Men with assault rifles walk through Portland, 'educate' public

[Eric Veteran]

Again, this is a news article. Please take general gun control discussion to the proper thread.

[Rippleman]

Difference between an organized group of people and 1 random guy walking with a gun at the ready.

i don't get your response, most people that carry are that "random guy" walking by themselves at least some of the day. And from what you say and other pro-gunners say, you "carry" so you are always "ready". So are you basically just carrying because other guys just like you are carrying?

[Azusa]

So you walk around the corner and see a guy holding a gun.. it would take you a second or two to process whether it's a single guy or an organised group. Do you reach for your gun? If so you could be shot dead. If you don't, you could be shot dead. Lose lose.

Walking around carrying them in the open is retarded.

I wouldn't visit the US in a million years. Your laws make no sense.

May i ask what part of the UK you live in?

[Empyrean Glow]

But yet they carry a gun to protect themselves from what they are scared of?

Lets be honest...based on the mentality typically shown, likely the answer to that would be 'brown people with guns'.

[Hardcore Til I Die]

May i ask what part of the UK you live in?

The East Midlands in England :)

[Eric Veteran]

Last warning. Stick to the topic.

[McKay]

The East Midlands in England :)

What part? I live in Lincolnshire. :)

[KingCracker]

i don't get your response, most people that carry are that "random guy" walking by themselves at least some of the day. And from what you say and other pro-gunners say, you "carry" so you are always "ready". So are you basically just carrying because other guys just like you are carrying?

I'm not sure what Oregon's law is but in CA you can't open carry a rifle that is loaded.

[Azusa]

The East Midlands in England :)

figures it's pretty safe down there.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Why are they idiots? They didn't do anything wrong and me personally wouldn't have batted an eye at them.You may not be accustomed to seeing firearms but that doesn't make them idiots.

They're idiots because it's a ridiculous way to inform the public about their rights. It's not informative, it's not intelligent, it's not subtle - it's designed to provoke an intense reaction and they did it knowing that a lot of people would fear for their lives. Even if it's not illegal it's moronic.

I think we really need to clear up a few misconceptions here.

I'm always seeing people say that guns are banned in the UK. Its not true. You can have a air rifle without any license whats so ever, you can carry that around in the street too. For high powered air-rifles, yes you do need a license... but but they're only air rifles right...

I never claimed that they were banned, nor would I have considering my family owns four shotguns and we go out shooting rabbits. The point is that while it may not be technically illegal to carry a weapon in public there are other laws it would fall under and it simply wouldn't be tolerated doing the same thing these guys did here in the UK. You'd be arrested for a breach of the peace for carrying weapons around in public; it is also illegal to carry a loaded weapon in public.

As I said, there is no excuse for such behaviour in a civilised society. Unfortunately many in the US would like a return to the days of the Wild West, where criminals are shot on the spot or lynched - in fact the way the police deal with confrontations in the US it could be argued the US is already there.

[McKay]

figures it's pretty safe down there.

Everyone and their Mums is packing around here. Like Farmers.......and Farmers Mums..... :rofl:

[Hardcore Til I Die]

figures it's pretty safe down there.

Pretty much. There's like two crimes on the crime map for the village I live in; one burglary and one public order offence. The village is on the outskirts of a city.

The city has a bit of a drug problem but not it's not too bad for violence. I work a criminal defence lawyer's office so I hear about a lot of what goes on and that can sometimes skew my perception of it, but it's not really that bad.

If you're implying my view is influenced by living in a safe area; it may well be, but I would never think it's a good idea to freely walk around carrying weapons. That kind of behaviour is likely to incite violence/unrest, not stop it.

[KingCracker]

They're idiots because it's a ridiculous way to inform the public about their rights. It's not informative, it's not intelligent, it's not subtle - it's designed to provoke an intense reaction and they did it knowing that a lot of people would fear for their lives. Even if it's not illegal it's moronic.

I never claimed that they were banned, nor would I have considering my family owns four shotguns and we go out shooting rabbits. The point is that while it may not be technically illegal to carry a weapon in public there are other laws it would fall under and it simply wouldn't be tolerated doing the same thing these guys did here in the UK. You'd be arrested for a breach of the peace for carrying weapons around in public; it is also illegal to carry a loaded weapon in public.

As I said, there is no excuse for such behaviour in a civilised society. Unfortunately many in the US would like a return to the days of the Wild West, where criminals are shot on the spot or lynched - in fact the way the police deal with confrontations in the US it could be argued the US is already there.

Funny when I see a gun in public I don't fear them. Secondly the U.S isn't the wild west I don't get into gun battles on the way to work.

The U.K is a police state it seems, it seems you can't do anything without breaking a law you can't even defend yourself without fear of being arrested.

[Stokkolm]

Is it just me or does anyone else see the extreme double hypocrisy? From every response from a gun owner, they have all said they are not scared of seeing a stranger with a gun. But yet they carry a gun to protect themselves from what they are scared of? If you aren't scared of a person that is openly carrying or concealed carry, they what are you exactly carrying for?

How is it hypocrisy? Why would we be afraid of the lawful gun owners who are openly carrying and obeying the law? I carry because of the criminals who don't openly carry or don't have a concealed permit and will try to rob or murder. All gun control measures will do is remove the guns from the lawful carriers and create more victims.

[KingCracker]

Pretty much. There's like two crimes on the crime map for the village I live in; one burglary and one public order offence. The village is on the outskirts of a city.

The city has a bit of a drug problem but not it's not too bad for violence. I work a criminal defence lawyer's office so I hear about a lot of what goes on and that can sometimes skew my perception of it, but it's not really that bad.

If you're implying my view is influenced by living in a safe area; it may well be, but I would never think it's a good idea to freely walk around carrying weapons. That kind of behaviour is likely to incite violence/unrest, not stop it.

congratulations, other places around the world aren't as safe.

[Hardcore Til I Die]

Funny when I see a gun in public I don't fear them. Secondly the U.S isn't the wild west I don't get into gun battles on the way to work.

The U.K is a police state it seems, it seems you can't do anything without breaking a law you can't even defend yourself without fear of being arrested.

If there are witnesses to say you were defending yourself you're unlikely to be arrested. If the police can't ascertain at the scene what happened they'll arrest everyone involved.

Seems reasonable to me.

congratulations, other places around the world aren't as safe.

Maybe because walking around with assault rifles is not illegal in such places :laugh:

[Rippleman]

How is it hypocrisy? Why would we be afraid of the lawful gun owners who are openly carrying and obeying the law? I carry because of the criminals who don't openly carry or don't have a concealed permit and will try to rob or murder. All gun control measures will do is remove the guns from the lawful carriers and create more victims.

from looking at someone, can you tell if he holds a permit or no permit? Under the logic of "criminals will only have guns" then why is there laws for anything?

[theyarecomingforyou]

Funny when I see a gun in public I don't fear them.

Yet you feel the need to own guns for your own safety.

The U.K is a police state it seems, it seems you can't do anything without breaking a law you can't even defend yourself without fear of being arrested.

Says someone from the country with the highest incarceration rate on the planet, nearly 500% higher than that of the UK. Are you done deflecting now?

[KingCracker]

If there are witnesses to say you were defending yourself you're unlikely to be arrested. If the police can't ascertain at the scene what happened they'll arrest everyone involved.

Seems reasonable to me.

Maybe because walking around with assault rifles is not illegal in such places :laugh:

Who was walking around with assault rifles, if you're going to try to insult my country at-least use the correct wording. I lived in CA and they have strict gun laws but yet I felt no safer in fact home invasions and robberies were the norm where I lived.

Yet you feel the need to own guns for your own safety.

Says someone from the country with the highest incarceration rate on the planet, nearly 500% higher than that of the UK. Are you done deflecting now?

most due to drugs an alcohol..Not due to carrying a pocket knife..

.

[redvamp128]

Yet you feel the need to own guns for your own safety.

Says someone from the country with the highest incarceration rate on the planet, nearly 500% higher than that of the UK. Are you done deflecting now?

Okay let us see..... the reason that it is 500% higher is simple because....

The US has almost 18 times the population versus the UK.

On the same matter... Let us see the results... The UK is roughly the size of Alabama with some parts of Mississippi with a population of California and New Mexico.

The true comparison should be for the Whole Eastern Union and Canada compared to the US which would be about comparing the same things.

[Hardcore Til I Die]

Who was walking around with assault rifles, if you're going to try to insult my country at-least use the correct wording. I lived in CA and they have strict gun laws but yet I felt no safer in fact home invasions and robberies were the norm where I lived..

I'm not trying to insult your country; I just think some of the laws are backwards.

I said assault rifles because that's the wording the article used. I'm not a gun expert; I don't know what qualifies as an assault rifle and what doesn't.

[KingCracker]

I'm not trying to insult your country; I just think some of the laws are backwards.

I said assault rifles because that's the wording the article used. I'm not a gun expert; I don't know what qualifies as an assault rifle and what doesn't.

An assault rifle is one that can fire full auto or burst fire and have been banned since 86. I think some laws in your country are to strict.

[Stoffel]

Is there really not a single pro gun person on this forum that can understand that to most people it's scary to see two 22-year olds with guns strapped to their backs?

We all understand they did not do anything illegal, but please use some common sense. How can you know for sure these guys are not just on their way to go and shoot everybody in a nearby mall?

If they really did it to educate the people they should have been wearing signs, approach people, talk to them, hand out flyers,....

This was just dumb and did not help your cause at all.

[redvamp128]

I'm not trying to insult your country; I just think some of the laws are backwards.

I said assault rifles because that's the wording the article used. I'm not a gun expert; I don't know what qualifies as an assault rifle and what doesn't.

I think the point he was trying to make is that an AR15 is not an an Assault Riffle

The AR in the AR-15 does not stand for Assault riffle but Armalite named for the company that originally came up with the design.

that is one thing he was trying to make clear.

[Hardcore Til I Die]

Okay let us see..... the reason that it is 500% higher is simple because....

The US has almost 18 times the population versus the UK.

On the same matter... Let us see the results... The UK is roughly the size of Alabama with some parts of Mississippi with a population of California and New Mexico.

The true comparison should be for the Whole Eastern Union and Canada compared to the US which would be about comparing the same things.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate

Prisoners per 100,000 people:

US - 730

UK - 154

The number of people in the entire population doesn't matter when they're comparing a sample from each.

An assault rifle is one that can fire full auto or burst fire and have been banned since 86.

Assault rifles, semi-automatic rifles, whatever they are... even walking around with handguns completely in the open is a bad idea.