Not too long ago, those showing the Gadsden Flag were potential domestic terrorists. Now they’re Tea Party members.

Ariz. man battles neighbors over tea party-linked flag

The Gadsden flag is not on the approved list of the local homeowners’ association. Homeowners’ associations are an issue of their own, in Murdoc’s humble opinion.

When Murdoc was a kid, he had a stack of Gadsden flag stickers and after slapping a few on the red shelves in his bedroom, he saved the rest for special things. More recently, he had a rattlesnake “ribbon” magnet for his car, but some nice person borrowed it a while back and forgot to return it.

Plus, this bit cracks me up:

He notes that the banner, the Gadsden flag, has been widely used over the years and was even featured on the cover of a rock album. “Am I a Metallica fan because I’m using the flag?” he asked.

Over at Murdoc Online, I’ve displayed the “Don’t Tread On Me” First Navy Jack for years. When someone sent me a flag and I took it into work, a co-worker asked me if I was aware that Metallica had written a song called “Don’t Tread on Me” way back in 1990 or 1991.

For what it’s worth, the redesign of the GunPundit site puts the Gadsden flag in the header. Good thing my site isn’t part of any homeowners’ associations.

Pizza Huts shift gears on firearms possession:

The company that owns most of Southern Arizona’s Pizza Huts has reversed policy and is allowing customers to carry firearms into the restaurants if they are legal possessors.

Patrick McKinney, vice president of operations for Tucson-based Pizza Hut of Arizona, said he began reconsidering the company’s policy of prohibiting guns after reading a newspaper article about the state’s new concealed-carry law.

That law, which goes into effect July 29, allows people 21 or older (and not prohibited from having a firearm) to carry a concealed gun without a permit.

McKinney and his staff held a meeting about the issue and began to remove the restaurants’ signs banning firearms during the first week of June, he said in a written reply to questions.

The policy for employees, the one which prohibits guns, remains unchanged.

The issue of customers with firearms is confronting private business owners as Arizona’s gun laws become more liberal, and as gun-rights advocates press for public acceptance of carried firearms.

The issue may be particularly poignant in the case of Tucson Pizza Huts. In 1999, three employees of a Pizza Hut near the corner of East Broadway and Pantano roads were shot to death in an attempted robbery by two teens.

“We will never forget the tragedy of those murders in 1999 and what happened may have shaped our feelings about guns forever,” McKinney wrote.

I don’t understand what two robbers with guns has to do with customers (or employees, for that matter)  with guns. But it’s pretty much par for the course.

Nice:

Last month alone, just in one patrol region, we had sixty-four pursuits. That means people who were driving a vehicle, failed to yield, took off like a bat out of hell, running red lights, creating traffic wrecks, numerous people were killed in these wrecks over the last several months, and who are these people? Not one of them was a U.S. citizen.

NRA board member to run for Ariz. governor

Gunsite owner going for the top spot in the Grand Canyon State:

A political unknown has thrown nearly $2.1 million of his own cash into his bid to become governor, a move that could change the landscape of the race.

Owen Buz Mills, a member of the National Rifle Association board of directors, filed a report with the Secretary of State’s Office this week detailing the funding.

Sebastian notes that proponents of expanding the no-lead range claim the “the science is in on lead in wildlife” and “There’s no debate.”

Can’t discuss if banning lead ammo makes sense. We can only discuss how much to ban it.

As usual.

This is brilliant.

One thing I wonder about, though, is the amount of exposure with the general population this will get. Sure, it’s showing up on lots of gun blogs and lots of Conservative blogs, but that’s mostly preaching to the choir.

Legacy Media has lost its monopoly but it still retains a lot of its power. While we laugh about this and rightly congratulate those who put it together and spread the word, we need to remember that the biggies are still biggies. Things are changing (mostly for the better) but they’ve got a long ways to go.

I still maintain that gun owners should proceed with caution when it comes to open carrying to political events like this, but it sure is nice to see some liars de-fanged so effectively.

Via Sebastian.

UPDATE: Americans for Limited Government is calling for heads.

After reading some of the comments on today’s earlier post and musings at other places, here are a couple more thoughts:

For the record, I don’t disapprove of the tool. As usual with guns and other tools, it’s the person who I’m not entirely certain about.

Here’s how I see it:

Best Case Scenario: 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: Some nut job or agent provocateur does something very very bad. It could even be some sort of honest mistake. Very very bad shift in public opinion in the wake of the tragedy is followed by very very bad legislation. You know that a lot of gun grabbers are wild with anticipation over exactly this sort of thing.

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 remembered for about three minutes, unless it’s a point good for the anti-gun crowd, in which case the point will be remembered forever and ever as a basic truth about guns. Like the basic truth about how guns are twice as likely to kill a family member as an intruder in a home defense situation and the basic truth about how no one needs a semi-automatic assault weapon for anything except killing people.

The media will decide how the story is told. For those that think the media is dead and a wonderful new age is here, look at who’s in the White House today and look at how he got there. It wasn’t Kos who put him there.

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

UPDATE: Sebastian has a very good round-up of links on this issue and some good commentary. I weighed in in the comments section and don’t have time to rail on at length here, so go read.

Here’s one snippet:

As often happens in debates of important issues, arguing against one extreme position gives the impression that the arguer holds the other extreme position. That is not the case. If I don’t think it’s GREAT that people are doing this, it doesn’t mean I (or Sebastian, for that matter) think it’s TERRIBLE.

Over the years Murdoc’s been in countless debates like this. For the record, because those who disagree with my opinion on this seem to be insisting otherwise, Murdoc fully supports Open Carry.

I’ve not chimed in about the recent news coverage of folks in crowds at political events who are open carrying, in part because I’m not exactly sure what I think of the issue.

On the one hand, what these folks are doing is legal and I think it’s important that others realize that fact. I also like the idea that a point can be made and the message that gun owners think gun issues matter can be sent.

On the other hand, the message received by 90% of the population will be “these guys are whackos” and will probably do more harm than good to the cause of protecting the right to keep and bear arms. The fact that the message will be that because of the media is not really relevant.

Sighted at Phonix VFW Event (Scott Wong/The Arizona Republic)

And, don’t you know, the militias are gearing up again and everything. Again, this is the media at work, but don’t let hopes for fairness or expectations of accuracy cloud your thinking when it comes to the media.

Here’s the most recent story:

A man, who decided not to give his name, was walking around the pro-health care reform rally at Third and Washington streets, with a pistol on his hip and an AR-15 (a semi-automatic assault weapon) on a strap over his shoulder.

“Because I can do it,” he said when asked why he was armed. “In Arizona, I still have some freedoms.”

Sure, you can. That’s not the same as sure, you should.

I guess I’m giving these folks the benefit of the doubt and taking them at face value. I don’t necessarily agree that what they’re doing is going to help gun owners, but I also don’t think that shutting them down (even if that were possible) is a good idea.

One thing I expect, though, is that this story is going to continue to grow legs. There will be more and more sightings and more and more news reports. Soon, if they haven’t already, activists in the anti-gun camp are going to start showing up with guns for their own purposes.

At some point, there’s going to be a situation of some sort or other.

I just think there’s so little to be gained and so much to be potentially lost here that open carrying at these sorts of things is just probably a bad idea.

I realize that not everyone, and maybe not even most people, will agree with Murdoc on this.

UPDATE: Confederate Yankee brings up a few good points:

I must say that I was impressed with how these open carry advocates conducted themselves. They coordinated their display with the Phoenix Police Department, who provided them with a liaison officer. They were also courteous to those around them, remaining calm and well-behaved (with the exception of the mysterious “other” rifle-carrying man that only one CNN employee seems to have seen)…

The armed protesters at events in Arizona and New Hampshire were never “at” Obama’s meetings. They were never inside of the security perimeter that the Secret Service establishes for Presidential appearances. They weren’t ever close.

The protester in New Hampshire who had a gun in a tactical drop-leg rig was on private property well away from the Obama appearance (I’ve heard estimates of ½ to ¾ mile away) and was never in direct line of sight of either the venue or the motorcade. He never remotely a threat to the President, nor did he intend to be.

Likewise, those open carry advocates at yesterday’s event in Arizona arranged for a police liaison the day before the event, and were constantly afforded security by the Phoenix Police Department and had at least one known Secret Service agent shadowing them to assure they were following the law. These citizens were never anywhere near the President, nor did they attempt to go anywhere near the Secret Service’s security perimeter that cordoned off the event and the building in which it was held.

Go read the whole thing.

Via Instapundit, who has more.

Oops. Don’t forget the spare mag in your carry-on.

That’s a bummer, but I’m glad it ended well enough.

Very cool:

Scheduled for April 11, 2009, at Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, Arizona, the day will focus on introductory shooting for people with physical disabilities. Open Range Day will offer shotgun, rifle, pistol, and air rifle instruction.

See Hell in a Handbasket for MORE INFO.