Dennis Henigan is getting hysterical about Rick Perry awful early:
Perry recently was asked if he is armed while campaigning. He didn’t respond by saying the question is ridiculous. He didn’t say that in the close quarters of a rope line, with a multitude of people pulling and tugging at him, a gun could easily drop to the ground or be taken from him. He didn’t say that an armed candidate would be a nightmare for the Secret Service. He didn’t say any of those things. Instead, he smiled and refused to say whether or not he carried while campaigning. He added, “That’s why it’s called concealed.”
He seems to have an issue with the fact that Perry is out and proud as a gun person, and then proceeds to let his imagination run wild with all the horrific things that could happen if candidates pack on the campaign trail.
Personally, if it were me, I’d be happy with the secret service protection, and would not carry on the campaign trail. The only stipulation I’d have is that I be allowed to play with their submachine guns. Dave Kopel has an interesting analysis as to whether the President can legally carry. It would seem the answer is yes. Dave also notes that Teddy Roosevelt carried a pistol on the campaign trail, and noted it didn’t seem to have any negative impact on his security. Well, it didn’t stop him from getting shot on the campaign trail by a deranged saloon keeper. Fortunately, his would be assassin didn’t bring enough gun to kill Teddy, or even stop him from delivering his speech.
RE Roosevelt:
I cannot get a good enough look at the offending revolver on my crummy little laptop screen. Can somebody see if it is .38 or 32? I read various accounts of both calibers when I google.
The Administration (and the Left) has put out a talking-points APB on Rick Perry, and a huge effort to bring him down in any and every way possible is underway.
A POTUS that carries everyday is a guy/gal that I could vote for, as long as they meet certain other standards. LOL
I’d definitely be carrying if I was in RP’s shoes, not out of fear but because it’s my right and choice to exercise it.
I don’t believe candidates get Secret Service protection until they become “the” candidate for their party.
Perry probably gets security from Texas since he’s the Governor.
Don’t forget the other (hawk, spit) Roosevelt. Eleanor used to carry a pistol when she traveled. From her autobiography:
“Driving my own car was one of the issues the Secret Service people and I had a battle about at the very start. The Secret Service prefers to have an agent go with the President’s wife, but I did not want either a chauffeur or a Secret Service agent always with me; I never did consent to having a Secret Service agent. After the head of the Secret Service found I was not going to allow an agent to accompany me everywhere, he went one day to Louis Howe [FDR’s secretary], plunked a revolver down on the table and said ‘Well, all right, if Mrs. Roosevelt is going to drive around the country alone, at least ask her to carry this in the car.’ I carried it religiously and during the summer I asked a friend, a man who had been one of Franklin’s bodyguards in New York State, to give me some practice in target shooting so that if the need arose I would know how to use the gun.”
Source: http://old.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel012402.shtml
I would. Secret Service protection is good, but I’ll depend on a bodyguard when I find someone who values my life more than I do, and not one minute earlier.
I’d let them do their jobs, but I’d carry just in case.
Responsible people who believe in self determination should carry, even public servants ;)
“None of your business” is always the right answer.
Churchill carried a loaded 1911 throughout the war and was supposedly an excellent shot with it.
Well…if Teddy was the “bull moose” that couldn’t be kept down…what would Perry be? The Texas longhorn bull?
Wouldn’t the concern about the gun dropping/going “off” be the same for any secret service folk surrounding the President? Gads.. to think those folk are soooo dangerous to those anti-gunners who go out to see Obama and the rest of the anti-gun Dems… o.0
Do they use any logic or reasoning at all? *cough* …forget I asked that *cough*
“But those Secret Squirrels have been governmentally-approved to carry; nothing bad could ever happen to their guns!”
(With apologies to the Treasury agents; there is a massive professional rivalry between them and the Diplomatic Security Officers, and I’m obliged to support the other side by hereditary contract)