Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:08 pm
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) was on MSNBC’s The Ed Show tonight reacting to the fact that one of his supporters, William Kostric, brought a loaded gun to the venue where President Obama held his healthcare town hall yesterday. Paul praised Obama and the Secret Service for their understanding of the state law and letting Kostric peacefully protest.
Here is the video:
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When asked for his reaction to one of his supporters actions Rep. Paul said, “I think it proves a couple of points. One thing I think it shows a remarkable restraint by the president and his Secret Service because they didn’t overreact. They recognize what the state law was, and that this man didn’t break any laws in that he was just practicing a right that he has, so I think this is very good, and Obama deserves credit for this.”
He also said that this proves that the person is more dangerous than the gun, “I also think what this demonstrates is that it’s the old conservative argument that it not the gun that the danger, it’s the person that’s dangerous. He’s a peaceful person. He obeyed the law. He was not a man of violence and it went quite well, so I think it is a remarkable demonstration when you compare it to what 19 individuals could do with razor blades versus one man with a pistol that happens to be a law abiding citizen.”
Paul pointed out that a lot of people in New Hampshire carry, and he likely wasn’t doing it for attention. He said he campaigned in New Hampshire and he was a little surprised by the number of people who carry guns. Can you imagine what would have happened to Mr. Kostric if he would have done this while George W. Bush was president? That is assuming that he could get close enough to the venue where the president was to actually protest.
Obama and his Secret Service to do deserve credit for the way they handled this. They determined that Kostric was peaceful and obeying the law, so they let him protest. This is a complete change from the way the Bush administration used to deal with protesters. Kostric probably would have been arrested, labeled a terrorist, and thrown in jail under Bush.
Frankly, I don’t understand what the big deal is, or why some people are upset with this story. Bringing a gun to a presidential event, may defy common sense, but if it isn’t against the law in your state, and behave peacefully, I don’t see a problem. I am sure if the Secret Service thought Kostric was dangerous they would have acted, but the shift from Bush to Obama has been night and day in terms of respecting the rights of citizens.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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