Did rifle-toting Obama protester help or hurt gun rights?
The appearance of weapons near the president at a speech and a healthcare town hall has been cast as either a danger to the president and public debate or a sign of that gun ownership is gradually losing its stigma. A man in a shirt and tie carried a shoulder-slung rifle near President Obama’s entourage in Phoenix Tuesday. Since carrying a gun is legal in Arizona, police did not take action against him or any other gun-carrying protesters. Last week, however, a man was arrested near the presidential town hall in Portsmouth, N.H., for not having the proper permits for a gun. Another man wore a gun in a leg holster. To many liberals, such displays are a worrisome sign that the president’s opponents are trying to intimidate public discourse. “Loaded weapons at political forums endanger all involved, distract law enforcement, and end up stifling debate,” says Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in a statement issued Tuesday. But many gun-rights experts see
