Portland residents panic as men armed with assault weapons ‘educate’ the city - Polidicks

[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;39212703]The point of them open carrying like that was them trying to educate people. But considering the media demonizes AR-15's into making them look like cop killing rifles that fire baby seeking rounds, everybody was too scared shitless to learn anything.[/QUOTE] There's a difference between cruising on over to the shooting range to squeeze out some rounds and standing around on the street with an AR-15 slung over your shoulder. When people see you they are going to think, "Why is that man standing there with a rifle?" and it's pretty unfair to expect them to come to the conclusion that you're there to educate them about guns.

people in a right state of mind don't open carry

[QUOTE=JerryK;39213280]people in a right state of mind don't open carry[/QUOTE] Thanks for the insight

[QUOTE=JerryK;39213280]people in a right state of mind don't open carry[/QUOTE] I reckon that's a matter of perspective.

Maybe if the media and politicians would stop scaring everyone to death about guns, people wouldn't see a LAW ABIDING CITIZEN as a criminal or loony just because they are carrying a gun. I've seen plenty of people who have holstered firearms and shit like this and I've never been scared or felt uneasy. Instead I ask them about it and try to learn. This is like running away and being scared of someone publicly praying because they are Muslim after 9/11. They aren't acting weird or strange, you are.

[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;39212812]They're semi autos, not assault rifles or "military grade".[/QUOTE] I'm sorry, but the average person is not going to know the difference when they see this: [img]http://www.rawstory.com/rs/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/kptv_assault_rifle_demonstration_130111a-615x345.jpg[/img] The first thing people are going to associate two guys with guns is to [insert massacre here]. I'm all cool for education, but it's extremely ridiculous to walk out in to the street with a weapon like that so soon after what happened, or frankly for any time. I understand what they were trying to do, but their attempts were horribly misguided. You don't try to make the average person more comfortable with a weapon by walking up to them and showing off a large weapon. I'm entirely unsurprised that people freaked out, especially considering that gun violence has taken the forefront in news reporting as of late.

This is how responsible gun owners act! Inciting a panic with your firearms should be grounds for disqualification from possessing firearms [editline]14th January 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=T2L_Goose;39213551] This is like running away and being scared of someone publicly praying because they are Muslim after 9/11. They aren't acting weird or strange, you are.[/QUOTE] Prayer isn't a weapon. Guns are. Walking around with a weapon in plain view is blatantly threatening. You'd have to be a massive idiot to wander around in public openly carrying a broadsword, right? Well a gun can do a hell of a lot more damage, faster.

It's probably because I'm English, but I just don't get why you would want to walk around with a weapon like that slung on your shoulder.

[QUOTE=Sluggy;39213959]It's probably because I'm English, but I just don't get why you would want to walk around with a weapon like that slung on your shoulder.[/QUOTE] Agreed, personally I've only ever seen pictures of police and our SWAT-equivalent carrying a maximum of MP5 here in Finland. Anything larger than that is basically military. I'd really like to understand better the layman's relationship with the second amendment in the US. Is everyone always so eager about their rights and especially the right to bear arms? The days of ignorant hate are long behind me, nowadays I'm simply curious :)

The people chastising the two guys make it sound like they were running around with the guns in hand, pointing it at people and shouting gibberish. They were walking around calmly with them on their backs, in no way wielded in a threatening manner. Stop overreacting.

I can't see the difference between an auto and semi-automatic rifle, and I don't think most people can. And why the fuck should it be okay to just walk around with a rifle of any kind? There's no reason to do it (really, come up with one), and if I can't see any reason behind something, I'm gonna get scared. And I think most people will. I don't care whether it's a knife or a gun, there's no reason to walk around with a weapon, and least of with a rifle. I can understand walking around with concealed pistol, if you live in a rough neighborhood, but not much else. This is going to scare people, and with good reason. [editline]14th January 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=ijyt;39214084]The people chastising the two guys make it sound like they were running around with the guns in hand, pointing it at people and shouting gibberish. They were walking around calmly with them on their backs, in no way wielded in a threatening manner. Stop overreacting.[/QUOTE] If you can't see the reason behind something, you're going to get wary of it.

[QUOTE=Vollybomb;39212464]People in the media talk in the way most people can understand, and their accuracy is always perfunctory. That's never going to change, no point in complaining about it[/QUOTE] average joe won't understand if they simply put firearms?

These guys are stupid for bringing their rifles out like that, legal or not you don't need a semi automatic rifle with you when you're taking a stroll

[QUOTE=Dalndox;39213706]I'm sorry, but the average person is not going to know the difference when they see this: [img]http://www.rawstory.com/rs/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/kptv_assault_rifle_demonstration_130111a-615x345.jpg[/img] The first thing people are going to associate two guys with guns is to [insert massacre here]. I'm all cool for education, but it's extremely ridiculous to walk out in to the street with a weapon like that so soon after what happened, or frankly for any time. I understand what they were trying to do, but their attempts were horribly misguided. You don't try to make the average person more comfortable with a weapon by walking up to them and showing off a large weapon. I'm entirely unsurprised that people freaked out, especially considering that gun violence has taken the forefront in news reporting as of late.[/QUOTE] I don't disagree, I understand what these guys were [i]trying[/i] to do, and I agree with it. But their attempts at achieving their goals were really poorly thought out with really poor timing. They're better off writing a letter to the NRA or another firearms activist group to try and get an ad campaign running to remove the fear around firearms.

Muh rights

[QUOTE=Scrimp;39213222]Can you drive around in an assault gun in America?[/QUOTE] by "assault gun" I assume you mean a semi-auto rifle. Dependent on the state, as long as it's not loaded and typically in a bag, case, or in the trunk without a magazine in, it's considered OK.

[QUOTE=Del91;39212728]AK-74 not AK-47. Vastly different guns. And if people weren't so god damn afraid of inanimate objects it wouldn't matter. [b]Edit:[/b] The media probably doesn't even know what an AK-74 is. :v:[/QUOTE] I'm not particularly anti-gun but guns still make me uneasy when I see people carrying them in public. (Even cops)

[QUOTE=shanzo;39214000]Agreed, personally I've only ever seen pictures of police and our SWAT-equivalent carrying a maximum of MP5 here in Finland. Anything larger than that is basically military. I'd really like to understand better the layman's relationship with the second amendment in the US. Is everyone always so eager about their rights and especially the right to bear arms? The days of ignorant hate are long behind me, nowadays I'm simply curious :)[/QUOTE] As you might infer from the article, not everybody in the US is so eager to exercise their second amendment rights. Just like anywhere else, there's plenty of people who are somewhere between "neutral" and "utterly terrified" when it comes to guns and the public's right to carry them. That said, there is a decently sized gun culture of people who enjoy hunting, target shooting, competitive shooting competitions, and the like. Those are the people more likely to carry concealed weapons. Open carry, like the two men in the article did, is pretty rare in my experience. [QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;39215834]by "assault gun" I assume you mean a semi-auto rifle. Dependent on the state, as long as it's not loaded and typically in a bag, case, or in the trunk without a magazine in, it's considered OK.[/QUOTE] I think he meant it more like this assault gun. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/bSOuH.jpg[/IMG]

they picked a hell of a city to do this in [editline]14th January 2013[/editline] they probably would've gotten at least a marginally warmer response if they did it in, say, literally any city that isn't portland

[QUOTE=ButtsexV3;39213204]ak-74 is an akm in 5.45x39[/QUOTE] no, different gas block, muzzle, and other things the reciever/action is basically the same but the design was altered to decrease the spread of the rifle.

[quote=video]They say next time they hope people won't be scared of them, but will instead come up and ask them questions about their arms[/quote] Really smart guys right here

[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;39212657]why did you just go all "sanius squad" on us. He's most likely talking about Diane Feinstein, the biggest hypocrite on the fucking planet. [/QUOTE] Who? As to assault rifle assault weapon. Considering it's a pretty common term in a lot of languages I don't see such a problem with it. Sure we can start talking about differences like automatic, semi-automatic and who knows what. But most people will generally understand assault rifle as a relatively modern weapon and a rifle as something that looks like a hunting rifle. The innards can be completely the same for both. It's just a term, not a function.

[QUOTE=wraithcat;39216793]Who? As to assault rifle assault weapon. Considering it's a pretty common term in a lot of languages I don't see such a problem with it. Sure we can start talking about differences like automatic, semi-automatic and who knows what. But most people will generally understand assault rifle as a relatively modern weapon and a rifle as something that looks like a hunting rifle. The innards can be completely the same for both. It's just a term, not a function.[/QUOTE] It is a function, an assault rifle is very different from your typical civilian semiautomatic rifle. I don't go around calling all sports cars porches, I don't go around calling all non-jet engines aircraft cesnas, and I don't call all jet fighters tomcats. It's typically not OK to call something a thing that it's not. Calling a semiautomatic rifle an assault rifle is entirely wrong and misleading. It's OK for your average Jo not to know the differences, but if someone wants to debate gun control, firearms, or wants to make a report about them, they should educate themselves. So, please refer to this [URL]http://www.assaultweapon.info/[/URL] and if you have more questions feel free to ask us in the firearms thread in GD.

If they really wanted people to ask them questions or help educate people, they'd probably do a lot better by having a sign that says something like, "ask us about firearms and firearm safety." Just a thought.

[QUOTE=Sluggy;39213959]It's probably because I'm English, but I just don't get why you would want to walk around with a weapon like that slung on your shoulder.[/QUOTE] Its not usually a rifle usually its a smaller weapon such as a handgun. There are numerous reasons, (usually old) people want to display their firearm as a warning to potential robbers/muggers. Also when you concealed carry your firearms is hidden under clothing. Some people see this a danger because it can take a couple extra seconds to draw their firearm when they need it most. Open carry is also popular among ranchers for obvious reasons, but that's in a different part of the country

[QUOTE=Xyrofen;39217237]If they really wanted people to ask them questions or help educate people, they'd probably do a lot better by having a sign that says something like, "ask us about firearms and firearm safety." Just a thought.[/QUOTE] If I were to do it, I would organize an entire stall somewhere with display models[maybe some cutaways], teach people firearm safety and proper stance, while also talking about the moral responsibility of firearm ownership.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;39213870]This is how responsible gun owners act! Inciting a panic with your firearms should be grounds for disqualification from possessing firearms[/QUOTE] "Acting entirely within your lawful rights should be grounds for being branded a criminal." If open carry is legal in any given jurisdiction absolutely no one should get any shit for doing it there. It's disgusting that we have people being shat over by authorities for doing literally nothing wrong just because it [I]seems[/I] wrong. This is the same sort of logic that states we should ban rifles that have perforated holes in a sheet of metal wrapped around the barrel because it [I]looks[/I] scary.

[QUOTE=mastermaul;39217550]"Acting entirely within your lawful rights should be grounds for being branded a criminal." If open carry is legal in any given jurisdiction absolutely no one should get any shit for doing it there. It's disgusting that we have people being shat over by authorities for doing literally nothing wrong just because it [I]seems[/I] wrong. This is the same sort of logic that states we should ban rifles that have perforated holes in a sheet of metal wrapped around the barrel because it [I]looks[/I] scary.[/QUOTE] Yep, under the laws in place right now, it's not illegal, and they shouldn't be arrested, or in any way punished for whatever they've done. He's saying that it [I]should[/I] be illegal. There's big difference. If you think this is responsible, chances are you aren't. There's absolutely no reason to do it, other than to scare people.

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;39217919]Yep, under the laws in place right now, it's not illegal, and they shouldn't be arrested, or in any way punished for whatever they've done. He's saying that it [I]should[/I] be illegal. There's big difference. If you think this is responsible, chances are you aren't. There's absolutely no reason to do it, other than scare people.[/QUOTE] Public ignorance is no reason to restrain a practice that has done no harm.

what the fuck kinda criminal would OC a rifle anyways, that's just asking for attention