Posted on 12/10/2010 11:40:11 AM PST by nickcarraway
Some would say this is political correctness run amok
A painted plywood cut-out of Santa with a cowboy hat and a gun on his belt is causing quite a stir in the town of Turlock.
The Santa is one of many displays that line a Christmas tree lot. Workers said they have been using the same cowboy Santa display for 20 years and have never had a compliant until now.
A woman named Monica Sliva didn't like the idea of Santa packing heat so she asked them to take it down. I tried to get the image out of my head all day long and I could not, because Santa is made for love, bringing families together, not carrying weapons, Sliva told KCRA.
Sliva confronted the workers at the tree lot telling them it sends the wrong message to children.
It portrays to the kids that its OK for Santa to be carrying a gun and therefore its OK for them to be carrying a gun, Sliva said.
I think its pretty crazy, to tell you the truth, Bobby Vierra said. I mean, we're just trying to sell trees out here.
When commotion over the display caused traffic to back up, workers covered the gun on Santa's belt. The display was then temporarily taken down.
Vierra said he feels the attention is unfair. "It's just a Santa," he said. "You know, it's just a cowboy."
But just before closing time the display was put back up, his gun still covered. The owner said he has done nothing wrong, so Santa is back. --KCRA.com
I tried to get the image out of my head all day long and I could not, because Santa is made for love, bringing families together, not carrying weapons, Sliva told KCRA”
So SHE was offended? The sight of a firearm won’t even keep a movie from getting a “G” rating.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I love the cowboy Santa. This woman needs to get the heck out of town. Turlock is a farming town. I wouldn’t have covered it. Free speech. When I was a kid, we all played with toy guns, and emulated our heroes Roy Rodgers, Hopalong Cassidy, and John Wayne. We were cowboys/cowgirls, soldiers, and police. There is a picture of me when I was about 5 or 6, dressed in my leather vest complete with sherrif’s star, wearing a six gun on both hips, while showing my Mickey Mouse hand puppet. This image would probably make her head explode.
In situations where I want to carry concealed, or in situations where concealed carry is required (such as inside the Virginia General Assembly Building), I carry concealed.
In situations where I want to carry openly, and I can do so legally, I open carry.
How I carry my self-defense weapons is none of YOUR business and you have NO business insinuating that I, or anyone else, are ‘show-offs’ simply because we choose to carry our weapons in a manner not personally approved by you.
RE: Open Carry:
1) I don't care about the criticism. A right which one is afraid to exercise due to a fear of criticism might as well not be a right at all.
2) I don't care about the reaction of the ‘fearful’. I am not a criminal, and by open-carrying I am not breaking any laws (at least not where I live).
3) It is a lot easier to quickly bring a weapon to bear when there is no shirt, jacket or pants in the way.
4) On hot days when I am wearing a t-shirt and shorts it is nearly impossible to carry concealed, and is MUCH more comfortable to simply wear a holster on my belt.
It has been my experience that most people do not even notice when I am open carrying — many even mistake the holster for a cell-phone holder.
Those are sheepherders not cowboys...
She needs a neighbor like me to tell her to get over it and there are things in life worth a concern and this ain’t one of them.....
That was thoughtful of him. You’re right of course, none of our opinions really matter. That’s the nice thing about these forums though, we get to get them out to a max number of people, whether they want to hear them or not!...and it usually gives us a wee bit of satisfaction.
Merry Christmas!
I bet the woman in this story would be totally OK if that was the type of cowboy Santa represented, though.
LOL... Cowboys, not buttrangers!
Yeah, well, since we were on the topic of cowboy images that one cannot get out of one’s head....
I put the woman’s name in Yahoo, and did a search. She appears to be quite fond of publicity, there are several different stories that she is in. The best one: she claims to have been cured of an illness when she found a piece of cheese that looked like Mother Theresa. No, I am not making this up.
Open carry also demonstrates what the RKBA is all about. There are times to think tactical, and times to think Constitutional. Neither should be illegal, and the choice of which and when should be left SOLELY up to the gun owner.
How do you know it's "THE" santa? My guess is the figure is a caricature of one of Santa's posse'.......silly you probably thought that Santa always traveled alone didn't you?
I agree. Piss off.
I have a ccw as well. Been able to carry for 30 years now. Iowa just changed the laws and will allow open carry. Know what? I’m going to from time to time. It’s good to let others know that the 2nd amendment is in force.
You are allowed to carry how you feel comfortable as am I.
AS for the image of Santa. I’ve seen him portrayed as a cowboy before with a gun. So you obviously haven’t been around as much as you think you have.
You remind me of some people I work with who are hunters and yet hate the NRA and any military looking gun because they just don’t conform to their way of thinking. Guns are for hunting and nothing else to them.
Narrow minded for sure.
Cool Santa! (even if he is ridin a little high)
I still say there is no need to uselessly antagonize,or scare, the majority of the people,who evidently do not own firearms.
You are also free to flash big wads of cash in public to show how important you are;but is it wise?
IF you need to display the gun to feel manly.......
Turlock is cowboy country. She needs to live in the Bay Area.
Yes, I did.
Well just remember that Detroit is on Santa's route too and you don't go into that town without a posse' even if you're just dropping down a chimney....
The cowboy Santa is fairly common in Texas and most of the West.
It is a big deal only to Easterners who aren’t used to seeing it.
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