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**Tom Servo** · August 21, 2011, 09:20 PM

Here's an interesting article that explores the theoretical possibility of a President carrying a gun for protection.

Teddy Roosevelt was known to carry a revolver, and he kept an FN 1900 at his bedside in the White House, but that was a different time, before attitudes about firearms changed, and before DC all but banned handguns.

The author of the article proposes three ways the President could legally do so:

make it legal by executive order,
convince the court that carrying a gun was necessary, or
get deputized by the local police

Any of those options could be viable. A narrowly defined executive order might raise some political hackles, but I doubt it would merit a court challenge. Convincing the courts might seem odd, but it could be argued that it makes real sense for the Commander in Chief to be armed.

While the local police chief might not be fond of the idea of deputizing the President, I imagine he'd love the photo op too much to resist.

And what if we did have a President who carried? Would it change public perception in our favor, or would most people just assume that it was purely the prerogative of political figures?

(I really don't want this to get political. The article mentions Rick Perry by name, but we don't need to discuss the person. I'm more interested in the concept.)

<<<The statement in red is not just a good idea, let's consider it the rule for participation on this thread. JohnKSa>>>

August 21, 2011, 09:20 PM	#1
Tom Servo Staff Join Date: September 27, 2008 Location: Foothills of the Appalachians Posts: 13,059	Could the President Carry? Here's an interesting article that explores the theoretical possibility of a President carrying a gun for protection. Teddy Roosevelt was known to carry a revolver, and he kept an FN 1900 at his bedside in the White House, but that was a different time, before attitudes about firearms changed, and before DC all but banned handguns. The author of the article proposes three ways the President could legally do so: make it legal by executive order, convince the court that carrying a gun was necessary, or get deputized by the local police Any of those options could be viable. A narrowly defined executive order might raise some political hackles, but I doubt it would merit a court challenge. Convincing the courts might seem odd, but it could be argued that it makes real sense for the Commander in Chief to be armed. While the local police chief might not be fond of the idea of deputizing the President, I imagine he'd love the photo op too much to resist. And what if we did have a President who carried? Would it change public perception in our favor, or would most people just assume that it was purely the prerogative of political figures? *(I really don't want this to get political. The article mentions Rick Perry by name, but we don't need to discuss the person. I'm more interested in the concept.)* <<<The statement in red is not just a good idea, let's consider it the rule for participation on this thread. JohnKSa>>> __________________ Sometimes it’s nice not to destroy the world for a change. --Randall Munroe Last edited by JohnKSa; August 21, 2011 at 10:19 PM. Reason: Epmhasis and warning added.