Sorry if this has already been posted, but this is what TNJ has to say about this issue:
August 20, 2009
How is it that citizens toting loaded weapons are any less of a public safety concern in a crowd just outside an event the president is attending, as opposed to being seated only yards away?
Of course, President Barack Obama's well-being is paramount whenever he is in public. So, too, is the welfare of the hundreds of citizens attending health care reform rallies, regardless of which side they have taken in this polarizing national debate.
Yet, the presence of loaded firearms at these mass gatherings has become a bragging right for some gun loyalists. Most cite a claim to Second Amendment civil rights.
That context is faulty when this issue is raised out of concern entirely for President Obama. He has unparalleled access to the best security, including skilled sharpshooters, Secret Service infiltrating the crowd within the gates and ropes and doors that use metal detectors for admittance.
But the growing "populist" opposition to the various congressional bills has become too highly pitched with anger, colossal misunderstandings and misinterpretations. It's too risky to those who support the First and Second Amendments to ignore what's happening among the growing crowds outside these forums. The minor cases of in-your-face finger-pointing are still inciting acts, posing serious crowd control issues. And not just in terms of additional costs of security, but possibly loss of life.
Extending the perimeter for which loaded weapons are banned during these events makes sense. It's the least costly way to secure the joint right to life and liberty shared by gun owners and fellow unarmed protestors.
