Over the Cliff by John Amato

Author:John Amato
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Politics
ISBN: 9780982417171
Publisher: PoliPointPress
Published: 2010-05-31T05:00:00+00:00

Petro: It is probably also not against the law to bring a can of gasoline and a match into an event. But is that a good idea? No. Having exposed weapons in public events—and it is not just presidential events—I would say this at any public event—is just not—particularly where people are disagreeing. It is just—it’s really a formula for disaster.

These gun-toting protesters portrayed themselves as simple, honest defenders of their gun rights when they showed up at public events, especially those featuring the president. They adamantly denied that openly displaying their guns might discourage their fellow citizens from speaking out with a contrary view. They were eager to assure the public that they posed no threat whatsoever to either the president or his supporters and that they were just ordinary citizens standing up for their rights. This is beyond disingenuous. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the vast majority of the people who attend a public debate will perceive someone with a gun as a threat—particularly if they have an opposing view.

If the gun toters’ assurances sounded less than convincing at the time, they became laughable when it emerged that “Chris”—the AR-15-toting African American interviewed by Hancock—was a regular at Pastor Anderson’s church who had sat through the “I Hate Barack Obama” sermon and lapped it up. His full name was Christopher Broughton, and he knew Hancock through their mutual work on the Ron Paul presidential campaign in Arizona. Broughton was interviewed by the Phoenix New Times’s Stephen Lemons and made clear that he fully shared his pastor’s enthusiasm for Obama’s death: “It would be good for the country if he were to go sooner than later,” said Broughton. “However it happens, I’m going to be happy that it happens. I’m gonna be a happy man... I would rejoice.” He promised, however, that he would not be the guy to actually pull the trigger.

Travel guru Arthur Frommer posted on his widely read blog that he would in the future avoid traveling to Arizona:

I will not personally travel in a state where civilians carry loaded weapons onto the sidewalks and as a means of political protest. I not only believe such practices are a threat to the future of our democracy, but I am firmly convinced that they would also endanger my own personal safety there.

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