a wtf moment

why are people allowed to carry assault weapons to rallies? Now, if that isn´t a wtf moment, then I don´t know what is. And this was a rally where the President of the United States was visiting. How many presidents were assassinated in the US? Four sitting presidents. How many attempts? thirteen. Any other countries come close? no.

at a Bush rally, back in 2004, Independence Day, a couple by the name of Jeffrey and Nicole Rank, appeared at said rally wearing home-made anti-Bush t-shirts. No weapons. Just words. They refused to take the t-shirts off. They were arrested. Now, I can understand why words made Bush break out in a cold sweat, but this is absolutely ridiculous.

How does this match up? What does this say about our society? I say its absolute bullshit - this right to bear arms. To do what? Blow your neighbor to kingdom come? To shoot a 7 year-old tricker treater you mistake for a burglar?

I can see when it made sense when you were living out in the middle of no where, like 100 years ago, no law enforcement within a days ride or something. But now? We don´t need guns. Thats why we have the police. Normal people (ok, make that crazy people) do not need guns. Nor should they have guns. This so-called "right" is completely outdated, and just idiotic. We don´t need guns. If someone burglarizes your house, hit him over the head with a baseball bat. Or a frying pan. Why would you need a rifle? A gun? An automatic weapon? Why would you bring a weapon with you to a rally unless you thought you might want to use it? What for? To shoot someone who disagrees with you? For example, the President? This is like having a camp fire near a fuse.

Seriously. I cannot believe we call ourselves a civilized society. Look at the statistics: no where else is the private use of firearms allowed. And nowhere else is the rate of shootings and death because of legal firearms as high as in the US. Because complete WHACKOS are legally allowed to buy them. I can even see the point of maybe possible having a small hand weapon. But OPENLY carrying an automatic rifle to a rally in the vicinity of the President is just insane. As the language gets rougher, so will the actions.

Man, all this is just asking for a disaster to happen.

Screen shots courtesy of the Daily Show, 18th August 2009