ALABASTER, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama gun rights supporter who took a loaded pistol to the polls Tuesday got to vote, but only after putting the weapon in his pickup truck.
John David Murphy wore his holstered 9 mm handgun and two ammunition magazines into First United Methodist Church of Alabaster when he went to vote in the Republican primary.
The church, like other precincts, had a sign in the door saying firearms are prohibited. But Murphy told a poll worker that his constitutional right to openly carry a weapon trumps a state law allowing guns in public places unless a sign is posted.
A poll worker called a Shelby County deputy, who made Murphy put the gun in his truck outside before voting. City police arrived as a precaution and left after Murphy left the polling place.
Several poll volunteers and voters expressed misgivings about someone being armed inside a precinct, but Murphy said he was going to complain to county leaders about his treatment.
“Them being freaked out doesn’t trump my right to open carry,” said Murphy, who described himself as a member of Alabama Gun Rights, an advocacy group.
In Chambers County, east of Montgomery on the Georgia line, the sheriff’s department posted a message on its Facebook page saying “no weapons” signs had been removed from precincts following complaints after the sheriff and probate judge determined a new state firearms law did not apply to polling places.
The National Rifle Association, while a zealous supporter of gun owners’ rights, has discouraged actions like Murphy’s in the state of Texas, where gun rights advocates have recently shown their support for “open carry” gun rights by bringing military-style assault rifles into businesses and public buildings.
The NRA has said such demonstrations have “crossed the line from enthusiasm to downright foolishness.”
“Using guns merely to draw attention to yourself in public not only defies common sense, it shows a lack of consideration and manners,” the NRA said in a statement posted on its website Friday.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
“Them being freaked out doesn’t trump my right to open carry,” said Murphy.
Yes, it does. That’s why there was a sign.
Intimidation. Nothing lowers the number of people voting except having no one to vote for in Alabama who isn’t batsh$t crazy.
Two guesses who he voted for and your first guess doesn’t count.
We have to do something about these men with extremely small penises that need to take their weapons to vote because of incredibly small penis-caused low self esteem. Why do men with microscopic penises need to take weapons with them everywhere they go? Men with average to large packages never need to take a weapon to vote.
Nor does it trump other folks right to defend themselves from freaks like YOU that need to carry your penis extension on your hip. All we need to stop this “weirdness” is to have armed poll workers immediately shoot anyone coming in that is armed and not in a police uniform.
Self-defense.
I;m waiting for one of “them” to say he can’t remember who to vote for without carrying a piece. Like those three things Rick Perry was counting in that presidential debate. If only he could have fondled his penis, uhm, gun.