them county hicks

While the city of Knoxville itself decided to display its disregard for the rights of its resident citizens, the Knox County Commission decided to uphold a citizen’s right to self-defense last night by allowing licensed, background-checked, law-abiding citizens to carry their handguns in Knox County Parks.
Shiny. Now, thanks to the halfwittery displayed by Mayor Haslam (and others on the city council), you just have to remember where Knox County ends and the city of Knoxville begins.
One particular quote jumped out at me from the news report, though:

Commissioner Amy Broyles, who proposed banning guns in parks, said she does not have a handgun permit, but she excelled at marksmanship while involved with ROTC in high school.

“I’ve been assaulted,” Broyles said. “I’ve been raped. I’m very concerned that there’s evil in the world. I’m concerned about children in these recreational leagues.”

First, if she did it during high school and not college, she was involved with the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps – the “J” goes away when you join up in college, and there is something of a significant difference between the two (namely, a contract). However, that could be a failure of “editorial oversight”, and not an omission on Amy’s part.
Second, and most importantly, I have to confess that Amy’s words absolutely disgust me. This woman has first-hand knowledge of the evil that does exist in our world, and yet she would support stripping law-abiding citizens of a very effective means to defend themselves. She would relegate other women to similar fates as her own, simply because she is “concerned” over something that has not happened in any of the other states that allow licensed carry in parks. She would aid and abet rapists and other criminals on a baseless and emotional fear, desite knowing and admitting to the existance and danger of criminals.
I am disturbed enough at the thought of people forcing other people to become victims… but the fact of an already-victim forcing other Americans to be defenseless victims as well? That is simply monstrous.
Likewise, a series of comments by a certain “Paone” caught my attention as well:

I’ll still go to House Mountain, but *anyone* flashing a gun without a badge around MY family better have an excellent proctologist – just so the HCPers and criminals know. Keep your weapon holstered around my family, or I’ll holster it for you!

—–
You got your gun. That’s great. For you and every other gun-toter without a badge – keep it holstered around my family, or risk having it holstered permanently and most painfully. I can’t verify the training of an HCPer like I can a cop, so until I can ANY firearm in the hand of ANY individual without a badge better stay out of my sight around my family.

Consider yourselves warned. Respect the wishes of a fellow American citizen and keep your steel to yourself around me and mine – or else.

So let us take an inventory: blatant intimidation and threats of menacing, battery, assault, and bodily harm… and here I thought it was us handgun carry permit holders who had problems controlling our violent impulses and whatnot? I wonder if Paone understands that open carry is not only 100% lawful here in Tennessee, but also that open carry leaves the handgun in question completely visible around his/her family. Something tells me s/he is in for something of a surprise if s/he were to follow through on his/her threats, and then a law-abiding handgun carry permit holder’s life could be completely ruined due to the unfathomable stupidity, ignorance, and fear of one aggressive anti-rights activist.
As the saying goes, why are anti-rights advocates so violent?