Discussion: Man Wrongly Identified As Dallas Shooting Suspect Describes Ordeal

NRA: Open carry laws are for Whites only.
FOX: Why should The Blacks carry guns? Is it even legal? Their existence alone is life threatening.

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Iā€™m terribly sorry to hear about what he went through - seeing the endless retweets last night, I could only try imagine what would happen if the police found him at the scene.

That said - what the hell was he doing armed? Heā€™s there to protest the injustice of cops shooting a black manā€¦ and heā€™s open carrying? Stupid, on so many levels.

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As I have heard in so many places, when there is a problem with a gun and you have people ā€œexercising their right to carryā€ how are the police to know who the real shooter is?

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Kind of ironic that the subtext of this awful tragedy where 11 law enforcement officers were shot with 4 killed, is that a black man exercising his constitutional rights, is highly suspect.

I donā€™t think the talking heads will care much about this in light of the main story, although this is precisely one if the problems with racial disparity that BLM is talking about.

And while it is this manā€™s right to open carry to a BLM protest, I donā€™t think it was particularly wise.

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Police sent a new tweet clearing Hughesā€™ name and announcing that he had been released.

Eight hours after Hughes was released from custody, the Dallas PD Twitter feed still has his picture up with the caption,. ā€œthis is one of our suspects. Please help us find him!ā€

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Let me get this right. A person attends a rally, the point of which is to protest a highly charged, emotionally upsetting national issue. Gunfire erupts. Confusion, death and mayhem reign. Said person is carrying a long rifle. Heā€™s not a member of law enforcement, the miltary, or an organized, uniformed militia. Um, what is suprising about the fact he at least momentarily is viewed with suspicion, feared as a possible perp, and singled out for more scrutiny than unarmed protesters?

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Freedumz

I hope itā€™s starting to become clear just how insane and fraught with peril it is to have laws allowing open carry and fairly easy access to high-powered assault weapons, all amid a racially tense society.

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That just highlights the double standard. His mistake wasnā€™t carrying a gun. His mistake was carrying a gun while black.

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Open carry advocates are rarely influenced by common sense or thoughtful planning.

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Do you really think that in the middle of an open gun battle waged against police and civilians on a city street law enforcement says ā€œOk, we only need to concern ourselves with black people with guns, those white guys over there strapped to the teeth are probably on our side, or at least harmless.ā€?

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I have zero sympathy for people who get shot because they are carrying a gun. A gun is a purely offensive weapon. Guns are not a defense, they are an offense. A gun only ever works if you shoot before you are shot.

Of course white people get nervous when black people carry guns. Most of us get nervous when white people carry guns. If I see someone carrying a gun in public and they are not a cop, I assume that they are a nut. Asking cops to be respectful etc. when faced with a nut carrying a gun is ridiculous.

Open carry laws are not about self defense. Open carry laws are there to allow white people to intimidate black people by waving a gun in their face. When white people carry guns to a Sarah Palin rally or the like it is to warn blacks, ā€˜liburulsā€™, gays, etc. who is in charge.

Whether you wear a gun or jackboots, the message is the same.

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Especially since heā€™s black. Black people should be informed that the Second Amendment doesnā€™t apply to them. Not even 3/5 worth.

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@ralph_vonholst @humpback
None of us who donā€™t live in Texas can understand the relationship Texans have with their guns (my CA governor has just signed legislation regarding gun sales, ammo, etc., so thatā€™s my state of mind). My Dallas area friend who just bought herself a Walther p22 and plans to open carry every where she goes tried to explain this to me Iā€™m horrified sheā€™s done this, but everyone around her carries even bigger guns than this everywhere they go. Itā€™s still the wild west according to her, but she, a Democrat, is sensible enough to know that itā€™s the Rs who run the state who are at the bottom of this epidemic of gun-related deaths

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I donā€™r know what he could have been thinking. A black man in camo sporting a rifle/. After all, open carry is only for whites

Yes.

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According to a reporter (telling Lawrence Oā€™Donnell) last night that heā€™s lived in Dallss for more than 10 years and it is actually rare to see people open carry in Dallas - Itā€™s hard to believe but he said that.

Dozens of studies show guns in a residence are far more likely to inflict death or injury on the owner or people somehow related to the owner than they are to be successfully employed against someone with criminal intent. You should tell your friend sheā€™s putting herself and those she loves in unneeded peril. The chances sheā€™ll ever utilize her pistol for personal protection are infinitesimal, so remote the justifications for owning it are nonexistent.

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Wise or not I think itā€™s fair that he was exercising his rights as a citizen of Texas. The whole point of BLM is that black people should enjoy all of their rights without fear of being shot.

As others have also pointed out, the incident illustrates fundamental flaws with the practice of open carry.

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This guy just discovered some of the downsides of being an ammosexual. He should be happy that he still is healthy enough to whine.

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