A man with a gun in a holster protesting near the Obama town hall got the attention of MSNBC today. Apparently this is legal in New Hampshire. The man, who is apparently not a law officer but a civilian, held a sign with a portion of a quote from Thomas Jefferson. The full quote is:
"And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are notwarned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit ofresistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as tothe facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in acentury or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time totime, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
According to The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur, this quote was also referenced on a T-shirt worn by Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh shortly before carrying out the attack on the federal building there.
Anybody have a clue why he'd be wearing an earpiece? Some on YouTube are saying Secret Service.
UPDATE: Chris Matthews talked to the protester on Hardball.
Both clips, AFTER THE JUMP…
