Gun-carrying protesters have been a common sight at some demonstrations calling for coronavirus-related restrictions to be lifted. But an armed militia’s involvement in an angry protest in the Michigan statehouse Thursday marked an escalation that drew condemnation and shone a spotlight on the practice of bringing weapons to protest.The purpose of bringing guns to a political protest is to incite fear, to intimidate the other side. There is no other reason for it.
The “American Patriot Rally” started on the statehouse steps, where members of the Michigan Liberty Militia stood guard with weapons and tactical gear, their faces partially covered. They later moved inside the Capitol along with several hundred protesters, who demanded to be let onto the House floor, which is prohibited. Some protesters with guns — which are allowed in the statehouse — went to the Senate gallery, where a senator said some armed men shouted at her, and some senators wore bulletproof vests.
In short, they are trying to terrorize their opponents-- "do what we want or we may kill you."
That's terrorism, plain and simple. We should apply the same policies in the domestic political realm that we apply internationally: No deals with terrorists.
That Trump has been refusing to denounce those terrorists tells me a lot about Trump. It has been that way with Trump from the day that he entered politics. He sees the Far-Right Terrorists and the American Nazis as his people. Or, at least, his useful idiots.
The Black Panthers carrying guns in public galvanized Ray-gun in Cali to push for limits on carrying in public, because white folks was scared. Using recently gained abilities like carrying in the statehouse and implicitly threatening lawmakers will likely not bode well for gun right. Scaring people with open-carry at protests, where feelings are often already inflamed, will likely lead to an ugly situation soon. The question becomes, has the pendulum completed its swing in the loosening direction and will we now see a reeling in of these “rights”.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is the gun carriers are worried about government reaching too
ReplyDeletefar or using emergency powers as the nominal level of control. Restated
while it is an emergency and some level of emergency powers need to be
used no one wants that to go to their heads.
However its is both stupid and arrogant to be doing that as first we have to
win the battle of the bug... otherwise the other is a moot point.
Further by participating in the action as they did they may/likely/have
furthered the spread of the bug. That means stronger means are required to
control.
The yabut is many are covidiots and trumpits with the belief the bug is
a hoax or grossly over stated in the illness it causes and of course
for some of them its all a plot to take their rights.
As I've said do all that in public and the chance you will get very
ill or die goes up greatly for you or your family. Or you may just
incite an exchange of lead and that often has a very high death rate.
Either way its stupid to non-belief levels.
My two cents is keep the rifle safe, practice its use in safe ranges
and learn to like squirrel and rabbit as that could be the best
reason for its use.
Eck!
I noticed one gent with a Bullpup rifle. He was usually close to the center in every photo and he was present in many of the pics.
ReplyDeleteHere we go again with the Professional Gun Models. I wonder if he was paid?
In my day if you brought a gun to a protest you got arrested, no matter your skin color.
w3ski
Eck, you hit all the points I hear in the break room at work. They let us sit 3 at a table, and the 3 wing nuts who sit together usually have a new fact everyday. Fake virus, taking away our rights, etc. the latest one is they (gates, soros, Hillary, Obama,etc) are trying to get a "chip" into the vaccine so they can track "us". But trump saw through that and that's why the vaccine is taking so long. Also he's going to finally take action on pizzagate and all the democrats and Hollywood stars will be arrested next month. That's why Mitch is getting ready to get all the judges confirmed, and and wait where are you going? Don't you want to hear this?.........
ReplyDeleteYep, I may write it all down add current events and all call it a
ReplyDeletedystopian history. The front page would have "you cant believe
your lying eyes".
Can't be a novel as its not fiction, the events as told are true
even if what being quoted is fiction.
Any who between moscow mitch and putins poodle, to borrow our
hosts own line, we are so frelled....
Eck!
I live in Michigan, and I am very disturbed with some of the heavy handed actions done by our governor, Gretchen Whitmer. You can't go to your dentist, where I had 6 teeth pulled the day before they shut them down, and I am still having trouble with that. But by gosh, you can go and get an abortion.
ReplyDeleteUntil recently, you could not buy seeds from the big box stores, they had to rope the entire garden section. The small,lawn maintenance company could not deliver a load of bark to your front yard, for you to spread where you wanted to, even though you were not working. You could row your boat out on a lake, but you could not use an electric trolling motor. For many of those rules, there was no science backing them up, but they were just arbitrary, and made little sense. Now we are told we must wear a mask when going out,but that they won't enforce it. But a store can refuse entry if you don't have that mask on.
I have never attended any protest in my nearly 60 years, although I have sent money to things that I supported. But the idea had occurred to me that I would consider going to Lansing this past week, in a show of solidarity with the others there. Until I caught wind of them having some people who were going to have guns carried openly with them. I then had to say , no way.
When you mix guns, open for all to see, with a protest, people fail to see the protest, and only see the guns. I probably would have been carrying concealed if I went, but the saying goes, " it is never good to spook the horses." That just means, don't go out of your way to cause people to be unduly afraid, if you want them to listen to your message, and perhaps even support it.
So while I was happy with the first protest, even if there might have been some open carry going on, I didn't see it, I was not at all in favor with the manner with which they did this one, and I think it just gave ammunition, no pun intended, to those who do not like guns, and it made the protesters laughingstocks.
Our governor, by the way, is an elected position, and is not my emperor or queen, or even boss. And I long ago took an oath to preserve and protect and defend the constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. If someone issues what I consider to be an unconstitutional order, it is my duty to disobey that order, just like anyone else who has ever taken that oath. Gretchen Whitmer can certainly ask for me to follow her requirements, and for the most part, I have followed them. But she cannot force me to follow them. Especially since she keeps changing the reason for the rules pretty much everyday.
pigpen51
Pigpen,
ReplyDeleteI am full in for physical distancing being of that age of
high risk. I don't buy in to social distancing, that
sounds cold. Wave, say hi, talk. and just keep a distance.
I also believe in outdoors and in the open air as it with
distancing allowed for is a healthy thing.
I agree showing firearms is not a way to win hearts.
As to GW's edicts, I'm in Masshole and we see a lot of idiocy
but none to match though. Here Dentist is emergency only so
post op issues (tooth remove is surgery!) warrant attention.
Rules here are simple no groups, masks and gloves, mainatain
distance, and if you suspect you are sick isolate yourself.
The whole boat thing is sorta weird. Science is not a factor,
it may be a social science suggestion as all the boaters I
know tend to hang out a lot.
As an aside I strongly believe that the real science is poorly
reported (not mis-reported) and the fine details are important.
Garden centers have mostly had their seeds cleaned out before
the closing. However a visit Thursday the outside areas were
open and gloves/masks were required. No indoor access to
greenhouses and some areas though people were available and
extremely helpful and would fetch anything not seen if they
had it. I even got some seeds they still had. There might
have been 10 people there (2 acre area) so interaction was
near minimal as could be. Over all it was satisfactory,
low stress, and the people there were pleased to see us.
One thing is it her, or her staff making those recommendations?
She could be clueless or it could be her staff. Don't know half
a country away from me.
Eck!
The garden center at True Value in Oakhurst was open last weekend, but I didn't look to see if they had seeds. They were the laxest store for distancing we shopped at (out of four) but they had strong fans in the aisles that made it feel a little less scary.
ReplyDeleteBriana had to go to the ER in Fresno last night for emergency surgery on a badly infected puncture wound, and the hospital there said right up front that they currently had no covid patients.
So we dodged that bullet, thanks to San Francisco mayor London Breed and the Santa Clara County health department director who imposed shelter in place orders before the virus gained a foothold in the Bay Area.
If they had waited, and let a NYC level epidemic happen, there would be covid patients in the hospital in Fresno, and all three of us could have been infected.
Briana isn't back yet, but so far, so good.
-Doug in Sugar Pine
I live in Michigan and I went to the local Meijer store this week. None of the store was cordoned off for merchandise and there was even a display of Burpee seeds though it wasn't full. I also received a call from my dentist postponing my cleaning appointment but they are open for emergency treatment. Maybe people should get their information for someplace other than "talk" radio or Facebook. It's rather obvious that there are people who don't like a woman in charge who actually is trying to protect the people instead of just being all talk and taking credit for things they don't do.
ReplyDeleteHow can this be happening? Simple. Good health is regarded an entitlement. 80 years ago, before wonder drugs and with few vaccinations, people knew, up close and mortally, about illness, contagion and death. They respected public health and public health measures, and they knew doctors and nurses were effectively in combat and at mortal risk (and were respected and not sued).
ReplyDeleteCovidiots think that, just like Trump they can scream. bully and act irresponsibly; they are entitled as the storm troopers of Trump and the Right....and that all this covid stuff is an overblown hoax getting in the way of their God and Trump-given unalienable rights.
I have a modest proposal: Anyone so demonstrating gets to spend 2 hours in a straitjacket seated in the corner of a hospital room of an intubated covid patient. Wearing a mask is optional, their choice. Second offenders are proscribed from medical treatment for covid; for non-covid illness or injury they must wait 14 days.
Third offenders, like the Tuskegee syphilis experiment black men, involuntarily participate in covid research as a guinea pig. All offenders are Darwin Award winners.
Pigpen, you can drive the wrong way on an interstate, jump off the edge of the Grand Canyon, step in front of an oncoming car going 60 MPH. But you don't. No more should you risk contracting covid and passing it to your loved ones and strangers...it just isn't a clear and present danger to you. Go volunteer at covid hot spot hospital if you need to come to Jesus on this.
Tulare County has the highest number of infections and deaths in the San Joaquin Valley, no doubt due to the two nursing home hotspots in Lindsay and Visalia.
ReplyDeleteDan Gerene,
ReplyDeleteThe governor changed some of the rules this past week. She did indeed have an EO in place that the big box stores like lowes, home depot, etc, had to cordon off their garden centers. If they choose to they could move some of the items out of the garden center, such as American flags, and that sort of thing.
EO 2020-17 was the order that said that only those medical or dental proceedures necessary to preserve the health and safety of the patient could be performed. It ruled out elective proceedures. My dentist's office chose to close completely, for the safety of his staff and the patients who might have come in.
I don't get my information from any social media platform nor from any entertainment show pretending to be a news show.
Stewart Dean,
My main point is that it is not the government's responsibility to tell me that I cannot venture out without a mask or any other thing that takes away from my inalienable rights, which have been protected by the constitution. I don't drive the wrong way on an interstate, because I chose to obey the rules that have been set up for the highways. I don't have a right to drive on the highways spelled out in any constitution, like I do with many other freedoms. I don't have a problem with quarantining those who are sick or have been in contact with those who are sick. However, they keep changing just what the reason for the quarantine is for. The first thing our governor said was, 2 weeks, to flatten the curve, and avoid overwhelming our hospitals. Nothing was implied that we were trying to not allow for anyone to get sick,because that is an impossible goal. After that 2 weeks, the governor kept adding more and more time to her orders, and also adding things that make no sense. So at some point, they are going to have to open the state back up, or risk anarchy.
As to my come to Jesus moment, I both volunteer and give money to several charities, which are my own business, and which I choose to not discuss on an open forum. Because, like how I chose to go about my daily life to protect myself and my loved ones, my charity is my own business.
One thing that should make some happy, is one of the Judges in Michigan threw out a suit by 5 people suing the Governor of Michigan, to allow their businesses to open up. The Judge said basically that their constitutional rights were getting trampled on, but the public health interest was more important. I almost could see Abraham Lincoln stand and take a bow, because he also liked to nullify the constitution when it became inconvenient. Along with FDR.
pigpen51
Pigpen51,
ReplyDeleteGovernments have wide latitude to deal with public health emergencies. That is well-enshrined in the law. Those who claim that people can be trusted to do the right thing need only thumb through a state's legal and administrative codes. Thousands and thousands of pages of laws and regulations, because enough people couldn't be trusted to do the right thing without being compelled to do so.
Do you seriously think that the pure food and pure drug acts were enacted so the government could meddle in the affairs of the honest people running slaughterhouses and making patent medicines?
Yes, your charity is your own business.
Your governor is doing what a lot of leaders would: Confronted with idiots bringing guns to a protest, they're saying "fuck you guys." Bring guns to a protest and one should not be surprised if they're treated to a whiff of grape.
Comrade Misfit,
ReplyDeleteWhile our governor has much latitude in dealing with emergency issues, it is not unlimited. Her power based upon our state constitution must be approved by the legislature. They turned down her latest request to extend that emergency power.
So she is operating under the power granted by a federal law issued in 1945, I believe. It also grants her much power, but of the powers listed for controlling people, it lists curfews, but makes no mention of quarantines for the entire population. There are other issues with her using this federal act as justification for her actions, but they are complex legal issues, which I am not qualified to consider or discuss.
As I mentioned before, bringing guns to a protest that is not about guns, is a very stupid and tactically wrong move, and only serves to let your protest become about the guns and not about what your intent was.
I will stop commenting on this topic, I know that many of you that have responded to me are quite intelligent, and have been decent and kind in your posts to mine, and I thank you for that. I just think that I have taken up enough of our Blog Owner's time and space. I know that while we probably won't come together on this, I hope that we can still discuss other subjects in a reasonable and kind manner.
pigpen51