[Vision2020] Open Carry Gun Nuts Visit a Zoo in Boise

[Tom Hansen]

Seriously, in a state where we have under 40 murders a year is this even 
necessary? Let's face it, in Idaho, the chances of you meeting your demise 
by a random act of violence are about as good as your chances at winning 
the Power Ball. 

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>From the Idaho Statesman at:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/447064.html

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OpenCarry.org members visited Zoo in Boise to make a point

When you go to the zoo, you expect to see monkeys, ducks in a pond. You 
don't usually expect to see visitors with handguns. 

But you would have, had you visited Zoo Boise Saturday morning. 

About 10 members of the local chapter of OpenCarry.org, a national group 
that advocates for citizens' rights to openly carry handguns, met there. 

After a little confusion at the front desk about whether it's legal to 
bring an unconcealed handgun into the zoo - it is - the group bought 
tickets and sauntered through the front gates like all the other visitors. 

That they were no different from all the other visitors was the point the 
group members were trying to make. 

"Coming to the zoo was something we could do together, like any family 
would," said Carol Schultz of Nampa. She is never without her handgun and 
holds her holster in place with a heart-studded belt. 

Schultz has gone through the steps, the training and the background check 
to qualify for a concealed weapons permit. Though her holster is now an 
integral part of her wardrobe, she can still imagine an unarmed world. 

"In an ideal society, one of peace and people taking control of their own 
lives, ideally, you wouldn't need a gun," she said. 

Unfortunately, said fellow OpenCarry.org member Blaine Tewell, of Eagle, 
the world is a dangerous place of random shootings in malls, even 
churches. 

The former military man, who's in the process of getting a concealed 
weapons permit, openly carries for now. He's not a vigilante and has no 
desire to chase down criminals. He just wants to be safe, he said.

"When seconds count, police are still minutes away," he said.

Neither Schultz nor Tewell has ever had to use a gun in self-defense. They 
have been asked to leave private property, though, such as restaurants and 
stores where their guns made people nervous. 

Lt. Alan Cavener of the Boise Police Department said reason must play a 
part in the open carrying of guns. 

"We support peoples' constitutional rights, but we also want to ensure 
public safety. People need to use common sense about where they choose to 
bring a firearm," Cavener said. 

Zoo visitor Laura Greaves, from Salem, Ore., questioned whether it was 
really necessary for someone besides a staffer working closely with 
dangerous animals to carry a gun at the zoo - legality aside. Saturday 
morning, the most ominous threats appeared to be runaway strollers and 
kids throwing tantrums. 

"Legal and appropriate are two different things," said another visitor, 
Boisean Alex Lundgren. 

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And how about them squirrels on campus?

I'm gonna start packing a rod, some heat, a gat, a roscoe.

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college 
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)


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