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OUTREACH ERROR

Portland Men Wander Streets With Rifles to Promote Gun Rights

Instead, they put their neighbors in a panic

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by Dain Fitzgerald

Staff Writer t

Image: FOX

It was supposed to be a teachable moment.

Two suburban Portland men on a mission to celebrate gun rights panicked their neighbors Wednesday when they opted to casually walk the streets carrying rifles, reports FOX. 22-year-olds Warren Drouin and Steven Boyce alarmed shoppers and passersby, who quickly called 911 to report the pair, when they were seen strolling, gun-on-back, through the city's typically drama-free Sellwood neighborhood.

Police soon confirmed however that the two were within their rights, as carrying firearms openly in Oregon is lawful if done with a valid gun license, which Drouin and Boyce possessed. While the men were warned that their antics would continue to prompt calls to police that could strain resources, FOX writes that "neither seemed interested in those concerns."

When asked by reporters what they were hoping to accomplish with the public display, the men replied that they wanted to end the "demonizing of peacefully exercising your rights in public." They also hoped to educate folks they encountered about gun rights.

But that's a lesson some members of the public would rather learn some other way: "If you're scaring people, you're not advancing your cause," said Timothy Heath, an area business owner.

Via FOX.
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Do you sympathize with the intentions of Drouin and Boyce?

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Comments (view in Forum)

  • o
    OhWiseOne
    !
    Go right ahead. I'm sure the people of West Virginia and Kentucky, wonderful places by the way, won't mind. They, like everyone else, has been making fun of you folks for years. Just like everybody else.
  • PNWest
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    @VCP There may be idiots in all 50 states but it's more fun to make fun of them when they are in someone else's state! Why couldn't these guys have just moved to Seattle?

  • View all 37 replies >

  • PoliticalSpice
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    This is exactly the type of stupidity I post objecting too. People like this and those who react in angry, paranoid, rants, such as threats to go to civil war or needing everyone to carry a gun scare the death out of ordinary people and are driving public opinion toward gun control faster then anything else.
  • o
    bambi33
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    I don't think anyone believes "everyone" is even capable of carrying. Rather than "needing everyone to carry a gun", what I typically read are comments insisting that all good citizens retain the right to decide for themselves. There's an important distinction.
  • Thegrif
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    Keep being NOT paranoid. Thats exactly what big brother wants. While he quietly dismantles America, right by right.
    So someone tell me, what exactly would be expectable gun control laws, and how are you going to assure me and others like me that the criminals are all complying with the law, because as long as criminals have AR-15's I will be here with my AK's
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @Thegrif Exactly the type of paranoid statement I am talking about. Did I say anything at all about acceptable gun contol laws? No. That I support any type of gun control is a paranoid fantasy you cooked up in your mind because I was critical of two idiots that scared the living daylight out of their neabors...
  • Thegrif
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    @PoliticalSpice i didn't say you said anything about gun control, I ask a question to anyone, which was, what would be acceptable gun control? So We know the bad guys are following the law also.
    Don't rant though, just sit back and watch your country fall.
    Have a nice day :-)

  • View all 162 replies >

  • MongoAPillager
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    the wife is working the niteshift,the children are very tired(even if they don,t know it)I did actually get a script filled today,and I have a small cooler of margaritas waiting to be assaulted ...there a little relief in there somewhere
  • paperdragons81
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    Lol.. There young and making a point, still within their rights. As long as their not threating or trying to intimadate cititzens, I'm ok with it. I bet someone wanting to rob or kill someone else within eye shot of those two would think twice.
  • MongoAPillager
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    @paperdragons81 good point,had not thought of that!if criminal types see a couple of unknown hillbillies types walking around with rifles?might make them think ,I mean them red necks just a liable to shoot cha as look at ya,golly they might not beholden to the same rules as the police,jee,ee might not even make it to court for a plea bargin?
  • paperdragons81
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    @MongoAPillager I know its little outlandish, and I admit it sounded better in my head, I just saw most people criticize them so I tried to look at it from a different perspective. But you know if you were looking to rob a quicky mart and you saw two hillbillys with rifles in the front of the store, your going to pick another store, because most crimanals don't want a fight, they want an easy score. They wouldn't want to take that chance. Don't get me wrong I don't want them to going play cops.

  • View all 7 replies >

  • Thunderchicken
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    An unholstered gun in a populated area is just provocative. Legal or not, these guys were just stupid for walking around with rifles. As I said in another post, wearing a holstered gun and just going about your business makes sense. This is just asking for trouble. And it's the kind of trouble that gun owners don't need.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    I'm not saying it's not legal. Its legal to fart in someones face walking by them in a restaraunt to the bathroom, but I refrain from doing it. People like this scare people, they drive public opinion toward gun control. Second amendment advocates would be wise to win people over by using tact and public education, not antics like this. I support the second amnd but most people on here assume differently, and begin paranoid rants about how i support taking their guns away, etc. because they are so paranoid that they interpret anything less then full out support for the right to walk down mainstreet with a bandolier of ammo, two rilfes, and a gun belt sporting two handguns means I want to conficate their weapons and put a computer chip in their trigger finger...
  • MadAmerican
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    @PoliticalSpice I think we all must realize that this was just to show something that may be taken away in the stroke of a pen by Obama. These two men may be the last ones to ever walk a city steet legally with their weapons. It would have been smarter if their were 100 in different age groups, but what they did was legal. If this had been Clint Eastwood would your opinion change? I say march on and continue every right you have and enjoy them while you have them.
  • stepped_in_it
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    We do realize that the "real" knee jerk reaction could have been hot lead or a tazer dart flying their way. I understand why cops shoot in these incidents. Idiots like these don't understand one wrong move could have gotten them dead! STUPID!
  • o
    bambi33
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    Under "normal" circumstances, this wouldn't happen, and everyone would politely co-exist in peace. But the current situation is NOT normal. If our own public servants and the legacy media weren't so openly hostile and venomous toward responsible, law-abiding, gun-owners, then people wouldn't feel compelled to make a provocative statement.

  • View all 26 replies >

  • JimCO55
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    Don't know what's worse, that they didn't think this thru or when this was pointed out to them ... they still couldn't make the connection of how their actions are being perceived!
  • PoliticalSpice
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    Exactly whatI try to tell second amnd advocates who post paraniod sounding crazy rants on here. They are helping push public opinion toward gun control...
  • Thunderchicken
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    Yeah the rifle bit is over the top. And the cops should stop someone acting in a provocative way. However, carrying a rifle from point A to point B isn't a crime in many places. When I was younger and rabbit hunting with a .22 was still legal where I lived, it was just easier to avoid being seen. To walk around like this with the intent of causing a stir is just stupid. Now if they were wearing holstered side arms and just going about their business, I could see that.
  • u
    seedtick
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    I sympathize with them, also....I figure they are probably nice guys....just a little screwed up in their thought processes.
  • u
    seedtick
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    @marine1 Yeah...when I see things like this I am embarassed for them, and then I become frustrated at what it stirs up. All they did was piss off folks who were otherwise on their side.
  • John_Matrix
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    They were well within the confines of the law. Perhaps all the idiots calling the cops should educate themselves on the legality of such matters in the state they reside.
  • Dan_Tien
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    There are many in the city who vow to "Keep Portland Weird". This isn't the first time these two have done this. Why can't they just be satisfied with gay marriage?
  • mudpike
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    Many states have a 'right to carry'. In Pa., one may (with some exceptions) walk down the street , shop & dine while wearing an exposed sidearm (pistol , revolver) without a concealed carry permit. There are groups of men & women who make plans to do this.
    While I carry concealed & don't involve myself with 'open carry'- it is their RIGHT to do so. IMO , these people who feel threatened by anyone simply wearing a firearm are the same type that bemoan animaly cruelty , support PETA yet greatly enjoy eating a $50 dollar steak at a great steakhouse or love a great piece of VEAL or LAMB . Can you say hypocrites boys & girls ?
  • o
    bambi33
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    "But that's a lesson some members of the public would rather learn some other way..."

    Sadly, it seems most liberals, and all the legacy media, simply refuse to "learn" anything whatsoever about the lawful, responsible, bearing of arms. Instead, they close their eyes, ears, and mind, while screeching wild nonsense. Consequently, good law-abiding citizens are compelled to push the issue in more creative ways.
  • u
    captchaos69
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    You are so right. People who react on emotions do seemingly silly things. However, as you say, when the government and a complicit media refuse to act rationally, some people do also. Biden met with gun control advocates Tuesday, BEFORE he met with the NRA he said he was sending recomendations to Obama. That to me is not taking all things into consideration. It was all a foregone conclusion. They just wasted time by holding these sham conferences then coming out swinging with assault weapon, high capacity magazine and gun show bans. To show the stupidity of the government's position to "save the children", they just sold almost 3 million "assault" type guns this past month because of mistrust of the government.
  • Medicinebow
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    While I see the point they were trying to make I believe there are better methods. I don't think twice if I see someone with a gun in public unless they are acting erratic. In fact, seeing guns is a common sight in my neck of the woods. Its what you can't see that should be of concern. I heard a bunch of shooting over the weekend from our home....didn't give it a second thought. The same sound in a city area would warrant my attention. Different cultures.

    If I were going to promote gun rights i'd see about setting some type of approved booth. I believe folks would be much more approachable.

    Personally, I prefer common sense, mature conversation with people concerning discussions of gun rights.
  • Medicinebow
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    @jessejaymes Seriously? If I see someone acting suspicious (and that may have been a better word to use) i'd survey the situation and call the authorities if I observed behavior or actions I believed was inappropriate. I was at a restaurant in Colorado having lunch with my wife and there was a gentleman behind me carrying openly. I saw no issue at all with that. But, I was carrying also, just concealed. Just 2 people going about their daily lives and exercising their rights in different ways.

    If I saw these same two guys jump out of a vehicle and run in to a store or after someone then that would have my attention. If it was summertime and someone was walking down the street in a trench coat and the temp was 85 degrees that would appear erratic to me. What might appear normal to one person could appear as quite odd to another. Like we see with the 2 guys in the article.

    What is your take of the situation?

    Like I said. If I wanted to promote gun rights i'd go about it differently. Maybe that makes me erratic :)
  • jessejaymes
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    @Medicinebow I think they're lunatics myself. I was just curious as to what you would call "erratic". I owned a business with several locations in urban areas and I was highly suspicious of any teen or early 20 guy that I did not know. Any race. We had recording studios which were highly desirable to rob for equipment and generally someone new would be brought in by someone we knew. Two guys we didn't know came in and we instantly went on alert. Because we were robbed early on. And robbed later on. But in a good ten dozen cases in between we were alert and avoided what I knew to be suspicious people.
  • jessejaymes
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    @jessejaymes I would further add to that that our business were posted as to no firearms allowed and if you came in open carrying? You likely got a .357 in your face. Happened more than once.
  • Medicinebow
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    @jessejaymes If I owned a business i'm sure there are certain things that would raise flags with me also. I find that people learn what is the "norm" for an area and base their assessments on that information.

  • View all 9 replies >

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