On Memorial Day, I’ll be one of many doing some shooting…a symbolic celebration of the freedoms for which our honored military dead sacrificed their lives over the centuries. Sadly, I suppose another of our freedoms is that we’re free to do stupid things…and that element is one I’d rather not celebrate.
On Independence Day, the Fourth of July, a fellow named Adam Kokesh wants gun owners to march on Washington, DC carrying loaded rifles. It’s hard for most folks to see a contingent of strangers marching into their cities with loaded rifles as anything less than a threatening invasion. Intimidation does not win sympathy for even the most righteous cause.
The anti-gun zealots are all over this proposed march, some promising to light off firecrackers in hope of inducing panic and gunfire. And all that’s needed to light off the tinderbox is one off-safe AR15 whose trigger is accidentally brushed by something hanging off the wearer’s gear, or one strange ranger who wants to fire “a shot heard round the world.”
Some friends of mine in the gun owners’ civil rights movement see this ridiculous idea as a disturbing parallel to Bloody Sunday in 1905 in Russia, a peaceful march on the Winter Palace of the Czar which ended in a mass slaughter of the demonstrators by Czarist troops. They point out that the march was led under a false flag by one Georgy Gapon, who later admitted that he was an agent provocateur of the Czar’s secret police. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_%281905%29
Speaking of false flags Mr. Kokesh, originator of this insanely bad idea, is alleged by some to have been allied with the gun-prohibitionist-in-chief: http://www.lady-patriots.com/the-smoking-gun-adam-kokesh-works-for-obama/ . I’m not buying that yet, but I do agree with the great majority of gun folk, as exemplified here http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=524220&page=1″ that no good is likely to come from such a march, and there is huge potential for it to be horribly bad for legitimate gun owners.
Mr. Kokesh’s Kool-Aid is strong. When he was arrested recently at a pro-marijuana rally, his supporters claimed he had been “disappeared” and “kidnapped” by the “Stasi.” Uh, no…simply arrested, jailed, and processed. http://www.ibtimes.com/adam-kokesh-decides-stay-jail-refuses-give-judge-phone-number-address-1278855 . As anyone intentionally violating DC law by carrying a loaded rifle into the city on the Fourth of July can expect to be…or worse, if someone lights the tinderbox. The Kokesh march seems to be a spectacularly bad idea. It’s the sort of thing that “kidnaps” logic, and “disappears” the credibility of responsible advocates for gun owners’ civil rights.
I believe you have the right of it, Mas. I kinda picture this bunch, if they marchu, meeting the Nat. Gaurd or Reg. Army half-way across the Memorial Bridge, with Bradleys and armored Hummers. the first yahoo that busts a rimfire is goning to meet a storm of chain-gun and Ma-Deuce fire, mowing down the fools in the march and thirty years of pro-rights progress. Hope calmer heads prevail, I guess we’ll see…..
Agreed. We are fighting DC’s ban on carrying handguns in court. Marching into DC opening carrying rifles is a particularly bad idea for anyone who wants to stay alive or out of jail.
The Stasi? As in ‘East German Secret Police’? That tells me all I need to know about this guy – I already knew that an armed march *anywhere* is a bad idea.
On a happier note, my wife and I are sitting here on Memorial Day weekend trying to decide if we should attend the Tactical Conference at Rangemaster next year or not. It would be our first, but we are not sure if we would learn anything – or just be the object of much amusement. We are not LEOs or anything, just a couple of people who have CCW permits and an abiding interest in being prepared to defend ourselves. While we practice with our weapons, we know that we are nowhere near the level of (probably all) the other attendees. I have this mental picture of finally getting to meet a lot of people who’s writing/work I admire…and then embarrassing myself somehow.
It’s also a fairly serious investment, economically speaking. Flying in from Atlanta (with our guns, which seems complicated and stressful), or driving it in a rental car (7 hours), on top of the actual cost of the event and a hotel stay…well, this would be our ‘Big Trip’ for the yearly budget. If we are going to go, we need to get our reservation in ASAP, then figure out where to stay, and then tell our respective employers that we want our vacation time for the event.
I realize that your opinion is probably somewhat biased (LOL) but what would you advise, Mas? Is this something that is much more appropriate for LEO/armed professionals than ‘average armed citizens’?
Hopefully, he’ll keep refusing to cooperate, and will be in jail until after the 4th of July. The best thing you can say about him is that he’s a loose cannon. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he were proven to be an agent provocateur.
It is not just that this is such an obviously bad idea but rather that it could become the tipping point for, at the very least, more anti-gun legislation and in the worst case “temporary” martial law. These folks, regardless of their intentions, can and will probably do much more harm than good. Something, planned by outsiders or by accident, will go wrong.
In my almost seventy years I have come to appreciate calm, peace & quiet.
What Kokesh is proposing goes against that. Several of my friends have said that “when ‘they’ come to take my guns I’ll defend my home with my life”. No, that would be upsetting to the calm not to mention their loved ones.
My message to those who would take the path of confrontation, sit down with a cup of coffee, look at your babies. Look at your wife, Mom and Dad.
Now that we’ve taken a minute, write your Congressman & Senators. You’ve not given the gun ban people what they were hoping for, an excuse for total confiscation of all guns.
Matt — I think you and your wife will enjoy the Tactical Conference immensely. The shooting is optional, though I find it a high point; there is plenty going on throughout including classroom lectures and hand to hand. There are generally more armed citizens in attendance than cops. Hope to see you there in Memphis next year.
I hope this doesn’t happen as we now have a great deal of support for the 2nd amendment from Law Enforcement, Sheriffs in particular. A stupid stunt like this could make that support go away.
Wrong leader, wrong subject, wrong time.
—–“Only fools rush in, where wise-men, never, ever go ” —
–“One toke over the line”–
“Drama Queen”
Background check, recall !!
This guy was probably “vetted” by Joe Biden—-
Thanks, Mas, that puts our minds at ease. I’ll call Rangemaster on Tuesday and see about reservations.
Lets hope that 4th of July march does not come to pass, it is a TERRIBLE idea.
Otherwise Happy Memorial Day Mas and let us all enjoy our freedoms our soldiers fought for this weekend.
We’ll be shooting too. Garands, 03A3s, carbines and 1911s. I concur, that 4th of July march is just stupid. There are better ways to do things.
I’ve been saying this for years: the way to win hearts and minds is to take your friends (wives, daughters, girlfriends especially included) to the range and show them how much FUN it is. THAT’s when minds change. Most anti-gunners are already scared – it’s exactly what gets in the way of their understanding. They already associate gun-rights advocates with whack-job violent tendencies. WE know it’s not the truth about the vast majority of gun owners, but they don’t and this kind of approach just feeds into their fears. It does nothing to help, and as you say may do much to hurt the cause.
What a horrible idea. I cant see how a loaded rifle could possibly be legal on the street in a major city, except in the hands of on duty Police. He had better stop drinking his own koolaid before its too late. I hope the Police are very careful when they arrest these fools. Happy Holidays to all !!
I understand the need to stand up and be counted for what you believe in. I’ll give Kokesh 10 out of 10 for that but he gets 0 for execution of plan. Immediate arrest, loss of weapon forever, a felony charge, never being able to legally own a gun again, not such a good deal.
The more I read and hear of this dude the further I want to be from him. I fear no good can come of this.
Two dead, five hurt in Texas shooting spree
(Reuters) – A gunman randomly firing from his pickup truck killed one person and wounded five, including the sheriff of Concho County, Texas, on Sunday before the suspect was killed in a shootout with law enforcement, officials said.
Authorities recovered an assault rifle, a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from the suspect, who was said to be 23 years old and from North Carolina. The name was withheld pending notification of relatives, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
The statement identified the dead victim as Alicia Torres, 41, who was shot dead in her car, the statement said.
The Texas Rangers, local law enforcement and Texas Parks and Wildlife were investigating multiple scenes in Concho County, about 250 miles southwest of Dallas, following the early morning shooting spree.
The first incident took place about 4:30 a.m. when the suspect opened fire on vehicle near Eden, wounding a woman, who was later hospitalized in San Angelo, the statement said.
The suspect wounded two more people a short time later as they sat in their vehicle outside a convenience store in Brady, and then returned to Eden, where he fired on another vehicle and wounded another person. Those three were treated and released.
About 6 a.m., Torres was found shot to death in her car in Eola.
Some 15 minutes later, Concho County Sheriff Richard Doane encountered the suspect on a highway north of Eden. The sheriff was wounded and taken to a San Angelo hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the statement said.
The gunman was killed in a shootout with a Highway Patrol trooper and game warden who arrived to assist the sheriff, the statement said.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Bill Trott)
On this Memorial Day while we remember our fallen heroes, as well as those that have served their country and returned, we must remember the reason why they served. Our freedom is not easily won or kept. We must continue to fight the hard fight to keep our country a free republic.
“I pledge allegiance to the United States, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, with Liberty and Justice for ALL.”
Now we must make our representatives in Washington D.C. remember why these men and women went to serve their country, to advance Freedom.
The Kokesh march seems to be a spectacularly bad idea. I’m certain it will lead to jail time.
If Kokesh is an agent provocateur, he may well have a facsimile gun/s to wave around. He might get arrested, but the consequences would be trivial compared to those for the gun owners arrested for carrying the real things. Slam dunk felony convictions, with all that goes with them, plus the terrible publicity. It makes some sense.
An old fashioned, black-powder anvil shoot might be safer and more fun.
Don’t go with stupid people to stupid places and do stupid things.
Nothing good can come from this.
And you are correct his Kool-Aid is strong.
How much coverage did the last march for life get from the media–zilch. Peaceful demonstrations aren’t going to get any press, if the media doesn’t support the cause.
An armed march is sort of an act of rebellion. One that the media will use for the poster child of gun bans for the next generation. One gets the sense that the administration is upset that this sort of thing has not happened, so far they’ve feed fuel to the violence in Mexico but a whistle blower took the wind out of that sail. This would hand the admin and the media exactly what they want. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Insane or a false flag. Besides, what would one think of, for example, all the New Black Panthers, Nation of Islam, the Communist Party USA, or the Klan, armed and marching on DC? Zero sympathy from anyone. Is that guy on SPLC’s pay roll?
The admin has multiple scandals right now, stupidly went after it’s best ally (the media), and anti-gun politicians are facing recall elections. If the Senate is re-taken in 2014 the end of this national nightmare will be in sight.
This is an insanely bad idea. This guy needs to realize that we just WON a battle for gun rights after a horrible December incident. What he is proposing will do nothing accept go badly and be the proverbial tipping point some are talking about. I hope this clown stays in jail until August.
I do accept that a day may come where we can no longer win at the ballot box and writing your Congressman and/or Senators becomes a wasted effort and quite possibly the NRA is silenced. IF all of those things were to come to pass and the next step was confiscation then possibly more drastic action would be called for, but the April vote in the Senate proved we are still a long way from that and this guy needs to back off before he really does something stupid.
My feelings are, this guy is bad for all of us. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was working for the gun banners.
I agree completely. If I were to march on DC it would be unarmed carrying signs but my preference is to stay out of DC completely and I dont live that far away. Our energy can be used more more wisely. Too many pro gun folks are antagonizing non gun owners with threats and fear mongering. We need to maintain a professional and rational composure and take our fight to the media and voting booth. I try to educate every person I come in contact with. I invite them to shoot with me and even provide the guns and ammo if necessary. I give them a little civics lesson and as much bad press on the gun grabbers as I can while I got them.
CA Senate Votes to Ban All Semi-Automatic Rifles With Detachable Magazines
Posted on May 29, 2013 by Robert Farago
After Connecticut upped the anti ante, The Golden State Senate is doing its level best to reclaim its title as America’s number one slave state. To that end, “The California Senate on Wednesday approved a package of seven gun control bills, including background checks for people who buy ammunition, introduced in response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.” Well, the latimes.com would say that wouldn’t they? Not to mention burying the big kahuna in the tenth paragraph. “The Senate also approved a bill that would outlaw the sale, purchase and manufacture in California of semiautomatic rifles that can accept detachable magazines. SB 374 also would require those who own such weapons to register them with the state.” Welcome back my friends to the nightmare that never ends. More details in the morning.
Mr. Kokesh has reportedly just cancelled his plans for an armed march on Washington.