RobertNashville

They will have to substantiate that they were a lot more than just "uncomfortable" I think.  At this point, he simply is charged and it doesn't take much to substantiate a "charge"; it will be up to the DA to prove that he truly did disturb the peace by his actions (assuming the DA pushes this forward).   I think the more important issue here is whether it was PRUDENT to openly carry what either was or appeared to be a real AR15 rife in public (note, I did not say "legal" but prudent).  Firearm/2A enthusiasts are in a war for the minds of the public who for decades have been inundated with negative regarding firearms. EVERYTHING we do as firearm owners can impact that war for good or bad and I would suggest that we have a responsibly to the firearm community to consider the impact of our actions...whether those actions are "legal" should be the FIRST bud definitely not the LAST question we ask ourselves before we go out in public with our firearms.

I don't know who I'll vote for yet but I do know that I won't vote for ANYONE of ANY PARTY that wants to give amnesty to 10 or 15 or 20 million criminals who broke our laws by coming here and continue to break our laws by staying here and working here and (likely in many instances) getting public (taxpayer) assistance.   So...I'll be looking for a candidate that is willing to truly address the problem...I don't know if there will be anyone out there or not but we don't have to ship anyone back or at least very few...did we ship them here in the first place?  I think the answer to that is NO and if they found there way here on their own then at least most of them can find their way back to wherever they came from and there are very simple ways to make them want to leave...you do that by taking away what brought them here in the first place; an open border, work and free benefits. All we need to do, at least to start with is...   1,  Absolutely NO public assistance of any kind to anyone who cannot PROVE they are a legitimate American citizen   2.  Make REALLY checking citizenship mandatory with severe penalties for non-compliance before any company of any size can hire a new employee - start arresting and perp-walking CEOs and business owners in front of the press for hiring illegals and you'll see the jobs dry up VERY quickly.   3. REALLY CLOSE the damn border.   None of the above violates anyone's rights and if we just do just those three things (most if not all of which is actually EXISTING LAW that just isn't being enforced) and I believe that about 95% of the illegal alien problem will solve itself; the remainder can be solved with ICE doing their job (for a change). If no candidate has enough balls to do 1 through 3 above then they don't qualify for my vote or to be President.

Considering the mass shootings that have happened in just the past couple of years combined with the simple truth that most of society, apparently even in Texas, are not used to seeing people walking around with firearms...given that, the reaction of some of the people in the mall was entirely predictable (and I think, understandable). It would be nice if seeing a law abiding citizen exercising his right to carry arms didn't cause any alarm or fear among other people but that's NOT the society we live in today and ignoring that simple fact does not do anything good for firearm owners.

"Though Texas is an open carry state, a gun store owner in the city of Beaumont is facing a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace for carrying his AR-15 rifle across his shoulder through a shopping mall.   Derek Poe, 26, owns Golden Triangle Tactical at the Beaumont Parkdale Mall. KBMT-TV reports that he entered the Game Stop store in the mall before going to his own store.   Beaumont Police Sgt. Rob Flores told the Houston Chronicle that Poe turned himself in on Friday after the district attorney’s office issued a warrant for his arrest. The mall incident occurred on Dec. 28. Flores said authorities got calls from shoppers who said they were “very afraid,” “terrified” and “thought they were going to die.” However, Poe said he was operating within the law."   Full Story: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/07/gun-store-owner-arrested-for-carrying-ar-15-at-texas-mall-before-heading-to-his-business/

I guess the "open borders" thing is pretty "normal" for a libertarian but I will I never support it. However, the deal killer for me is his being willing to go for amnesty -  it just seems completely off the deep end to me. I can't fathom why any patriot who claims to believe in the rule of law would be in favor of amnesty for millions of criminals.

Republicans and Democrats stayed home if I remember the stats correctly; meaning that it wasn't just libertarians. As to Rand Paul, I suspect a lot of conservatives, me for one, will not vote for someone who wants open borders and amnesty for millions of criminals.

I've got about a 6 month supply of coffee (and I drink a lot of it) assuming I don't share...and I DON'T SHARE. ;)

What they need are a few nukes dropped on their heads (then a few more a couple of days later in case any of them survived the first volley)   In the movie "White House Down" James Woods charecter orchestrates a takeover of the White House so that he can launch a nuclear strike against Iran; there are times that I think that just nuking the whole damn middle east wouldn't be such a bad thing and it's seeing stuff like that that encourages those feelings.  I'm just damn sick of these followers of the "religion of peace and tolerance" and sometimes wouldn't mind introducing them to their god sooner rather than later.

I never said all yankees can drive in snow and ice (although as a group they do seem to have a better understanding of what a red traffic light means than many of the drivers in TN seem to have!). :shrug:

The only way a Libertarian will be president is to get the Republican nomination which is why Ross Perot sought the R nomination. The Libertarian party has had more than enough time to become an effective third-party and has failed to make a ripple in the political lake...I don't see that changing anytime soon and most assuredly not by 2016.

Quite the contrary...being a damn yankee who has seen more than his fair share of snow in his life (including a lifetime's worth in one winter in Chicago) I love it when it get's cold and here and we get a little snow on the ground. Watching all people try to drive around is very entertaining. ;)

Yuup...about all we can say so far for the effort of firearm owners in CO who took action is that they've made a good first step. However, they haven't really changed anything so far and unless they can get the laws overturned their actions are, unfortunately, empty.   In a way, what has happened, especially in CO (which was much like TN politically in the not so distant past) is that it's shown the importance of acting BEFORE gun-hating, reactionary, "we must do it for the children" liberal/socialists/communists gain power. If there were enough right-minded folks in Colorado to recall the pinheads that spearheaded their horrible, anti-firearm legislation then there should have been enough of them to have kept them from being elected in the first place. We could most certainly face the same danger in TN because guess where a lot of NE liberals are moving to bringing their NE liberal social mindset/values with them???

I have to say I'm bot surprised at this guy - we have plenty of "firearm enthusiasts" who are just fine if the only allowable firearms were O/U shotguns or muzzle loaders or bolt action rifles (that support whatever sport or hunting they are into). Sometimes conversations with such as these can be fruitful but not often; usually it's just best to write them off to their idiocy.

  Respectfully, Tanker; you seem to be putting forth a lot of effort to support West. I've nothing against the man at all and actually, there is much to admire; at least based on what I know of him so far. But how you can be so hot for West and so cold toward Cruz is a bit puzzling to me...there are NO potential Republican candidates without blemishes that the liberal press will not exploit to the Republican's deficit. Whether any of them have a real chance of winning the gen election seems doubtful to me but if they don't win I don't believe it will be because we can't find a prefect, unblemished candidate.  :)

What for?

I completely reject the notion that Cruz is done - the only thing Cruz really has against him is the party elite who hate his guts for doing exactly what he said he would do when he got elected.  He is one of a very very few Republicans I would actually vote for; in fact, I see only one or two others I would vote for if Cruz or either of the other two were to get the nomination.   However, I don't see any reason to think that Hillary won't be the next president regardless of who the Republicans put up and except for the two or three republicans I'm willing to vote for I may vote for her myself (or not bother to vote in the presidential race at all).

Both ways for me...for the reasons others have stated.   Speaking of shotguns; I'm planning on a good SD shotgun course this year...probably at Rangemaster (Memphis)...I'm pretty familiar with my shotgun but I've never taken an actual course in using it as a SD weapon.

Well, it's always easy to talk about an armed rebellion (especially if it's someone else doing the rebelling)...quite another to actually participate in one.

Responded how....with force???  If they had there would just be a lot of dead folks in CT right now (or in jail for the rest of their lives).   We can discuss the academic issue all day long and talk bout "rights" and when people have the authority to resist with force, etc but unless someone stands up as a leader and gathers a few million man/woman army to resist then any "resistance with force" will simply end with the resisting "patriot" being shot dead by police or hauled off to jail if he's lucky enough to not get killed.

I can agree that while it could work, I wonder on what basis do you suggest that there would BE mass, peaceful, organized non-compliance? I don't see such organization happening...and while you may not I'm sure there are plenty of LEO, SWAT, other branches of law enforcement who would go door to door if that is what they were told to do.  

I don't think anyone needs to turn into an attorney on the street; in fact, I think doing so is incredibly stupid; the court room is the place for attorneys to argue the law.   On the other hand, I'd say that being polite, to never consent to a search and basically keep your mouth shut is usually the best way to go when stopped by police...if I've actually broken the law then it's likely they are going to ticket me or arrest me no matter what I say or don't say or whether I consent to a search or not.

  Why assume that the two major party candidates are both just different degrees of "terrible"?  I call that a false assumption or at the very least, an assumption made on no facts since we aren't even talking about any specific candidates or races.   I've met many candidates, both Republicans and Democrats (both in office and running for office) in Tennessee who are good, decent, God-fearing, moral people who believe in the Constitution and unalienable rights and I could (and have) voted for such in good conscious because even though that candidate and I may not agree on every issue we DO agree on the important, basic things.   I didn't say anything about "wasting a vote" but I'm not going to vote for someone who cannot win. A "better option" that can't win isn't a very good option - if he/she truly wants to be a "better option" then he/she also needs to be a viable one which means that he/she is going to have to build enough support to actually win. If your better option does than then I'll happily vote for him.

Another relatively rare occasion when you and I agree.   I cherish my God-given rights as much as any one; I may even be willing to face certain death to defend them and such as defense could, perhaps, be reasonably called "a lawful act of self defense against tyrannical agents committing acts of violence against an innocent citizenry" but in the end it wouldn't make much difference because I would still be dead and I seriously doubt that my "sacrifice" would benefit anyone, including me.  I don't know if we (the country) can still change our fate with the system the founders put in place...it may well be too late, but that system is still the one best hope we have, I believe, to set things right.

I know where you are going and I'd say you were dreaming. ;)  But yes, I'd vote for such a better option if he/she has a REAL chance to win the election but if they don't then I'm not going to vote for them.   99.9% of the time either a Republican or a Democrat is going to win in a general election (which is what I was really referring to above) and I'll vote for one or the other unless, as I said, some other candidate has a real and legitimate chance (and not just a hope) to win.

I can tell you this, I won't vote for Haslam for gov again...as to the other offices I can vote on it will depend entirely on "who" is running...if it's a Republican who has gone along with the Haslam clowns then I'll be voting for the Democrat.   Things were clearly better for the TN firearms community when Republicans were not in the majority (or at least not in majority in both houses and the governor's mansion).