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Cindy Yorgason / AP
This cell phone photo provided by Cindy Yorgason shows a J.C. Penney shopper with an assault rifle over his shoulder in Riverdale, Utah, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. Yorgason said she was trying to exchange an item at the store when she spotted the man and took his photo. The man, identified as 22-year-old Joseph Kelley, says he wanted to demonstrate that the weapons aren’t dangerous when handled by law-abiding citizens. Kelley told The Salt Lake Tribune the rifle was an unloaded AR-15, and he was also carrying a loaded Glock 19c on his hip.
Friday, Jan. 18, 2013 | 12:09 p.m.
Hours after President Barack Obama called on Congress to ban military-style assault weapons, one man's protest raised some eyebrows at a Utah store.
An Odgen woman took some photos of a man inside a J.C. Penney on Wednesday with an assault weapon slung over his shoulder.
Cindy Yorgason says that even for a firearm-friendly state like Utah, it was out of the ordinary.
Yorgason took two photos of the man and posted them on Facebook, where they received hundreds of comments and have been shared more than a thousand times.
The Salt Lake Tribune identified the man as 22-year-old Joseph Kelley, who says he was trying to demonstrate that the weapons aren't dangerous when handled by law-abiding people.
Kelley says the AR-15 he was carrying was unloaded, which is legal.
He brought this weapon because his other is a micro!
I don't think anyone would argue with this young mans statement that assault rifles are harmless when carried unloaded by law abiding citizens. Problem is they are weapons of mass carnage when carried by scofflaws. Really what I would ask what useful purpose do they serve unless you are in the military? If you hunt with these I would say you are a coward. Hunting is about skill and anyone that hunts with an assault rifle is definitely a coward. To protect yourself and your home wouldn't a .38 do the job just fine?
A lawful citizen not breaking the law photographed surreptitiously by a sneaky citizen. Guess which one *I* would not trust?
Personally I wouldn't care if the weapon was loaded or not, nor if he had ammunition belts wrapped around his whole body.
But the fact remains, We have had a lot of active shootings lately and what he did is stupid!
What a complete juvenile! Parading around with his assault rifle at a shopping mall to make a point is what a 5 year old might do, not an adult! Especially an adult who has the responsibility of owning a firearm!
Lets ask this question: Given the recent shootings, should the mall security have taken him down or waited until after he may have shot any number of people before taking action?
How are law enforcement or security to know if you are "just" a law abiding assault weapon owner or the next nut job on a rampage? Bringing an assault rifle into a shopping mall shows very poor judgement and should be reflected on his future background check as a psychological disqualification.
Where was the mall security anyway?
If you were security at the mall, what would you do?
Comment removed by moderator. Name Calling
I also blame this type of behavior on the tripe that is on prime time TV.
I'm sure he has a Honey BooBoo fat head on his bed room wall!
By definition, an AR-15 cannot be an assault weapon, a term misused by the ignorant, agenda driven and lazy. The man in the photo is correct, human behavior is the problem, not the tools used to carry it out.
FWIW:
Was at a local mall the other day and chatted with a security person -- asked if he was armed? -- he reluctantly shook his he no -- ask why? -- he said liability -- asked about open carry? -- he said the mall was private property and open carriers are asked to leave -- indicated that signs prohibiting firearms were not observed at entrances -- he confirmed there weren't any firearm prohibitions signs -- asked how unarmed security was expected to protect citizens against armed attacks? -- he said mall security notifies law enforcement -- unarmed security??? - perhaps shopping online from home may be more secure?
Went to local gun store/range -- had hard time finding a parking spot -- customers at least two deep entire length of counter -- place was buzzing and much busier than even the mall's Apple Store -- finally was able to ask clerk if he had any semi-auto rifles for sale? -- only two, Aks' which just arrived -- 30 round mags? -- all sold out -- ammunition? -- just enough to keep the range going -- went home to shop online.
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This guy is an absolute idiot at very best. He must have misunderstood the whole concealed concept involved in the concealed carry permit. I think he should be stripped of any ccw permit, that by the looks of it was purchased at JCP. What a terrible way to promote your store. I totally agree that this is very poor judgement and should be a red flag on his background check. Lets talk about a Coward, if one nutcase goes to the mall to do mass killing who would you feel more comfortable around??? The idiot with the empty Assault Rifle and Glock or the normal human with a camera??? I promise you will live longer with the camera guy.
The gun toting fool probably suffers from Small Penis Syndrome & needs to show his manliness by showing his gun.
Good thing he wasn't here in Las Vegas. Metro would have shot him in fear of their lives.
Penny's has a drone hovering overhead.
Yep, assault weapon firearm freaks are doing a heck of a job in presenting their lifestyle, you betcha.
Here are some correct laws on a carry permit for Minnesota. Minnesota's carry permit is also wrongly called a concealed carry permit. IT is an OPEN carry permit. I would have to look at the laws for Utah. When you get a permit, it is good and honored by numerous other states. From there you can buy other states permits to get the rest of the states.
The law specifies the rules for those signs that say no firearms allowed. My carry instructor which also teaches FBI and CIA special classes says that in her travels she noticed only maybe 1 percent of the posted signs were legal. Which means you can just walk in. The law says if asked by a manager to leave for carrying a firearm you must or it is a 25 dollar misdemeanor. It can not be say a waiter or bouncer. Not sure about a security guard though. You can not carry a firearm into a school or federal building.
Not sure if the law changed but is was suppose to a while back so that if you were in a mall and someone else's life was in danger you could provide protection. Before, you had to try run first then only if you were in danger shoot back.
Why does the firearm have to be called an assault weapon? Just like sports and war, you have offensive and defensive actions. Why can't I call it a defensive weapon?
Did he break any laws???? If the answer is NO then whats the problem?
I don't see anything wrong with what this guy did. I applaud him. I hope more people do the same thing.
Tough guy with a shaved head. He is so tough he needs an assaule rifle to show how tough he is. Is it just me or has anybody else noticed that when a guy shaves his head he acts different. He usually acts like he is a tough guy. Makes me laugh.
Most folks would regard this guy as unbalanced at best, whereas the NRA would view him as a patriot.
Sadly, this gun-toting JC Penny shopper and his supporters would likely believe that an unarmed black kid walking down the street wearing a hoodie is clearly asking for trouble.
He probably drives a one ton truck jacked up with big tires also. He somehow needs to make up for his lack of manhood.
So how were the people around him supposed to know that it wasn't loaded and that he was "making a point" instead of getting ready to shoot people? Do the mentally ill and criminal wear badges? Are we just supposed to assume that anyone with a gun out in a public place is harmless?
I'm a gun owner but this guy is a total moron. If I were shopping here and saw that man, I'd be out of there immediately.
Sorry, but the first thing I would have done was call the cops...I have no idea if this guy is sane or not. Why take a chance of losing MY life?
Honestly, I don't give a rats a$$ if you have guns or not in your home, however, the minute you take them out of the house, you are risking alot. I have no intention of standing around and watching someone with a gun (loaded or not..and how am I supposed to know this???) possibly start firing at anyone.
For me, I like living, so yes, cops would definitely be called.
Comment removed by moderator. Inappropriate
I get what he wanted, to show an unloaded weapon is a tool, not dangerous in itself. unfortunately he probably scared the hell out of everyone close to him. Sorry, this is over the top, legal or not. All this does is reinforce the opinion of some that gun owners have no regard for others and are out of control. I carry concealed off the job, but if a business has a sign, I honor it. Simple, I remove the weapon, lock mit in the safe in my car and continue on. I chose to go to the establishment, I will honor their wishes. I could carry my weapon and no one would know, I take the concealed part seriously. I have been in stores and seen concealed weapons holders with a clearly visible weapon. which violates the law. When I have politely taken some aside to point out that others havee seen their weapon and may be startled, I get the mind your own business routine. This person was legal but in doing what he did, he made others uncomfortable and probaly had some fearing what his intentions were. Open carry is legal in Nevada, but I know some people are not copmfortable around armed people so I choose to carry concealed, so I don't scare people. Had this happened while I was there, I would have got my family to safety, notified Dispatch of the situation and waited for backup to arrive. I'm soory, I don't read minds and when I see you with a weapon strapped to your back the alarm bells start ringing. He forced his opinion on others and didn't care what happened. Thats no better than someone telling you all guns should be banned. I know some may disagree with me and like I said I get whhat he wanted to prove, but i still say it was over the top and uneccesary. We need rational thought form both sides to create common sense rules and regulations. Nobody will ever feel they got everything they want, but we have to come to some kind of compromise. Senstionalistic acts like this don't help gun owners, they merely reinforce steroetypes already placed upon us. President Obama had no choice but to act and it wouldn't have mattered if Romney won, he would have had to act as well after Sandy Hook. No action would've doomed him. I'm a republican and I feel i'm a responsible gun owner, yet I voted twice for Obama and believe something has to change. I don't belive banning and restricting guns and magazines is a cure all, but we have to attack this problem from multiple levels, from gun safety, training and registration, to mental health and enhancing criminal laws against gun crimes. Maybe mandatory gun locks helps, maybe it doesn't the point is the right to own a weapon and carry it legal should not come at the expense of scaring the beejesus out of others. Sorry don't mean to ruffle feathers but this was just too over the top for me.
I'd like to know if he was returning something (that silk thong underwear he got for Christmas because they were too big) or was he buying....that silk thong underwear?
@Reza:
LOLOLOL Guess you don't own a cellphone with a camera. The person who snapped the photo is not sneaky. Many cellphone photos have aided law enforcement in solving crimes and....sometimes, cellphone photos are to actually show how stupid people can be, ie this guy.
Once again I must state that if your state has an open carry law, it means just that, you can carry in full view. If Utah is an open carry he broke no law. I have heard permit instructors say if they took their grand daughters into the Mall and it was posted; they would still carry into the mall.
It is not recommended to carry open for a couple reasons. The thug can take your firearm if he sees it and it scares the crap out of people. On the other hand it scares the thugs too and they think twice about starting something.
Again the RIGHT was created incase the government becomes a tyranny ( socialist ) country. If you remember, this is how Hitler started, by taking away the firearms.
It is sad our government has to stoop so low as to use the slaughter of young children as a political tool. Driving drunk, baseball bats fast food, chemtrails, vaccines ect kill people. I don't see cars, baseball bats, fast food and vaccines being taken away. Do cars kill people?
Currently you can not by a firearm or own one if you ever had a domestic violence, mental health, federal crime, or substance abuse on your record. I think our government should concentrate on how not to spend our, not their money on foolish things. I would like to know what American people told them they could give billions to foreign banks?
Why is it ok to give my money freely to illegal aliens with full health care ect and someone that has worked and lived here as a citizen all their life can not get the same benefits? How sheepish have the American people become?
Here is a statement from the FBI's website.
Since 1992 the crime rate has dropped 50%..
Also can't compare the US to the UK. we have 3 times as many people.
MOst crime comes from populations around 100,000 and it is the low income communities that cause it.
You will never take guns away from the bad guys..
Even if you ban all firearms, if someone wants to get a firearm and kill school chilren they will.
And you won't be able to stop them. You don't agree on highly trained guards at schools and so who will protect them?
It is pretty easy to see who is for and who against gun control. City people that have never hunted or fished in their lives are going to be for gun control. Most rural communities will be against.
labman57 makes a good point that I think deserves some further thought. Because this man is white, bald and in a t-shirt, we react in a certain way. Would that reaction be the same if he was a young, African American man in a hoodie? Sadly, I think not. He is seen by some as a hero for gun rights, but if a non-white did the same thing, he would be a poster child for why we need to carry more guns. It's a messed up world we live in....
I also agree with a lot of the things Phinfan39 mentions as well. I too would have been on speed dial with the local police had I seen this man. As observers, we don't know what his intentions are, we don't know if his weapon is loaded... And even though he is in an open carry state, I'm sure most people aren't used to seeing assault rifles on someone's back as they shuffle through the mall. That has a little bit different of an impact than a handgun on someone's side.
All this man accomplished was making gun owners look like fools and the stereotype they are often painted to be. Which is unfair to the majority of gun owners out there. (For the record, I do not own a gun and never will). What he does is keep us from having a real discussion... Fellows like this will keep us getting nowhere.