# What Kind of Gun Should Rosa Parks Have Carried? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 11, 2013, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708 "2013-06-11T07:14:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/61 "2013-06-12T14:56:51Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It’s not a quarterstaff-it’s a “_walking stick_”. 😃 Sure, that’s what _all_ wizards say. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/62 "2013-06-12T17:56:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I dunno, what kind did [Cleopatra Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_Jones) carry? Damn good question; for once the Internet Movie Firearms Data Base failed me. That huge flared muzzle should be a giveaway but I can’t find a match. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/63 "2013-06-12T18:20:37Z")
This Atlantic article has a quick overview of when the Black Panthers marched on the state capitol in California, triggering gun control from a Republican. > **[The Secret History of Guns](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/the-secret-history-of-guns/308608/?single_page=true)** > > The Ku Klux Klan, Ronald Reagan, and, for most of its history, the NRA all worked to control guns. The Founding Fathers? They required gun ownership—and regulated it. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/64 "2013-06-12T20:53:15Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The Second Amendment is about thuggery in the modern day, regardless of what it was originally intended for. The Korean storeowners from the LA riots would like to have a word with you. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Now, we can certainly agree that blacks were “oppressed”, but the historical fact that they were able to affect change in those oppressive laws means it wasn’t “tyranny”, in the sense used by historians. I don’t know about historians but the founding fathers certainly understood that “tyrannies of the majority” could arise. Oppression of minorities sort of fits the bill of “tyranny of the majority” I would guess that the sort of tyranny that second amendment can prevent are undemocratic tyrannies, i.e. tyrannies of the minority. > [@Ludovic](#): > > I thought the second amendment prevented that sort of encroachment on liberties. The government couldn’t prevent it but the gun shop owners could and the government could control who had gun shops. > [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > You don’t like guns? Don’t buy one and STFU. Want to protect yourself? Get a 1.5-inch diameter quarterstaff and learn how to use it. Most gunfights take place at close range which is perfect for staff-fighting. Staff fighting doesn’t work so well in a hallway. But the deterrent effect is probably at least as good. Noone robs the crazy guy at the end of the street. > [@](#): > > Added bonus–ever hear of anyone accidentally killing his friend with a stick? At worst you might knock his toof out while you’re cleaning brains off it. Halberds are really the way to go. I have a gas powered chainsaw on a pole that I think would make an awesome weapon. Noone walks their dog on my lawn when I’m using this chainsaw. > [@Lumpy](#): > > Damn good question; for once the Internet Movie Firearms Data Base failed me. That huge flared muzzle should be a giveaway but I can’t find a match. searchign for the word gun, it says she used a submachine gun. The folding stock is consistent with that. The flared muzzle might be a silncer or flash suppressor. I would have expected a larger magazine with a submachine gun but anyhoo. > [@Algher](#): > > This Atlantic article has a quick overview of when the Black Panthers marched on the state capitol in California, triggering gun control from a Republican. > > [The Secret History of Guns - The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/the-secret-history-of-guns/308608/?single_page=true) See, gun control is bad 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/65 "2013-06-12T21:03:36Z")
Aside: _οἱ πολλοί_ already means “the many” and does not require the definite article. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/66 "2013-06-12T21:43:20Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > If Booth had missed his first shot, what kind of gun should Lincoln have used to return fire with? Apparently Lincoln was not much of hunter, a firearm might not have been his weapon of choice. Axe would certainly be an option for “The Railsplitter”, and he was once challenged to a duel, and chose “cavalry broadswords of the largest size” (according to wikipedia), but axe or sword could be a problem in the confines of a theater. There is some evidence that he was a good wrestler, and of course, he had the reach. He’d probably have just punched the hell out of Booth or grabbed him by the neck and thrown him off the balcony. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/67 "2013-06-12T22:02:00Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > > [@Czarcasm](#): > > > > It’s not a quarterstaff-it’s a “_walking stick_”. 😃 > > Sure, that’s what _all_ wizards say. [Cite.](http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=922) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/68 "2013-06-12T22:05:18Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > This Atlantic article has a quick overview of when the Black Panthers marched on the state capitol in California, triggering gun control from a Republican. > > [The Secret History of Guns - The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/the-secret-history-of-guns/308608/?single_page=true) Oh, yes. The 1990 documentary [_Berkeley in the Sixties_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_in_the_Sixties) covered that – **hilarious** story! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/69 "2013-06-12T22:06:59Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Aside: _οἱ πολλοί_ already means “the many” and does not require the definite article. > > Carry on. Well, we can’t just say “hoi polloi” with “hoi” serving for article, doesn’t work in English even among the educated, not the way la untranslated article from French or Spanish would work . . . Very well. Spread the word throughout the land: Henceforth, “hoi” is jettisoned and the phrase shall be “the polloi.” So let it be written, so let it be done, Amen, Selah. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/70 "2013-06-12T22:14:16Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Damn good question; for once the Internet Movie Firearms Data Base failed me. That huge flared muzzle should be a giveaway but I can’t find a match. Why am I not surprised to learn that there is such thing as an Internet Movie Firearms Data Base? ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/71 "2013-06-12T23:49:47Z")
> [@fumster](#): > > How about the mother who wanted to register her child to attend the white school in Little Rock? Should she have just gone down to the school by herself with a gun, or would it have made more sense to have a larger armed group accompany her? I’m sure that the local NRA could have provided some volunteers to demonstrate the importance of the 2nd amendment in defending against tyranny. While I sympathize with your post since I am in favor of reasonable gun control measures, the children of Little Rock specifically needed men with guns to escort them into school, namely the 101st Airborne. So that is a case where I think guns were needed to protect freedom. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/72 "2013-06-13T00:48:23Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > While I sympathize with your post since I am in favor of reasonable gun control measures, the children of Little Rock specifically needed men with guns to escort them into school, namely the 101st Airborne. > > So that is a case where I think guns were needed to protect freedom. The second amendment solution doesn’t involve the government paying people to be trained in usage of guns to enforce its laws and preserve social order. It involves any idiot out there being able to by a gun, no questions asked, in order to shoot on the federal government if they get too uppity–if their laws get too immoral. (Note, even though I don’t support following immoral laws if you can get away with doing otherwise, even I know that carrying a gun is not one of those ways that will allow me to do otherwise.) And, yes, this thread is about _making fun_ of people with that viewpoint. Which, yes, does not include anyone who has actually managed to stay on this board. Learn to fucking read, **John Mace** , and stop making a fool of yourself. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/73 "2013-06-13T03:35:44Z")
I continue to be surprised that no one has offered any constructive opinion on how Rosa Parks should have used her 2nd amendment rights to guarantee her civil rights. I remember many posters being clear that they would use guns to avoid having their guns confiscated, but surely the point of the second amendment is to prevent tyranny in all forms. We haven’t even gotten to other potentially more current questions such as how I should have used my second amendment rights to make sure that the Florida 2000 presidential ballots were re-counted. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/74 "2013-06-13T08:07:54Z")
> [@fumster](#): > > I continue to be surprised that no one has offered any constructive opinion on how Rosa Parks should have used her 2nd amendment rights to guarantee her civil rights. I remember many posters being clear that they would use guns to avoid having their guns confiscated, but surely the point of the second amendment is to prevent tyranny in all forms. We haven’t even gotten to other potentially more current questions such as how I should have used my second amendment rights to make sure that the Florida 2000 presidential ballots were re-counted. > [@Lumpy](#): > > To take the OP with a far straighter face than it deserves: > > No, a gun would not have done Rosa Parks any good in that situation. A gun is so that people cannot attempt to assault or murder you with impunity. Well actually there are 3 gun arguments. 1. OMG you’re going to take my hunting rifle away! Slippery slope! 2. I need a gun to defend myself against criminals. 3. We need guns to defend ourselves against overbearing guvments and their tanks and trained solders. The OP addresses silly argument #3, not silly argument #1 nor problematic argument #2. I don’t think #2 is silly but I don’t think the OP was attacking a straw man either. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/75 "2013-06-13T14:06:33Z")
> [@fumster](#): > > I continue to be surprised that no one has offered any constructive opinion on how Rosa Parks should have used her 2nd amendment rights to guarantee her civil rights. I remember many posters being clear that they would use guns to avoid having their guns confiscated, but surely the point of the second amendment is to prevent tyranny in all forms. Trying to goad other members into posting based on your unheld beliefs comes mighty close to trolling. Unless as JM has suggested, you are JAQing off? Regardless, your OP is silly and stupid and you are coming off as an idiot. Rosa Parks used the very best weapon available to her, her words. > [@BigT](#): > > Learn to fucking read, **John Mace** , and stop making a fool of yourself. BigT, you, sir, owe me a new irony meter. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/76 "2013-06-13T14:58:48Z")
> [@fumster](#): > > What sort of gun should Rosa Parks have carried when she got on the bus? At first I thought that it should be a handgun in her purse. Rosa would have been able to get the drop on the bus driver, so that should have been enough to encourage him to shut up and keep moving. But then I realized that the white passengers should have been armed as well, and they would have been in their rights to defend the bus driver (who after all was obeying the law). To truly defend her freedom, as guaranteed in the Constitution and endowed by God, she would probably need something more like a street sweeper shotgun. I don’t know that much about guns, so I’m sure I’ll get some informed opinions. > > How about the mother who wanted to register her child to attend the white school in Little Rock? Should she have just gone down to the school by herself with a gun, or would it have made more sense to have a larger armed group accompany her? I’m sure that the local NRA could have provided some volunteers to demonstrate the importance of the 2nd amendment in defending against tyranny. > > Of course those are in the past, the real reason I need to know is that I have a gay friend who wants to be married and the courthouse refuses to allow it. What sort of gun should he bring with him to prevent the judge from denying him liberty? Should his fiancé bring a similar gun or would that be too matchy-matchy? **fumster** , my hat is off to you; this is one of the greatest OPs ever. I laughed so hard reading it that people at work were shushing me! ---
**Author:** ![RadioActiveRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df788c/32.png) [@RadioActiveRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioActiveRich)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/77 "2013-06-14T13:42:44Z")
Being an American citizen, she should have carried whatever gun she preferred. The question I have is how do you know she WASN’T already carrying what she preferred? I know you’re trying to be facetious here, but Second Amendment advocates don’t think every body should carry or that anybody has to. It’s a choice and we respect those who choose not to. The problem is that those who choose not to seem to lack the reciprocal level of respect for our choices. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/78 "2013-06-14T18:15:37Z")
> [@RadioActiveRich](#): > > Being an American citizen, she should have carried whatever gun she preferred. The question I have is how do you know she WASN’T already carrying what she preferred? I know you’re trying to be facetious here, but Second Amendment advocates don’t think every body should carry or that anybody has to. It’s a choice and we respect those who choose not to. The problem is that those who choose not to seem to lack the reciprocal level of respect for our choices. So you’re pro-choice? ---
**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:** [June 14, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/79 "2013-06-14T18:36:11Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > **fumster** , my hat is off to you; this is one of the greatest OPs ever. I laughed so hard reading it that people at work were shushing me! I agree - this is a seriously clever OP. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708/80 "2013-06-14T18:37:05Z")
> [@RadioActiveRich](#): > > Being an American citizen, she should have carried whatever gun she preferred. The question I have is how do you know she WASN’T already carrying what she preferred? Indeed. Just because she was packing doesn’t mean she recognized the bus conflict as one which necessitated her ventilating the driver. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gun-should-rosa-parks-have-carried/660708.md?page=5)