Man Walks Into Kroger with Loaded AR-15

[Scarecrow]

Fearful public calls 911, man not arrested.

[ame]http://youtu.be/EeTgMVaZypw[/ame]

 

[adws943]

I don't know how I feel about this action. Thumbs up for 2A rights. A single man with an AR-15 would have made me nervous as well. Why did he enter the store and leave. He should have shouldered the weapon, do his shopping, pay and leave. just like any other customer.

 

[Mark 1911]

The Charlottesville Police did not detain him and said he was doing nothing illegal. However, the "Kroger managers have banned him from the property". Didn't the Montgomery City bus system do the same thing to Rosa Parks in 1955?

 

[Goodcat]

Ha love it!

 

[PriestEG]

1st point-the head newscaster referred to it as an "assault rifle" yet the female reporter acknowledged it was an AR15.. why the varying terms??? either slander the rifle or dont.. get your story strait so the evil black rifle can be removed and quarantined for the protection of us all.

2nd and biggest point- not the smartest way to demonstrate, going in and out like that would be suspect to me! if he just walked in and went shopping, then i wouldnt have given the gent a second look. but in and then out, then back in with a rifle is rather unusual way to do things

3rd point- why was it that when the woman (women who called the police) heard there was a man with a gun, her immediate response was to call the police?? thank you liberal media for ingraining the image of GUNS=DEATH/BAD/ILLEGAL to general ignorant public who cant think for themselves

 

[TTravis]

Legal yes, but not cool.

 

[ViperJock]

IMO what he did had nothing to do with the second ammendment. IT was all about getting attention and not in a good way. And lets face it, doing stuff like this does nothing to improve the public's perception of gunowners and the right to carry. Ultimately, it will be the public perception that sways the vote one way or the other. Just another case of more ego than brains.

If you are going to carry an AR15, please conceal it

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

IMO what he did had nothing to do with the second ammendment. IT was all about getting attention and not in a good way. And lets face it, doing stuff like this does nothing to improve the public's perception of gunowners and the right to carry. Ultimately, it will be the public perception that sways the vote one way or the other. Just another case of more ego than brains.

If you are going to carry an AR15, please conceal it

We teach exactly the same thing in hunter education - put the dead deer in the truck bed, not on the hood. Clean up before entering restaurants - dont go anywhere with deer blood all over you, etc. It's legal, yes, but bad PR.

 

[LanceRobbins24]

Who knows the whole story with this exact situation. Maybe he applied for his LTCH and they are just as backed up as our state is and his only form of self protection is to carry a long gun. Maybe he felt like he needed his rifle after he walked into the Kroger and assesed the location. Then after he went back to his vehicle to retrieve his weapon and entered the store again felt like he would be better served to go to another grocery store with less probability of needing to use his firearm in self defense. Who knows? Only that guy does.

It drives me nuts when guys say "I'm all for the 2nd Amendment, but...blah blah blah". He is doing nothing wrong and breaking no laws. If he is well within his rights and feels the need to protect himself in the manner he sees fit, then good for him. It may/may not be what you or I would do, but the sheep that may be frightened are not directly responsible for his/his families direct safety...he is.

I say good for him.

 

[ATM]

...if he just walked in and went shopping, then i wouldnt have given the gent a second look. but in and then out, then back in with a rifle is rather unusual way to do things...

This.

No issue with exercising the RKBA, but () the description of what he did, going back and forth to his car to retrieve the rifle after having already been inside, are not actions which will instill confidence or help normalize the practice of simply being armed while you go about your business.

Not sure what his purpose was, though. Maybe he was trying to make some other point.

 

[Booya]

IMO what he did had nothing to do with the second ammendment. IT was all about getting attention and not in a good way. And lets face it, doing stuff like this does nothing to improve the public's perception of gunowners and the right to carry. Ultimately, it will be the public perception that sways the vote one way or the other. Just another case of more ego than brains.

If you are going to carry an AR15, please conceal it

Spot on, he wanted attention and he got it. The negative kind. We all just got some!

This.

No issue with exercising the RKBA, but () the description of what he did, going back and forth to his car to retrieve the rifle after having already been inside, are not actions which will instill confidence or help normalize the practice of simply being armed while you go about your business.

Not sure what his purpose was, though. Maybe he was trying to make some other point.

Exactly. Strap it on, shop, leave. If you have no ill intention or ulterior motives then fine, who cares? I get upset when the cops harass someone open carrying when they're doing nothing at all, but it makes sense for the cops to investigate someone flat out acting suspicious.

Had I seen this happening I would have been on alert. I would have suspected that he went in, cased the joint, then went to get his rifle. Illegal no, suspicious, yes. I would have thought he was robbing the place. If he was shopping, I might have started a conversation...

 

[LanceRobbins24]

This.

No issue with exercising the RKBA, but ()

I see what you did there....well played sir, well played.

I agree whole hearted with your assessment as well.

 

[JettaKnight]

Has shades of the Westboro Baptist Church.

 

[RockofStrength]

Just because it's your right doesn't make it any less stupid. Biden gets to speak owing to the First Amendment but you might notice it hasn't helped his reputation any.

 

[LanceRobbins24]

Think about what you just said....you think this guy is stupid for excercising his right to protect himself. Like I said previously, we don't know why he did what he did with leaving and then coming back in. So if he just originally went in to do his shopping already with the rifle, would you still feel the same way?

I don't buy the just because you can doesn't mean you should argument. The second people stop using ALL their rights is when it is much easier for them to be taken away by politicians (even though our rights aren't given by our elected officials, they are granted by our Creator).

 

[380guy]

I have mixed feelings. My Wife thinks there is nothing wrong with it, granted he didn't do anything wrong but like I told her, lets face it we don't live in a society that of 30-50 years ago when people weren't so desensitized to everything and had respect for human life and common decency. Until the public is taught our basic rights again people will be freaked out. Now, that being said, who's to say he didn't deter a crime from happening that day! I personally wouldn't go walking around with a rifle and I can't help but think in the back of my mind these people are going to ruin it somehow in some way. What we all need to do if we want to express the rights we have is to organize a day where we ALL carry like this to educated the unfortunate people who just don't know. This is such an unfortunate slippery slope. At least the media did say he did nothing wrong by exercising his right.

 

[LanceRobbins24]

It shouldn't be just a single day where we all do something like this. It should be every day if you are willing to do it. I do so with my handgun when I am not at my place of employment or on school property...other than that, you can guarantee it is on my hip in plain sight...unless wearing a coat in winter months of course. I have very positive encounters with people an a chance to educate. Very rarely has there been a negative interaction with people or LEO. It's not for everyone, but it is for me and I would love to see more do it as well.

 

[JettaKnight]

Think about what you just said....you think this guy is stupid for exercising his right to protect himself. Like I said previously, we don't know why he did what he did with leaving and then coming back in. So if he just originally went in to do his shopping already with the rifle, would you still feel the same way?

He wasn't carrying the AR-15 for protection. He was carrying it to make a political statement. Big difference.

I have mixed feelings. My Wife thinks there is nothing wrong with it, granted he didn't do anything wrong but like I told her, lets face it we don't live in a society that of 30-50 years ago when people weren't so desensitized to everything and had respect for human life and common decency. Until the public is taught our basic rights again people will be freaked out.

Please enlighten me, (I'm too young) - was it common for a man to shop at a grocery store with a M1 Garrand 30-50 years ago?

 

[LanceRobbins24]

Were you the man in the story? Probably not...then how can you make such a statement? You have no way of knowing his intentions.

Who's to say his handgun isn't at the smith being worked on and this is his only other form of protection he feels the need to employ?

 

[Bobby]

He wasn't carrying the AR-15 for protection. He was carrying it to make a political statement. Big difference.

A political statement like doing whatever he can(short of doing anything criminal) to help further the cause to ban assault weapons? Who says he is a law-abiding gunowner? Why couldn't he be a liberal Obama supporter trying to pass himself off as a wacky "right-wing, assault rifle loving" nutcase?

I hate President Obama's beliefs and everything he is trying to do to this country. I have family that worship the great O and I could see one of them pulling a stunt like this if it would help the President's agenda get passed.

Granted, I don't know the reasons why he walked into Kroger. BUT, he could have either for or against the 2nd Amendment in my mind.