This is a fascinating issue. Apparently, protesters outside of the president’s address in Phoenix were publicly displaying weapons, including at least one assault rifle. They weren’t doing anything illegal – in Arizona one is allowed to carry weapons as long as they aren’t concealed, and these definitely weren’t concealed. But reading that people had guns at a protest sent chills down my spine.
I wonder what the intent of this is. On the one hand, if they were protesting about restrictions on gun control, and were trying to demonstrate their passion for their guns by carrying with them, it seems well within free speech. On the other hand, if they were protesting health care, and were carrying their guns as an implicit threat “give us what we want, or we’ll give you a bullet”, that’s a very different story.
While I favor the right to bear arms, and the right to free speech, I also acknowledge that I am very unlikely to engage in debate with somebody carrying an assault rifle. It could very well have a chilling effect on discourse. Also, to the extent that it is perceived as a threat, fundamentally changes the way that America engages in politics. Persuasion down the barrel of a gun is what we see in repressive regimes, and would not be a welcome change in America.
I haven’t thought this through entirely, but at this point, my instinct is that there should be no official action against the gun toters, but that efforts should be made to persuade people not to bring their guns to such events. I worry what will happen, both for free speech and for gun rights, when passions flare between counter-protests and somebody is shot at a political rally…
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