get a night scope to put on it, and a foldable tripod is nice. > > And it might be a good idea to buy a compound bow and learn how to use it. A good bowman is as deadly as any sniper, and the one on one fight would be an even match in a woodland or urban setting.. > [@](#): > > The Obamination has always included the SPLC. > > The unorganized militia has always been us, armed against a tyrannical government by our Constitution and the Second Amendment. > > These are not news but history. Ignore us, oppress us at your peril. Better to die a citizen than live a subject. > > Affirmative Reaction! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377/20 "2009-08-14T11:53:55Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > When the totality of the story is taken into account, this becomes much ado about nothing. Nobody was threatened in any way, unless of course you think that a gun is always threatening, in which case there’s nothing else to say. Um, he was holding a three-foot tall sign with a death threat on it. So now death threats are not threatening? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nut-with-gun-at-town-hall/506377.md?page=2)