I’m a strong defender of the Second Amendment, but I have a hard time understanding why someone would appear hours before the President of the United States is scheduled to speak carrying a gun in public:
You did notice the sign he was carrying, right ?
It’s a reference to this quote:
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
The man in question made his way to MSNBC’s Hardball later in the day:
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Now it’s worth noting, as Declan McCollough points out, that Kostic had a right to open carry in public under New Hampshire law:
New Hampshire state law is pretty clear about protecting its citizens’ rights to carry firearms in public. Carrying a pistol or revolver openly is permitted without a license; carrying a concealed weapon requires a license from the state or local police.
William Kostric took advantage of that law on Tuesday to show up outside President Obama’s Portsmouth, N.H. town hall meeting and hold a sign saying “It Is Time To Water The Tree Of Liberty.” That invokes a phrase from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Kostric did not immediately respond to an interview request from CBSNews.com.
Portsmouth police spokesman Lt. Frank Warchol told the Boston Globe that because Kostric was on private property — it belongs to a church near the school with the town hall meeting — he would not be arrested. “We can’t do anything about it,” Warchol said. “Obviously he’s on our radar screen at this time.
But, notwithstanding legal rights, the question remains, why the hell would anyone take a gun to a public event like this unless it was intended to provoke ?
Kostic got his 15 minutes of fame, which I suspect is all he was after.
And why am I not surprised he was a Ron Paul supporter last year ?
You say “Ron Paul supporter” like its a bad thing.
In some cases, it is:
http://belowthebeltway.com/2008/01/08/another-example-of-how-ron-pauls-supporters-arent-helping-him/
Maybe he was making sure he was prepared to defend his president.
Doug,
I usually agree with you on most things, but I struggle with this particular situation. I understand that the man who was openly carrying was doing it to make a statement and it was probably done in very poor taste (and I do agree with you that many Ron Paul supporters do more harm then good, have personally witnessed it here in Michigan during the primaries). However, the right to bear arms is there so the government WILL be intimidated and realize that an armed people are not easily manipulated/conrolled. I highly doubt this man intended to do anything with it since he was open-carrying…if he was going to do something he most likely would have concealed it…legally or illegally. But I do agree that it LOOKS really bad…but I believe his message is good and he is well within his rights. So in response to your “question,” I believe that the amendment intended for all it’s citizens to be armed and carrying regularly…town hall or not.
Wow, Chris Matthews is such a tool. I liked Kostric’s response when asked what the second half of the Jefferson quote is: “The rest of the line is for people to look up, it’s not a sound bite. They need to understand the context.” Great response!
Doug, you are way off base with your “why did he try to exercise his rights like this” attitude. He was well within his rights as a peaceful citizen to carry a firearm.
And -1 for your “why am I not surprised he was a Ron Paul supporter” remark. Are you against one of the only politicians on Capital Hill who cares about the rights of the citizens of the USA? Not a very libertine stance…
[...] Some have suggested Kostric was doing it just to provoke. I agree, and I think that is a wonderful thing. If it takes this kind of peaceful provocation to open eyes and minds then I’m all for it. [...]