John Velleco, chief lobbyist for Gun Owners Of America, said on Hardball With Chris Matthews today that he would be 'fine' with the entire audience at a presidential event being armed with guns. Watch the video below.
"If it's legal to carry guns in that location, absolutely," he told Matthews, who pressed him on the issue. "It would be fine with you if everyone comes in with a gun? They should be allowed to sit in the first row with a gun?" the MSNBC host asked. Velleco responded that gun-owners in the U.S. are "the most law-abiding citizens."
When Matthews asked how close armed people should be allowed to get to the President, the gun rights advocate said "as close as the Secret Service will allow." Velleco also does not think the federal ban on assault weapons should be renewed.
Velleco is the Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America, a gun rights organization with over 300,000 members.
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theWalrus
August 19, 2009 6:21 PM
The only reason to bring a loaded weapon into a Town Hall metting is to intimidate.
Just like schools, they should be banned from these events.
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Jeppy
August 19, 2009 6:22 PM in reply to theWalrus
There is another reason, to shoot someone.
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theWalrus
August 19, 2009 6:22 PM
OT: Can you fix my avatar so it says "theWalrus" again? Thanks. There's no such thing as a "Walru".
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Stiggs
August 20, 2009 12:38 PM in reply to theWalrus
It seems that livewire comments have issues properly displaying certain screen names. I'd say I'm on it, but that would be a lie.
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Alex39
August 19, 2009 6:22 PM
Wow. Gun control was pretty much a dead issue, but these lunatics are doing a great job of breathing new life into it.
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Stiggs
August 20, 2009 12:53 PM in reply to Alex39
I think that's what this is really about (at some level - I'm sure many of those involved lack the higher brain functions required for abstract thought). They are pushing as hard as they can against decency and common sense so when the inevitable push back comes they can cry oppression.
They will escalate things as far as they can until some police or legislative action limits their behavior. And then they will rant about how America is becoming a fascist-marxist dictatorship and how that needs to be violently opposed. A small majority will say they are loony, a large minority will be confused and the rest will go absolutely loopy.
I call it the "come see the violence inherent in the system" spectacle.
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justadood
August 20, 2009 2:48 PM in reply to Stiggs
It the "look at what you made me do!" argument...
Deeply irresponsible people pushing their failure onto others
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twirling fartknocker
August 19, 2009 6:35 PM
And he probably thinks is should be legal to assassinate people you don't like.
Of course he says that now, with a Dem in the White House. I seriously doubt he said anything like that when his guy W was in office, and I'm sure he'll be singing another tune whenever another Repug might be President.
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CVille Dem
August 19, 2009 6:48 PM
He also said it would be swell if Americans could carry concealed weapons on planes. This guy was so full of shit I thought stuff was going to start coming out of his ears if he stayed on for more than 5 minutes longer.
He said he thought it was wrong for gun-owners to have to be "disarmed" because they are getting on a plane.
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tamiasmin
August 19, 2009 7:20 PM in reply to CVille Dem
Yeah, confiscate their nail files and pocket knives but let them keep their assault rifles.
Bizarrer and bizarrer.
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CVille Dem
August 19, 2009 7:30 PM in reply to tamiasmin
Don't forget their shampoo bottles! Those suckers are DANGEROUS! We need armed crazies on the plane ready to shoot first and ask questions later -- we'll all be safer, right?
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Stiggs
August 20, 2009 12:59 PM in reply to CVille Dem
And shoes! Take those shoes off you stinky terrorist hippy, I will not hesitate to use force!
Sorry, I'm better now.
The absurd thing is how little these security measures actually do. It is purely an image thing. Regardless of how many draconian and fascist policies we put in place, all it takes is a little intelligence and motivation to create problems. And nothing motivates people like draconian and fascist policies.
Funny how that works.
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sbv
August 19, 2009 7:04 PM
the supreme court has ruled, while we are guaranteed through the first amendment the right to free speech, it does not give us the right to "yell fire in a crowded theater."
while the second amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, it should not give us the right to walk around an event attended by the president of the united states with a loaded gun.
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fool mee once
August 19, 2009 7:21 PM
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot...
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jeffgee
August 19, 2009 7:57 PM
And whattya bet somebody tries it, then complains about his second amendment rights and the fascist federal government when detained and disarmed.
I'm tellin' yeh, it's all building up to something.
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JohnTEQP
August 19, 2009 8:02 PM
So people should bring be able to bring guns to a presidential event "as close as the Secret Service will allow."
That would be outside of whatever venue the President is in. This guy just contradicted himself. The reason people cannot bring loaded guns into a venue where the President is speaking is because the Secret Service does not allow them to do so. So he claims that he is obeying what the Secret Service wants, but he is also advocating violating specifically those rules. How stupid can you get?
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psyclone
August 19, 2009 9:25 PM in reply to JohnTEQP
I dunno - is he a birther too? That's gettin' there.
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Taylor Doose
August 19, 2009 9:20 PM
First, the Marines taught me that my gun is in my pants...my rifle, my weapon is the thingy with the bullets in the chamber. Just wanted to clarify that important point, because we aren't talking about responsible people toting WEAPONS with any responsible purpose in mind. We are talking about paranoid, not-so-stable, one-step-away-from-a-mob jackboots carrying loaded WEAPONS around because they have decided that a black man has no business tellin' whitey what to do. Let's be clear about that little fact, okay? That mix is pretty darned dangerous. Dress 'em up in brown shirts and send them into the streets at night and even money says they would gladly start shooting innocent people, who they believed to be a threat to their limited world view. And, for the record, the loon on Tweet's program is one of their leaders. That character obviously wears tinfoil hats so that the Obama administration can't read his mind, if ya know whaddImean?
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JohnW1141
August 20, 2009 11:21 AM
Lets take a page out of Sarah Palin/right wing Playbook.
Loaded guns at a Presidential town hall use bullets loaded with gunpowder. Gunpowder is explosive. So, shouldn't we be allowed to bring gunpowder bombs to Presidential town halls?
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Savannah Evans
August 20, 2009 1:19 PM
So Sarah Palin was mostly right: It turns out the Death Panels are real. Instead of being RUN by Democrats, they will be TARGETING Democrats.
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