Letting Gun Nuts Pack Weapons Near Obama Is Insane

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Watching CNN between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday, I was treated to the sight of a young man with an automatic weapon strapped to his back across the street from a presidential rally in Arizona. This is not the first time armed persons have appeared outside a building where the president is making an appearance.

This is a horrifying and, quite frankly, ridiculous development. It is perfectly legal, according to the CNN anchor I watched, for Arizonans to parade in public with all manner of weapons, including semiautomatic mass killing machines.

Such public policy is tantamount to allowing children to play with live hand grenades. Disaster is certain. If a president is not assassinated, then certainly protesters are in much greater danger, as are members of the public who simply happen to be passing by.

Considering the:

A. level of mental illness in this country (and in all human populations for that matter),

B. fact that we are in the midst of a deep recession, and

C. outrageous levels of public anger displayed by some talk radio hosts and cable talk show hosts ...

we are asking for people to be maimed or killed by allowing this type of behavior to continue.

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