The GOP purity trolls who have taken out Bennett and Crist have some rhetorical elements that are, charitably, sometimes difficult to understand in policy terms. For me one of these is equating carrying handguns in public places as an expression of freedom.
I noticed this recently on a trip to northern Florida and southern Georgia, just in time, as it has turned out, to see the indigenous wildlife. (There was a surprising number of bald eagles, and some spectacular swallow-tailed kites, not to mention the local bison population.)
In any case, there was a teenager wearing an anti-Obama t-shirt. I forget the precise cleverness of phrasing, but a central element was that Obama wanted to take away his guns, and therefore limit his freedom. Aside from the not being true part, and the implied treason, it was hard to under stand what he was trying to say.
And now I see this notion of freedom includes carrying guns into bars. Both Virginia and Tennessee have passed bills allowing people to carry a concealed handgun into establishments that serve alcohol. (It turns out that Plaxico Burress was a freedom fighter with a bad sense of timing and place. Who knew?)
The James Brady lobbying effort has found the open carry movement unpopular, but as always, the NRA carries the day over merely popular legislative positions.
