Presidents and Firearms

[GEM]

Hoover probably couldn't get that first 357 he was given to stay in his garter belt.

When I hear all the Bush zealots excuse the violations of the Constitution, it makes me barf. I heard that little twit Michael Medved say on the radion - would you rather be safe from terrorists or worry about what the liberals call civil liberties?

Uh - duh!

The terrorists come and go. Loosing civil liberties will be here forever.

It won't be long till some president decides legitimate domestic political opposition is a threat to him or her and goes for you.

As for stopping major terrorist plots - I don't believe it. I would like to see one documented 9/11 type plot - not a rumour, that was stopped since then.

 

[psyopspec]

The terrorists come and go. Loosing civil liberties will be here forever.

It won't be long till some president decides legitimate domestic political opposition is a threat to him or her and goes for you.

As for stopping major terrorist plots - I don't believe it. I would like to see one documented 9/11 type plot - not a rumour, that was stopped since then.

Plenty of threads in legal and political better suited for the discussion of your feelings on the Patriot Act v. Civil Liberties.

In regards to presidential gun ownership, I found this in an issue of National Review:

And though she was a well-known talker, she also walked the walk. In 1958, at age 74, she made plans to go down to Tennessee to speak at a civil-rights workshop at the Highlander Folk School.

The Ku Klux Klan learned about her plans. The day before her trip, the elderly, gray-haired woman was contacted by the FBI. "We can't guarantee your safety," they told her. "The Klan's put a bounty on your head, a $25,000 bounty on your head. We can't protect you. You can't go." But the little old lady answered, "I didn't ask for your protection... I have a commitment. I'm going."

And she did. She flew down to the Nashville airport, where she was joined by a friend, an elderly white woman aged 71. The pair got into the car, lay a loaded pistol on the front seat between them, and drove into the night. No Secret Service or police escort. Just the two little old ladies with a gun to keep them safe. They set out for their destination, a " tiny labor school[,] to conduct a workshop on how to break the law, how to conduct non-violent civil disobedience." They drove through the heart of Klan territory to teach people how to fight for freedom.

That determined grandmother, of course, was Eleanor Roosevelt. And it was Eleanor's handgun, not some hired bodyguard, that helped her stay alive in the face of real danger.

Read the rest of the article here.

 

[geekWithA.45]

What I've heard is that W often carries a commander sized 1911, and _always_ carries a little NAA revo.

I've also heard that Reagan and Bush I kept full sized 1911s in their night stand.

I have no reason to believe or disbelieve what I've heard on these topics, and therefore am unwilling to assert the truth of them.

 

[CowboyEngr]

I have a book at home that has a picture of an 1876 Winchester that Theodore Roosevelt had owned when he lived in Montana. Of course, there is also the 1895 Winchester that he considered "lion medicine" in 405 Win. while on safari in Africa.

TR may have been the high water mark for presidents that liked firearms, but I'd be willing to bet that nearly all of them have owned at one time or another.