Sen. Rand Paul acts like an idiot

[MattusMaximus]

The travel history I can buy to some extent (I would hazard a guess that it could be easily fooled simply with fake or stolen identities though) but the FBI background check sounds to me like a big waste of FBI time and resources from the get go.

This ^

 

[mikedenk]

I forget which State, but one of them actually passed a law to give people the Right to carry a gun into a bar.

Most states don't have laws preventing carry-permit holders from bringing a gun into a bar. Several states have recently (within the past few years) enacted laws that actually specifically PERMIT the carry of weapons into bars, including TN, VA, AZ, and GA.

Despite the hand-wringing that went along with the passage of those laws, there has been no increase in firearm-related crimes in bars in those states. The simple explanation is that carry-permit holders are responsible people, not crazy yahoos itching to blast away.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

So they can't ever be arrested? For anything?

They can be arrested for treason, felony or breach of peace.

Also, they can be served process*, and they can be subpoenaed.

*Apparently, this was a bigger issue back in the old days when people were arrested for civil suits.

 

[crimresearch]

The travel history I can buy to some extent (I would hazard a guess that it could be easily fooled simply with fake or stolen identities though) but the FBI background check sounds to me like a big waste of FBI time and resources from the get go.

A real agency level check can take months and cost a large amount of money.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Don't forget two very important words here, folks: Timothy McVeigh. Did he "look like a terrorist" before he blew up 168 people?

That puts me in mind of an incident a summer or two ago. I sometimes participate in a group that does flash dances (mostly waltzing or contra dancing in interesting public places). One favorite location was a fountain on a university campus here. Some weeks after the Virginia Tech shooting spree, we had a flash dance there, and the campus police said that we couldn't stay on campus if we didn't have student IDs. It was clearly a reaction to the Virginia Tech shooting, but. . . that shooter had a student ID.

 

[fuelair]

That puts me in mind of an incident a summer or two ago. I sometimes participate in a group that does flash dances (mostly waltzing or contra dancing in interesting public places). One favorite location was a fountain on a university campus here. Some weeks after the Virginia Tech shooting spree, we had a flash dance there, and the campus police said that we couldn't stay on campus if we didn't have student IDs. It was clearly a reaction to the Virginia Tech shooting, but. . . that shooter had a student ID.

Much bad law and procedure comes from ignoring the obvious and concentrating on "common knowledge". It's called common knowledge because it's very common - though not so much knowldege.