Protect The President!
The following story is from Newsmax.
According to a number of press reports, about a dozen people carrying guns, including one with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder, stood among protesters outside a convention center in Arizona where President Barack Obama [protect the president] was giving a speech Aug. 17.
This appears to be the latest incident in which protesters have openly displayed firearms near the president.
In Arizona and several other states, it happens to be legal for people to purchase and carry these types of weapons without a permit. Gun-rights advocates say they are exercising their constitutional right to bear arms and protest; others who argue for more gun control say it could be a disaster waiting to happen.
I happen to be a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and strongly believe in our constitutional right to bear arms. However, I also have had the responsibility of overseeing the protection of several heads of state, including at one of the world’s largest gatherings — the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in September 2000 [protect the president].
I believe that there is no greater responsibility in this country than that of the men and women in our federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations charged with protecting the life of our president.
In order to protect the president, the Secret Service recruits other federal, state, and local agencies to assist them daily. The military supports the Secret Service through the use of explosive ordnance disposal teams and communications resources. When the president travels, an advance team of Secret Service agents works with host city and state law enforcement, as well as public safety officials, to jointly implement the necessary security measures.
Knowing and understanding the threats we face from terrorism alone is reason to ensure that the security arrangements for the president is of the highest standard. In addition to those possible threats, there are reports that the threats against this president are 400 percent higher than that of any other. If the threat and vulnerability assessments are accurate, this president and vice president should have the highest levels of security in the history of the Secret Service whether they like it or not.
There are reports that the vice president has ordered his protective detail be minimized during certain travel. We have also seen President Barack Obama mix it up with a crowd from time to time, and I assure you it was against the wishes of their detail leaders responsible for keeping them safe.
What principals like the president and vice president sometimes do not understand is that they have the responsibility to stay alive, just as the Secret Service has the responsibility to keep them alive.
If they intentionally or unintentionally interfere with or preclude the Secret Service from doing its job, they jeopardize their own lives as well as the lives of those charged with protecting them. Perhaps more importantly, they could jeopardize the stability of our country if something were to happen to them.
Allowing armed protesters to show up where the president is speaking is irresponsible and could cause a catastrophic security nightmare for those charged with protecting him.
It endangers the protective agents, the protesters, the public, and the president. It creates an immediate distraction as each armed protester then becomes a focus of observation for the agents.
Although Arizona and other states may allow the possession of these weapons, who can tell that the person carrying them at the time is not a threat to the president or others? An unidentified man who had a rifle slung over his shoulder told a reporter for the Arizona Republic, that “I still have some freedoms,” and he may be right. But freedom to create alarm and a possible threat to the president is not one of them.
Use some common sense.
That man may have no ill intent and possess his weapon legally, but what if someone not so nice takes it away? Why create scenarios where the protective agents focus is instinctually aimed at the weapon’s carriers? What if there is an accidental discharge by someone who is not that proficient with his or her weapon that creates a stampede or serious distraction?
No responsible gun owner, law enforcement executive, or public official should endorse or allow these armed protests anywhere near the president.
The president and his staff should let the Secret Service do its job, regardless of political correctness, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano should ensure that the president is protected at all cost . . . and if that includes stepping on some protester’s toes, so be it.
I’m all for the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms, but not at the cost of endangering the president. This is a dangerous practice and it must be stopped.
The job of protecting the president is hard enough. . . let’s not make it any harder for the men and women who have to do the job.
Categories: Politics Tags: 2nd amendment, black president, Obama 2012, status of liberty
Should Armed Citizens Be Allowed To Carry Near the President?
The following is a letter that was sent to CNN’s Jack Cafferty by one of our viewers. I agree with him wholeheartedly!
Jack,
I am embarrassed to acknowledge I live in Phoenix and knuckleheads like that one are allowed near a Presidential event with an assault rifle. I can’t believe while Dubya was in office, people would be forced by the Secret Service or Republican operatives to leave events for simply having an anti-Bush bumper sticker on their cars or an anti-Bush t-shirt…and yet, twice now, we’ve allowed these idiots alarmingly close access to the president.
This is a disaster waiting to happen…
I wonder what would happen if someone and a half-dozen of their friends showed up at a Bush/McCain/Cheney/Rove/Republican du jour event with assault weapons…somehow I seriously doubt they [armed citizens] would be allowed anywhere near them… Why is it ok for this kind of access to our first biracial president?
Andy Rodriguez-McCradic
Phoenix
Categories: Politics Tags: 2nd amendment, gun control, gun laws, Obama 2012
Teachable Moment Over A Beer
Much debate has surrounded the arrest of Dr. Louis Gates in his home in Cambridge. Was he in the right when he yelled at the cop? Did President Obama step over the 
line with his now infamous “acted stupidly” remark?
As the dust has settled it appears there was enough blame to go around in this unfortunate incident. Dr. Gates was tired after a long flight from China, officer Crowley perhaps felt that Dr. Gates “forgot his place” when he was being questioned.
No matter which side of the debate you’re on one thing is for certain. Racial profiling in this country is a real concern to people of color, particularly black men. This is a phenomenon that affects black men regardless of social class. Colon Powell has been profiled, President Obama was profiled in Chicago, and the list goes on. No one is immune from this.
Having two young sons, one who is driving now is cause for concern. I’ve even gone as far as role playing with him if and when a cop pulls him over. This is something my white counterparts don’t have to prepare their sons for!
We can land a man on the moon and do incredible things with technology. However, race remains the final frontier in our quest for a more perfect union. Race is still the proverbial “elephant in the room.” President Obama in his quest not to be America’s first black president has to tread lightly. He is very aware he was elected to serve all the people – not just black America.
With two wars, health care, the economy and unemployment he’s got enough on his plate. We the people should raise our children to be more tolerant. Show good examples by respecting all people. Expose are children to different cultures and make friends with people who don’t look like us. Until we do, we will keep having the same problem. The media described the “beer summit” as a “teachable” moment. The question is, was anybody listening?
Categories: Politics Tags: