Ron White, a very funny comedian, once made a joke about being busted by the cops while drunk: he had the right to remain silent, but “did not have the ability”. Not only funny, but instructive. We all have rights, but we don’t always have the ability to use them as the law intended.
Here is a very good example: a man exercising his right to openly carry a gun was robbed of said gun by another man carrying a concealed weapon. Pretty dumb move, to put a just-purchased weapon on public display without being prepared for what might happen:
William Coleman III was robbed of his Walter- brand P22 just after 2:00 a.m. October 4 in Gresham by a young man who asked him for it — and flashed his own weapon as persuasion.
Coleman, 21, was talking to his cousin in the 17200 block of NE Glisan St., after purchasing the handgun earlier that day, when a young man asked him for a cigarette, police said.
The man then asked about the gun, pulled a gun from his own waistband and said “”I like your gun. Give it to me.”
Coleman handed over the gun and the man fled on foot.
Once can debate the Second Amendment all one wishes (this writer is a proponent of RKBA), but just like any other right, one must use a brain cell or two when exercising it. When speaking freely, one should be aware that other people might disagree with their speech. When assembling freely, one should be prepared for someone else putting together a counter-demonstration. And when hanging a gun on one’s hip, one should be trained and prepared for how to responsibly handle it.
Mr. Coleman was NOT at all prepared. He could have carried his own gun as the robber did, concealed. That way he’d be equipped to defend himself without risking theft. Or he could have taken other measures to guard against theft. (Helpful hint: a gun is not a magic wand. It is a weapon that can be defeated, or taken away, by an opponent who has more skill than you have.)
Ya know, if it’s the possibility of armed conflict you are trying to cope with (as Mr. Coleman clearly was), you should learn something about, well, armed conflict. Only a completely uneducated idiot would allow the enemy to know the details of his own offensive and defensive capabilities (read Clausewitz and Sun-Tzu for the basics of military straegy and tactics). And a complete idiot is what Mr. Coleman surely was, because he did not bother to learn Thing One about HOW to exercise his rights: he just ran on out and started exercising them.
Too many Americans stop thinking once they get to “rights”. We all need to consider our responsibilities as well. But FIRST, we must think about our capabilities.
Mr. Blunt and Cranky
bluntandcranky 
So let me get this straight….
Because the man was a victim of a crime, he deserves to have his right to armed self-defense taken away from him? Is this what you’re implying? Let’s apply this same logic to Charlie Hebro. Since the magazine’s writers/editors were a victim of Islamic terrorism because they posted a cartoon that offended a minority of Muslims, all writers/editors of Charlie should loose their free speech rights.
And disagree on “And a complete idiot is what Mr. Coleman surely was, because he did not bother to learn Thing One about HOW to exercise his rights: he just ran on out and started exercising them.” I’m mostly sure that Oregon has training standards to get the liscense to carry a gun, concealed or openly. I’m assuming since he wasn’t arrested for open carrying without a license that he had one. Thus he DID learn what the state of Oregon required him to know about exercising his rights in order to get the license to carry. Or are you going to say now “you don’t have rights until you learn how to use them”? If so, we’re gonna need to restrict a lot of students free speech rights. And maybe yours…..I’m gonna need to see a high school diploma, or a BA in English or Politics before I see you post here again.
Pretty sure Oregon has training requirement, are we now? Uh-huh: http://www.opencarry.org/?page_id=290 http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/open-and-concealed-gun-carry-laws-oregon.htm http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Oregon You are pretty surely WRONG. Next time, check your ASSumptions before you post.
You’re still laughing at a crime victim as well as a guy learning how to use his 2nd amendment rights. Any other victim of any other crime, and you’d be victim blaming.
He is not a victim: he was looking to either:A, Intimidate others with his gun; B, find some trouble, or C: all of the above. People who “exercise their RKBA” via open-carry are pot-stirrers, jackalopes trying to make a statement, amped-up a**holes trying to cause trouble, etc. They are NOT focused on self-defense – if they were, they’d carry concealed and go through the certification and training process.
Kind of like “exercising your free-speech rights” by insulting a drunken biker’s mother to his face. Yes, it’s a shame the insulter got his face punched, but since he was trying to start a fight, I have no sympathy for him when he gets what he was looking for.
The crime of theft remains a crime and should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but anybody who goes looking for trouble should not expect pity when he finds it.