Do you think this guy makes gun owners look bad?

2015-06-03T13:47:47-04:00

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/06/georgia-man-wandered-around-atlanta-airport-with-a-loaded-ar-15-because-something-might-happen/#.VW6NJRhltRM.facebook

Georgia man wandered around Atlanta airport with a loaded AR-15 because ‘something might happen’...

Taking advantage of his state’s open carry laws, a Georgia man paraded around the Atlanta airport toting a loaded AR-15 simply because he could — alarming police and airport security.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jun 3 at 2015 1:49 PM

2015-06-03T13:49:28-04:00

No. If it's legal and he's not doing anything wrong why should it?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2015 1:52 PM

2015-06-03T13:52:09-04:00

A little extreme (AR-15 with a 100 rounds) but I get his point. Still extreme LOL

Response by SGT James Elphick made Jun 3 at 2015 2:46 PM

2015-06-03T14:46:49-04:00

Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD.

Response by Maj Chris Nelson made Jun 3 at 2015 3:00 PM

2015-06-03T15:00:31-04:00

I understand his points. HOWEVER, I also don't think that, while legal, it was the right thing to do. Personally, I prefer the concealed carry position. 1. it does not alarm others 2. I do not need the bad guys to immediately target me as I am the only one with a visible weapon that could oppose them. I open carry in the country while hunting, hiking, or otherwise not in a city. I conceal carry in high population dense location where people start getting twitchy....

Response by SGT Darryl Allen made Jun 3 at 2015 3:05 PM

2015-06-03T15:05:36-04:00

I don't think it makes gun owners look bad, I think it just makes him look stupid. If I was in the market to kill some innocent people, I'd probably make this guy target #1 because, if I kill him, now I've got my gun AND his gun and a whole lot of rounds.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jun 3 at 2015 4:14 PM

2015-06-03T16:14:23-04:00

Oh Yeah, Didn't do Reasonable Gun Owners any favors.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 3 at 2015 6:35 PM

2015-06-03T18:35:33-04:00

This sounds like a guy on a mission LOOKING for something to happen. As in "Go ahead, make my day!" He's going to get himself or someone else injured or worse. Did he expect authorities NOT to question him while parading around an airport locked and cocked?

The anti-gun folks will make him the poster boy for, "see, we told you so"

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Jun 3 at 2015 7:46 PM

2015-06-03T19:46:00-04:00

Colossal idiot. Gives all responsible gun owners a bad name.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 4 at 2015 3:26 AM

2015-06-04T03:26:50-04:00

Second amendment rights are constantly under attack. In a perfect world I would say so what as long as he’s legal. We don’t live in a perfect world. People on the fence with the gun issue see this, and then support a push for a ban on open carry. If he wanted to make a statement, a handgun in a proper holster would have done that. He wanted it 15 minutes of fame. He’s an asshat.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 4 at 2015 6:11 AM

2015-06-04T06:11:37-04:00

I personally wouldn't carry a rifle openly but that's his right. For myself I would carry a concealed handgun.

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made Jun 4 at 2015 6:31 AM

2015-06-04T06:31:35-04:00

If more people open carried it would become less of an issue. We have not seen folks open carry as a rule for many years. It stands out to us now. 10 years from now, if 10's of thousands of people are doing it, it will not be as big a deal.

Would I do it, not likely. I do not conceal carry even though we have it in FL. I don't subscribe to the "just because he can doesn't mean he should" mentality. You could apply that mentality to any right we have. I understand the alarm it creates as we are not used to seeing folks walk about with an AR hanging on them.

Response by SGT William Howell made Jun 5 at 2015 2:07 PM

2015-06-05T14:07:24-04:00

So most every CCW will never use there weapon and it remain concealed. Every active shooter has a gun exposed. Why, for the life of me would, you excite the public just because you can. I would have left the airport if I had seen this guy and I am a 100% gun rights supporter.

This portrays gun owners as wack jobs and does not help our cause one bit.

Response by SA Harold Hansmann made Jun 5 at 2015 2:43 PM

2015-06-05T14:43:25-04:00

Getting drunk is legal does that mean we all should?

Response by MSgt Jim Wolverton made Jun 6 at 2015 12:51 AM

2015-06-06T00:51:20-04:00

What an idiot! Airport, bars, and schools are three places where you have NO business carrying a firearm. I'm from GA and as a military member, I didn't need a CCP to carry, but that wouldn't stop me from getting my ass handed to me by a police officer who didn't know that particular law. An AR-15 is not a self defense weapon, no matter what anybody says. Doing things like this stunt for effect only serve to cause panic among the general public and it's compounded in an airport where you have people from many different countries and backgrounds and just want to get to their destination, not have to worry about some nutjob trying to express his political views.

Response by SPC Les Darbison made Dec 5 at 2021 10:57 PM

2021-12-05T22:57:24-05:00

We had open carry in Ca. once upon a time. Then some ha hos open carried down in Berkly and scared some Ppl. And we lost open carry in Ca.

Response by MSG Thomas Currie made Apr 29 at 2023 11:09 AM

2023-04-29T11:09:24-04:00

There are plenty of good (and not so good) arguments on both sides of this issue.

No one complained in late-September 2001 when national guard members were open carrying M16's in airports. No one complains about police open carrying guns everywhere they go -- despite the fact that numerous "accidental" discharges by police officers have occurred, including in airports and schools.

As SGT Elphick pointed out "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." On the other hand, Cooley was correct when he said "If you don’t exercise your rights, the government doesn’t have any hesitation taking them away."

By ALL accounts, Cooley did not do anything that was in any way threatening. He responded respectfully and appropriately to multiple times when authorities or nosy individuals asked what he was doing.

Personally, I think in most cases people who push open carry to the extreme are usually doing more harm than good. Cooley got the 15 minutes of fame that he wanted but I doubt that he changed anyone's mind on either side of any gun issue. (I would guess that he probably did push a few people to be more adamant in the position they already believed).