re:  "Leave the guns at home when protesting president"

Mr. Dionne,

In reading your column, I noticed several issues that need to be addressed.  First of all, in describing the protests and "town hall" meetings, you compare those who chose to bring guns to the protest to Nazis ("politics of the jackboot") and accuse them of intimidation.  I'm curious:  were the guns used to threaten those of differing opinion?  Or, like signs and placards, were they props?  I haven't seen any news accounts stating that those with differing opinions were threatened or intimidated — have you?

Secondly, as you state, you "raise[] the racial issue".  I'm curious if you were aware that the most widely televised of the gun-toting protesters was himself African American?  Was he then being racially insensitive?  If so, does that mean there's a different standard for bearing arms depending on one's race or ethnicity?

Personally, I think bringing weapons to such meetings is counter-productive — they take the focus off the issues in place them instead on the personalities of the dissenters (it would be a different story if the debate were on limiting the right to keep and bear arms).  But even strident, virulent, robust disagreement does not justify comparisons to Nazism or implications of racism.

Sincerely,
Dave Smith
Houston, TX