PHOENIX – About a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, milled among protesters outside the convention center where President Barack Obama was giving a speech Monday — the latest incident in which protesters have openly displayed firearms near the president.

Gun-rights advocates say they're exercising their constitutional right to bear arms and protest, while those who argue for more gun control say it could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Phoenix police said the gun-toters at Monday's event, including the man carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder, didn't need permits. No crimes were committed, and no one was arrested.

The man with the rifle declined to be identified but told The Arizona Republic that he was carrying the assault weapon because he could. "In Arizona, I still have some freedoms," he said.

Phoenix police Detective J. Oliver, who monitored the man at the downtown protest, said police also wanted to make sure no one decided to harm him.

"Just by his presence and people seeing the rifle and people knowing the president was in town, it sparked a lot of emotions," Oliver said. "We were keeping peace on both ends."

Last week, during Obama's health care town hall in Portsmouth, N.H., a man carrying a sign reading "It is time to water the tree of liberty" stood outside with a pistol strapped to his leg.

"It's a political statement," he told The Boston Globe. "If you don't use your rights, then you lose your rights."

Police asked the man to move away from school property, but he was not arrested.

Fred Solop, a Northern Arizona University political scientist, said the incidents in New Hampshire and Arizona could signal the beginning of a disturbing trend.

"When you start to bring guns to political rallies, it does layer on another level of concern and significance," Solop said. "It actually becomes quite scary for many people. It creates a chilling effect in the ability of our society to carry on honest communication."

He said he's never heard of someone bringing an assault weapon near a presidential event. "The larger the gun, the more menacing the situation," he said.

Phoenix was Obama's last stop on a four-day tour of western states, including Montana and Colorado.

Authorities in Montana said they received no reports of anyone carrying firearms during Obama's health care town hall near Bozeman on Friday. About 1,000 people both for and against Obama converged at a protest area near the Gallatin Field Airport hangar where the event took place. One person accused of disorderly conduct was detained and released, according to the Gallatin Airport Authority.

Heather Benjamin of Denver's Mesa County sheriff's department, the lead agency during Obama's visit there, said no one was arrested.

Arizona is an "open-carry" state, which means anyone legally allowed to have a firearm can carry it in public as long as it's visible. Only someone carrying a concealed weapon is required to have a permit.

Paul Helmke, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said people should not be allowed to bring guns to events where Obama is.

"To me, this is craziness," he said. "When you bring a loaded gun, particularly a loaded assault rifle, to any political event, but particularly to one where the president is appearing, you're just making the situation dangerous for everyone."

He said people who bring guns to presidential events are distracting the Secret Service and law enforcement from protecting the president. "The more guns we see at more events like this, there's more potential for something tragic happening," he said.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said armed demonstrators in open-carry states such as Arizona and New Hampshire have little impact on security plans for the president.

"In both cases, the subject was not entering our site or otherwise attempting to," Donovan said. "They were in a designated public viewing area. The main thing to know is that they would not have been allowed inside with a weapon."

Representatives of the National Rifle Association did not return calls for comment.


I Thinks the US take somethings for granted, with all the recent rampage killing going on in the country,

Aliens.There is no adjective known to man that is suitable enough  to qualify typical rednecks,they are something out of this world,born to cherish evil and abhor good,calling them monkeys is a gross understatement.

Obama is dealing with sub-humans and he should not expect it to be rosy.

princekevo:


I Thinks the US take somethings for granted, with all the recent rampage killing going on in the country,

What recent Rampage killings? Isn't it wise we not get carried away by media reports we CHOOSE to focus on? I am sitting here wondering what the hell you are talking of and I am in America.

Kobojunkie:

What recent Rampage killings? Isn't it wise we not get carried away by media reports we CHOOSE to focus on? I am sitting here wondering what the hell you are talking of and I am in America.

I wonder the part of US u are in,
and being in or out of US doesn't mean that you must be aware or Ignorant of the crimes that goes on there every day. Maybe you were not of the rampage Killing last year in Virginia Tech last year January,  The commonest crime we all know that happens in the US is homicide. I don't know why you always chose to debate on every thing even when is obvious to the entire world and am sure that you are aware of the shooting in the Church on sunday morning few months ago or a retard gun man shooting 3women dead at the LA fitness center, leaving many more wounded is jst a media report as you called it? http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2572420/Gunmans-deadly-gym-rampage-leaves-four-dead.html
I don't understand why i should chose to focus on your own reports instead of media reports becoz u live in America.

you can get the history of some bloody rampage killings in the US or when i said re cents means it has to be occurring every day or every months for you to believe how recent they are? I fearoooh,

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/03/_a_gunman_identified_as.html

And these people call themselves civilised. I pray for the likes of Tayo, Kobojunkie and other lost souls who follow this insidious religion called redneck Republicanism.

"Open carry" state indeed. There is a reason we associate the word "wild-west" with a breakdown of law and order. In redneck Republicanism, "disorder" becomes "law", as evidenced by Arizonas "open carry" policy.

princekevo:

I wonder the part of US u are in,
and being in or out of US doesn't mean that you must be aware or Ignorant of the crimes that goes on there every day.

Don’t worry about how I know the US, I still ask you, which rampage?

princekevo:

Maybe you were not of the rampage Killing last year in Virginia Tech last year January, The commonest crime we all know that happens in the US is homicide. I don't know why you always chose to debate on every thing even when is obvious to the entire world and am sure that you are aware of the shooting in the Church on sunday morning few months ago or a retard gun man shooting 3women dead at the LA fitness center, leaving many more wounded is jst a media report as you called it? http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2572420/Gunmans-deadly-gym-rampage-leaves-four-dead.html
I don't understand why i should chose to focus on your own reports instead of media reports becoz u live in America.

Please tell me the above is all joke and nothing more. So your explaination for your claim of rampage in America is siting killings that took place almost 2 years ago and then killings/shootings of weeks past? WOW!!!

princekevo:

you can get the history of some bloody rampage killings in the US or when i said re cents means it has to be occurring every day or every months for you to believe how recent they are? I fearoooh,

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/03/_a_gunman_identified_as.html

WOW!!! I am still in shock dude. . . . so all those killings, you now want to connect to a supposed Obama plot? Eeeekkk!!!!

Sigh!!!! You know what. You are allowed to believe as you choose dude.!!

Kobojunkie:

Don’t worry about how I know the US, I still ask you, which rampage?



Please tell me the above is all joke and nothing more. So your explaination for your claim of rampage in America is siting killings that took place almost 2 years ago and then killings/shootings of weeks past? WOW!!!


WOW!!! I am still in shock dude. . . . so all those killings, you now want to connect to a supposed Obama plot? Eeeekkk!!!!

Sigh!!!! You know what. You are allowed to believe as you choose dude.!!

Please tell me the above is all joke and nothing more. So your explaination for your claim of rampage in America is siting killings that took place almost 2 years ago and then killings/shootings of weeks past? WOW!!!

So the shooting in LA fitness Center happened two years ago? The most bloody rampage killing in Virginia Tech last year is not recent to you? I know that if your if your goat happen to be among the victims it must still be freash in you memory as if it happened yesterday. 
How much more people who lost their dear ones.
And am sure if you have being a victim to such incidents , you will be in a distance when you see kids with toy guns not to talk of adults with a loaded guns within the versinity where the president is, 
Or probably you are limiting the word 'rampage' only when it involves a group distruction,   T
hose of you who think America is one big innocent country where crime does not exist, you guys should sit there until the bullets get into your head one day you would believe. Am not wishing that should happen to you anyways, but you guys better shine your eyes,

WOW!!! I am still in shock dude. . . . so all those killings, you now want to connect to a supposed Obama plot? Eeeekkk!!!![color=#990000][/color]
I dont know how old you are anyways but i can tell by the way you reason, Becoz A man who loaded his Gun from home to attend a presidential gathering will tell, Oh am going to assassinate the president today or am going on rampage shooting today, No need to argue with you further on that you hold on to your opinion i hold on to mine, Thanks

@princekevo, that you do not see the problem with your claim that there is some recent rampage in america at this point, makes me believe that it is of no use to continue this with you. Hence the reason why I said you are free to believe what you choose.

Kobojunkie:

@princekevo, that you do not see the problem with your claim that there is some recent rampage in america at this point, makes me believe that it is of no use to continue this with you. Hence the reason why I said you are free to believe what you choose.

This jst happened after few weeks we argued on this,
This is wht happened in a society where people legally carry firearms.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090906/ap_on_re_us/us_louisiana_family_killed

[b]HOLDEN, La. – A man shot his estranged wife, son and 2-year-old grandson to death and critically wounded his pregnant daughter-in-law at their rural Louisiana home, then killed himself as police tried to pull over his car 20 minutes later, authorities said.

The shootings appeared to stem from an ongoing dispute between 50-year-old Dennis Carter Sr. and his wife, Donna Carter, who had a restraining order against him, said Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office Chief of Operations Perry Rushing.

Another 16-month-old boy was in the house during the shootings but was not hurt. The child was related to the Carters but Rushing was not sure how.

Authorities were called to the home in Holden, about 30 miles east of Baton Rouge, around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Donna Carter, 49, and Dennis Carter Jr., 26, were dead inside. Dennis Carter Jr.'s wife, Amber Carter, was badly hurt and their son, Mason Carter, 2, was found dead outside.

Rushing said it appeared Amber and Mason Carter managed to escape out a second-floor window but it was not clear if Dennis Carter Sr. shot them inside or followed them outside and shot them there.

All of the Carters lived at the house in Holden except Dennis Carter Sr., who used to live there but had more recently been living in nearby Hammond.

Amber Carter, who was about six months pregnant, was taken to Baton Rouge General Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, though a supervisor there could not provide an update on her condition early Sunday.

Rushing said deputies spotted Dennis Carter Sr. about 20 minutes later driving on a highway. When they tried to pull him over, he shot and killed himself.

"It's very unusual to have this many victims," Rushing said. "This is an anomaly by any stretch of the imagination."[/b]

@Prince

Why are you wasting your time with her?

@princekevo
sometimes it is useless debating with some people. this kobojunkie hates obama with his last drop of blood. its like arguing with the devil if jesus is lord. no amt of miracle will make satan accept that jesus is lord.

if God forbid, obama is assasinated and u come here to say ''i told u'', i bet u kobojunkie will argue that it is nothing new in america and that the threat against him was no different from the others. or he'll find some other way to debate it. so forget this guy, just state ur opinion and go. if u are trying to convince kobojunkie that u are making sense . . . best of luck . . but i guess it will be easier for my late ancestors to wake up from the dead than for kobojunkie to say anything good about obama.

even fox news will bow for him/her

princekevo:

This jst happened after few weeks we argued on this,
This is wht happened in a society where people legally carry firearms.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090906/ap_on_re_us/us_louisiana_family_killed

[b]HOLDEN, La. – A man shot his estranged wife, son and 2-year-old grandson to death and critically wounded his pregnant daughter-in-law at their rural Louisiana home, then killed himself as police tried to pull over his car 20 minutes later, authorities said.

The shootings appeared to stem from an ongoing dispute between 50-year-old Dennis Carter Sr. and his wife, Donna Carter, who had a restraining order against him, said Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office Chief of Operations Perry Rushing.

And this is NEW in America? Do you realize that similar cases are recorded across america, most every day and this is nothing new and has been around for decades now. In most every city in america, there are records of killings such as these, recorded for decades but suddenly it is all about Obama? WOW!! This is reason why anyone would believe Obama might get assasinated? May the good Lord Open your mind!!! That is all I will say.

AjaraEwuro:

@Prince

Why are you wasting your time with her?

She is a HE .

pres-elect:

@princekevo
sometimes it is useless debating with some people. this kobojunkie hates obama with his last drop of blood. its like arguing with the devil if jesus is lord. no amt of miracle will make satan accept that jesus is lord.

No he doesn't. My guess would be he is a staunch republican. That makes him an Anti-democrat.

chic2pimp:

She is a HE .No he doesn't. My guess would be he is a staunch republican. That makes him an Anti-democrat.

Can you prove that I am

a) a republican, let alone a staunch one

b) anti-obama

I mean these loonies come up with these labels such as these as their way of insulting the other party for not agreeing with them. Imagine a sane human concluding that news of crimes such as the examples he has given so far, which by the way happens on a regular bases in america( my guess is he is new to news of real town america) is proof or reason that obama could be assasinated if care is not taken. I am like what the heck? I am going to guess he has even seen an episode or Dateline, 48 hours, or even other court shows from the past decade? roflmao!!!

Now they choose to label me anti-obama and republican for pointing out the ridiculous connection in their logic.

[size=20pt]IF IT HAPPENS, IT WILL BE THE SPARK THAT SETS OFF THE INEVITABLE RACE WAR!!![/size]

Kobojunkie:


Now they choose to label me anti-obama and republican for pointing out the ridiculous connection in their logic.

I was not supposed to debate with you over this anymore, coz i was meant to understand that you are good in that and have proved it, We are talking abt reality and you are telling me abt logic,
You should have asked a matured man(not a kid) who left his house to a presidential gathering, with a fully loaded gun wht his ambition is,
You claim you are the best at logic reasoning. How would you related a man being present with a loaded gun at a presidential gathering to the assasination of the president, For example if the president happened to be assersssinated at that moment(God for bid) whom do you think will be the prime suspect? A harmless civilians or a man with fire arms?

As you think is something impossible, it has happened b4 in that same US so it's possible occourance should not be underestimated,