Here’s how I see it:

Best case scenario is that a few people get a little educated about a few gun laws and a few voters and maybe even a couple of politicians realize that many Americans in general and some gun owners in particular are very serious about today’s issues.

Worst case scenario is that some nut job or agent provacateur does something very very bad. Very very bad shift in public opinion in the wake of the tragedy is followed by very very bad legislation.

The actual result is likely to be somewhere in between, which means that the upside will be barely noticeable. Sure, points will have been made. Those points will be remember for about three minutes, unless it’s a point good for the anti-gun crowd, in which case the point will be remembered for ever and ever.

For what it’s worth, I also think it probably wouldn’t be terribly constructive to carry swords, pitchforks, axes, spiked clubs or baseball bats at these events.

The gun has become so vilified that people only think bad things if they see you with one.

With that mindset, you can never win. Ever. When you allow other people to attach THEIR meaning to your words or actions you have no control over your own life.

In this example, the gentleman carrying the AR was no threat. He did not imply that he would start shooting people any more than those carrying a .45 ACP. I have been busting my ASS trying to get people to realize the tool is irrelevant, and here I am arguing with those on my side about someone carrying something “they don’t approve of”.

Imagine if someone was bitching that he was carrying a ‘high capacity magazine’ and there was no need to scare people with such firepower. That is how I’m interpreting the fact that people are poopin’ their bloomers over an AR.