Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Guy Waiting for Obama Had a Gun? Yep, and It's Legal

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 11, 2009 6:48 PM CDT

(Newser) – Byron Crawford had to do a double-take today when he saw a report on MSNBC about a guy with a gun strapped to his leg among the crowd to see Obama in New Hampshire. Seems it was OK because the guy was on private property at a church next door. "What they ought to do is take his punk ass to Gitmo," he blogs on XXL. "If we can throw mad Arabs in Gitmo for hardly even doing anything, we need to start throwing some white people in there, too."

Crawford's especially ticked because this comes just a few weeks after Florida rapper Antavio Johnson got two years in jail for a song about killing cops. "How come we live in a country where a white man can show up to a town hall meeting with the president with a gun, but a black man can’t even make a song about how he wants to kill the police?" Maybe Johnson should emphasize he's a Christian rapper. "People have been known to get away with some crazy shit in this country, as long as there’s a church involved."

[Images (1)]

[Videos (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

William Kostric wears a 9mm pistol as he stands outside a town hall meeting on health care held by President Barack Obama, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, in Portsmouth, N.H. (AP Photo/Joel Page)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

The report about the armed man on MSNBC. (YouTube)

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

If the last eight years has taught us anything, it’s that the laws they teach you about don’t really count. If the government needs to throw you in jail, and there’s no way for them to do so legally, you might just disappear. - Byron Crawford

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

Another Sign Rihanna and Chris Brown Might Get Back Together? (Celebuzz)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 30 comments

Cat-Lover

Aug 12, 2009 12:49 PM CDT

Adding to your post, above. When I hear the it said that the "Founding Fathers" had a plan for the United States, and we are diverting from it. Of course we're diverting from it. The "Founding Fathers" never envisioned a country over three thousand miles wide, with over three hundred million people of every race and ethnicity, with cars, and planes and freeways. They gave us a tradition and it is our responsibility to live it out in the time.

Doctor-Zaius

Aug 12, 2009 12:41 PM CDT

Trust me, the guy with the holstered gun was never out of the sights of at least 3 snipers.

Cat-Lover

Aug 12, 2009 12:39 PM CDT

NewserScooter: I understand where you're coming from on you comment about "profiling." My concern, however, is that totting 'dat gun could have been a cover for another intended shooter hiding a concealed weapon. Most eyes were focused on this "patriot," and one of his "fellow-travelers'" could be lurching in the background.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

E-Cigarette Explodes in Man's Mouth

XXL (Source Grid »)

Background on the jailed rapper
Black Voices

New Hampshire • town hall meeting • guns • President Obama • Antavio Johnson

More Newser Stories

Occupy-Style Protest Interrupts Obama

Demonstrators employ 'mic check' at New Hampshire speech

(NEWSER) - A group of protesters cut into President Obama’s speech in Manchester, New Hampshire, today with an Occupy-style call-and-response, briefly silencing the president. As Obama began to speak, a voice in the crowd yelled, “Mic check!” which was instantly echoed much the way it would be at any Occupy camp. “Mr. President,” the protesters chanted, “over 4,000 peaceful protesters have been arrested…” But before they could get any further, Obama supporters drowned them out, chanting, “Fired up, ready to go.” More»

Obama on Taxes: Pay It Forward

Pay it forward, he says in Elizabeth Warren-esque appeal

(NEWSER) - President Obama tackled the economy, jobs, education, and more at today's LinkedIn townhall meeting, the AP reports. Of note: an audience member—later identified as a former Google executive—told Obama he had no job by choice after his search-engine startup did well, and asked, "Can you please raise my taxes?" "I appreciate you recognize we're in this thing together," Obama responded before promoting his jobs plan and launching into an Elizabeth Warren-esque appeal for those who derive success from taxpayer-funded programs and infrastructure to pay it forward. In other town hall moments: More»

Obama Heckled Over Biden 'Terrorist' Comment

Iowa Tea Party founder Ryan Rhodes confronts him at town hall

(USER SUBMITTED) - President Obama was greeted with some unexpected spice at the end of his town hall meeting in Iowa last night, when the founder of the Iowa Tea Party confronted him about Joe Biden's alleged remark that Tea Party members acted like "terrorists" (the VP denies saying it ). Obama didn't directly respond in public, but did tell Ryan Rhodes that "as someone who’s been called a socialist, not born here, taking away freedoms for providing health care, I’m all for lowering the rhetoric." The two then apparently held a brief but "animated" private conversation, reports Greta Van Susteren's GretaWire . More»

Obama Calls Boehner's Tweet 'Slightly Skewed'

Overall, Twitter town hall nearly 'news-less'

(NEWSER) - The first Twitter town hall is in the books, and save for the unique forum, it was an "almost entirely news-less affair," writes Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post . President Obama mainly used it to rehash familiar talking points, such as pushing the GOP to bend on tax increases. And talk he did: While the questions were in tweet form, the president had no such 140-character restrictions. The Caucus blog of the New York Times says Obama averaged 2,099 words per answer, which would have required 15 separate tweets. More»

Obama's Facebook Forum Is a Little Ho-Hum

But we did get to see Mark Zuckerberg in a suit and tie

(NEWSER) - Maybe the most suprising part of President Obama's town hall meeting at Facebook headquarters today was that Mark Zuckerberg ditched his hoodie and put on a suit and tie, writes Carla Marinucci at the San Francisco Chronicle . "For all its tech/youth/cutting edge promise, Facebook's event was pretty run of the mill. Frankly, the president was so long winded that just eight questions got aired—most of them very friendly, pretty predictable and very, very vanilla." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website