oldyeller said:
MaxPower said:
Aggie4Christ09 said:
Hypocrisy of the highest order
It's more nuanced than that. Putting 2A aside, anyone who actually conceal carries does so for self defense. A person concerned with self defense is concerned about their own safety (and those they care about). You know what those people do? Avoid the exact situation this person put himself in. While I have a permit and have carried in the past, if I were going to protest the law enforcement I would definitely not be carrying in that situation. What is your best case scenario? Going to shoot a cop or federal agent in self defense? So basically guaranteed long prison sentence. I think I will take my chances with not being armed if I think protesting is that important.
What many may be overlooking is that these protestors on the left don't anticipate confronting solely Law Enforcement, but also counter protestors on the right who have consistently shown up to protests armed, particularly in open carry states. Context matters as we evaluate these incidents, and before we come to conclusions we should consider all relevant aspects.
If we consider that those on the left have been exposed to images of those on the right attending these demonstrations armed, and they wish to be equally heeled in order to avoid intimidation from counter protesters who are armed, ie non law enforcement, it becomes a little more challenging to conclude that the only reason Pretti was armed was because he wanted trouble with LEOs.
I agree it's stupid to take a weapon into confrontation with a cop, and I certainly wouldn't trust a P320 as my carry, but I've reviewed the videos and haven't seen Pretti actively resisting the agents, and at this point think we had a volatile situation where a negligent discharge likely contributed to his being killed.
That being said, if self-defense is a priority, and one expects to encounter not only LEOs, but also counter protesters who might be armed, I can understand why the guy was carrying.
Your argument might have some merit if Pretti was headed for a scheduled, permitted protest; but, that's not what's happening, is it?
Sorry, but for your argument to make a shred of sense, you have to assume that potential counterprotestors ALSO have their own SIGNAL response network to immediately respond to ICE enforcement actions.
We both know that's not happening.