A gun nut walked into a Kroger supermarket in Charlottesville, Va., recently, holding a loaded AR-15.
People were terrified.
He wasn’t arrested, because he didn’t break any law (from WVIR-TV):
Charlottesville police say the man who showed up at a Kroger grocery store with a loaded gun wanted to make a point. On Sunday, an unidentified 22-year-old man carried a loaded AR-15 into the Kroger store on Emmet Street and Hydraulic Road, sparking not only a scare for customers and employees but also a 2nd Amendment debate.
Charlottesville police drew their guns on the man after witnesses reported he brought a gun into the store. They restrained the man to ask him questions, but released him after they confirmed he is not a convicted felon, owned the gun legally and it was not concealed.
Police say he was cooperative and did nothing illegal. Officers did find a note in his pocket spelling out his intent to express his 2nd Amendment rights. Police say they could not release man’s name because he was not arrested.
Let’s try to ignore the fact, as hard as it is, that the guy belongs in jail or in a mental institution. Given the shootings in Newtown and Aurora, people are going to be terrified when someone walks into a public place brandishing a semiautomatic rifle. And let’s ignore the fact that if the police aren’t going to arrest him, this is, at the least, a case of:
1) Disturbing the peace
2) Reckless endangerment
3) Creating a public nuisance
Let’s focus on what would happen in NRA heaven.
A guy walks into a supermarket carrying a loaded AR-15. Second amendment lovers, all packing heat, sense danger, pull out their guns and start blazing away.
Multiple deaths ensue. And then the NRA says now is not the time to talk about gun regulation, because that’s using a tragedy for political gain.
Oh, and think about the note in the pocket.
Why did he have “a note in his pocket spelling out his intent to express his 2nd Amendment rights.”
I suspect it’s because he anticipated the possibility that this little fun gun run was going to end up in a shootout with him dead.
Related articles
- No Charges For Man Who Brought Loaded Assault Weapon Into Store (huffingtonpost.com)
- Man walked into grocery carrying assault rifle. Not illegal. (boingboing.net)
- Man who brought AR-15 into grocery store will face no criminal charges (rawstory.com)