Call Me Young Gun

Each night I go to bed
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
No, I ain't lookin' for forgiveness
But before I'm six foot deep
Lord, I got to ask a favor
And I'll hope you'll understand
'Cause I've lived life to the fullest
Let this boy die like a man
Starin' down a bullet
Let me make my final stand

"Blaze of Glory," music/lyrics by Jon Bon Jovi

I actually wasn't going to comment on this numbnut taking his AR-15 into Sky Harbor International Airport while purchasing his coffee (the better to protect himself from the gremlins waiting to steal it, I suppose), until this was published in the Arizona Republic today. But once I read about this gun rights advocate idjit Alan Korwin, I couldn't resist.

Seriously, where did the reporter find this guy? I have seldom seem a better example of a bug-eyed, paranoid gun freak.

Gun rights advocate Alan Korwin said Peter Nathan Steinmetz was perfectly within his rights to bring the rifle into the public section of the airport: only the area behind the Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint is a "gun free zone.''

Phoenix Police Sgt. Steve Martos doesn't disagree, but he said visitors to the airport have to apply common sense when deciding whether to bring such a weapon along.

Police said a woman and her 17-year-old daughter reported fearing for their safety when Steinmetz removed his AR-15 from his shoulder with the muzzle facing towards them in a waiting area.

Just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean it's a smart thing to do. You know why that is? It's because we, the public, have no idea if the person carrying that AR-15 is a good guy or a bad guy, and we certainly don't know if this supposed "good guy" might suddenly decide he's going to take everybody out. I don't know about you, but my telepathy simply doesn't work most days.

Damn straight I would've felt threatened by this bozo and his AR-15 in a public terminal, and damn straight I would've called the police. I mean, fer fuck's sake. If you seriously think you need a gun slung over your shoulder to buy a cup of bad airport coffee....you've got issues.

(None of the stories I've read about this have indicated whether or not the gun was loaded. Although I would have bet money it was, because to people like this, there's no point in having a gun if you're not prepared to use it. No doubt Mr. Steinmetz would have shot a hole in his coffee cup had it failed to please him.)

Of course, this imbecile is raised and matched by his "defender" in the story.

But Korwin said it is obvious that Steinmetz was making a valuable political statement, and a dramatic one at that.

"He didn't do anything illegal. I thought he did it to make a point,'' Korwin said.

What point, pray tell? That it's a wonderful thing to intimidate and frighten people for no reason? Did Mr. Steinmetz know, through his spot-on precognition, that some other "good guy with a gun" was going to be at the airport that day, and said "good guy" just had to see another wannabe Rambo with a bigger dick "Second Amendment Remedy" to make him think twice about whipping out his own?

In Alan Corwin's paranoid little brain, of course that impossible, unprovable scenario could have happened. This is why these asshats must keep their guns with them at all tines.

Great Flying Spaghetti Monster, what a terrible way to live.

Then the story ends with Alan Corwin kicking his mania into overdrive.

He said anyone who would criticize Steinmetz, or others who choose to arm themselves, should think about what would happen if terrorists struck at at Sky Harbor, or if criminals decided to commit a crime there.

"If the Jihad were to start at this airport, you would be very happy he was there," Korwin said.

The HELL. I. WOULD., you ignorant fuckwit. For one thing, I think the capitol of this state is Phoenix, not Riyadh or Islamabad. In that blessed state Mr. Corwin clearly never visits known as "reality," there are extremely long odds against a "Jihad" actually happening here. I guess there might be a slightly better chance of a "crime," whatever that's supposed to mean--let's say robbing Starbucks' cash register, since what the hell else is there to steal inside an airport terminal? The TSA body scanners? In which case you as the cashier simply give them the money and send them on their way, out to where airport security waits (since of course you have a secret alarm button you pressed as soon as the robbery started going down). You certainly don't invite an untrained, AR-15-wielding yahoo to stick his two bits (or two shots) worth in, since this would be a great way to start a massacre. Those flying patriotic bullets really don't care who they hit.

Finally, Mr. Corwin and Mr. Steinmetz, I do not expect, want or need your so-called "protection." I can run and hide as good as anybody, and I will do exactly that, in the extremely unlikely event of anything happening. As far as I'm concerned, I would much rather take my chances with the imaginary Jihadists than some insecure jackass who thinks his "blaze of glory" is just around the corner.