Outside the event where President Obama will conduct his town hall, there is an anti-Obama protester with a gun -- a pistol strapped to his lower leg.Here's the video...
The local police chief said it's legal for the man to have a registered handgun -- as long as it is not concealed. What's more, he is on private property, a church yard, which has given him permission to be there.
And here's the poor guy getting reamed by Chris Matthews.
This would seem trivial if it weren't a pattern. There have been several other cases of folks inadvertently dropping guns they brought with them to townhalls in recent weeks. I'm all for gun rights and whatnot, but damn, there's gotta be a limit. Seriously, considering the explosion in death threats reported since Obama took office (about 30/day, up 400% since Bush), shouldn't someone throw some water on this?
On a related note, Obama addressed those outlandish "death panels", "rationing healthcare", and "compiling a hitlist" rumors.
I've said it repeatedly, and will say it again: for all Obama's rhetorical prowess[1], he sure seems to STAY LOSING the war on messaging. I'm not sure if this is due to the White House's awful job of communications (Yep, Robert Gibbs), the overwhelming amount of negative right wing media, or simply because people believe what they want to believe, regardless of facts supporting the contrary.
Question: Should protesters be allowed to bring guns to townhall meetings? Do you think the White House could be doing a better job of communicating their stances, or would they simply be drowned out anyway?
Secret Service Cuts Endangering Obama? [CBS]
Let's Just Say It: We're Scared Someone's Going to Try to Kill Barack Obama [Gawker]
MEN WITH GUNS -- OUTSIDE TOWN HALL [MSNBC]
[1] I still say Obama 09' has nothing on Jesse 89', but that's just me. Right?
