Does the 2A secure rights and are they for everyone?

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The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all. H. L. Mencken

First, let me say that Leonard Embody isn't likely to be the poster child for the second amendment. He's been pushing the envelope in his area for a while now, with no help from supposed 2A advocates and few (if any) positive results.

Now, the Second Amendment Foundation and none other than Alan Gura has filed an amicus brief in support of his civil suit being dismissed (in hopes of avoiding bad precedent being set). I can understand Gura filing such a brief to protect his carefully-crafted strategy for expanding firearms rights; what I can't abide is that those who file suit to have their rights recognized being raked over the coals when their suit doesn't fit the un-published "master plan".

There is, predictably, much discussion.

In the incident that precipitated the suit, Embody donned camouflage clothing, slung his Draco AK-47-based pistol across his chest and went for a walk at Radnor Lake State Park (on a Sunday afternoon, no less). Embody had painted the muzzle of this pistol orange, which many in the 2A community call an attempt to disguise the pistol as a toy. He was stopped by a park ranger, interviewed and released (audio here). As Embody continued his walk, the ranger called his supervisor and the metro police for back-up. When the other ranger arrived, Embody was stopped at gunpoint, disarmed, handcuffed and placed in a police cruiser. He was detained for around 3 hours before being released.

The more well-heeled firearms owners would say that Embody was looking for trouble, and found it. I would refer those individuals to read the quote at the beginning of this post ... grok if you can.

Nothing that Embody did that day was illegal. He was a carry permit holder (it has since been revoked); the law was earlier changed to allow the carrying of a handgun in state parks. There is no law prescribing how one should dress while exercising 2A rights, nor are there any laws or regulations dictating what color your muzzle should or should not be painted. There is no reason to be detained for 3 hours, and certainly not at gunpoint (especially since he had been interviewed just minutes earlier by a park ranger).

Note that supposed 2A supporters are judging Embody based on his painting the muzzle orange (a move alleged to be to disguise the weapon as a toy); I don't see anyone questioning the wisdom of the state requiring that toy weapons have their muzzles painted orange, especially since I know of no prudent LEO's who, when seeing an orange muzzle, will assume a "toy". Why did he paint the muzzle orange? Who knows; perhaps he painted it for safety reasons ...

Note also that supposed 2A supporters are judging Embody on his "inappropriate" choice of attire (because camo is scary). Again, I'll point out that there are no laws dictating that a legally-armed citizen dress a certain way, nor should there be.

Embody is also being judged on his choice of firearm, a Draco pistol (which is based on the AK-47). I'll admit that I don't see the point in carrying a rifle-caliber pistol, but to each his or her own. My own personal philosophy is that it doesn't matter what caliber you carry, as long as you carry ... a .25ACP in the hand is worth 2-10mm Glocks in the safe. Besides, the law states that one may carry a handgun in a state park ... the Draco is classified as a handgun.

Finally, Embody sued the ranger who drew his gun and put Embody on the ground. Embody is claiming a violation of his 4th amendment rights, not his 2A. I tend to agree. It is my opinion that the officers may stop an individual to check compliance with laws, but as soon as they find that the individual is in compliance, he should be released, and I can't see that taking 3 hours. If it does take that long, then LE should explain why it took so long, in court.

What this comes down to is that Embody is scaring the white people, and we can't have that. Nobody will acknowledge that it is impossible not to scare a hoplophobe with a firearm; it simply can't be done. And it's very disheartening that some 2A supporters don't realize that you can't make them happy.

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