Finally a Discussion of Economics and Gun Rights Wrapped Up Into One Post

It’s not often that I get to discuss my two favorite topics in one post but thanks to Joan Peterson’s lengthy rambling I finally get to talk about both of these topics. Sadly this makes it difficult to decide what category to place the post in but alas I’ll find some way to manage.

Joan rants for some length about the girl who was harassed by the Transportation Sexual Assaulters Security Administration (TSA) for having a purse with a stylized gun on it. While a sane person realizes the egregious nature of the TSA’s harassement Joan has a bunch of questions that can be easily answered by anybody with even a basic background in economics. As I hold this background I will take the responsibility of answering her barrage of questions:

Why should there even be a purse with this design?

Because there is a market. The beauty of the free market is its ability to fulfill the wants of society. As there are people who want a purse with a gun emblem on it a manufacturer has provided it. It’s really the same reason why very few manufacturers sell anti-gun themed clothing and accessories, nobody wants them. Where demand exists it is fulfilled, where demand doesn’t exist it remains unfulfilled.

Where do you get purses like this anyway? ( in case I want to buy one) I checked here, here, and here with no luck. Oh well.

How stereotypical can one person get? She’s looking for a purse with a gun on it and she checks Lone Star Western Decor, Western Cow Girl, and Country Road Handbags but never stops to consider checking the one place that sells almost everything, Amazon. Perhaps the purse is handmade by somebody who doesn’t have a website.

Maybe she got her purse at this site which seems to be having problems. It says that the site may be harmful to my computer. I wonder what that means?

It most likely means that the site was improperly flagged by Google’s phishing prevention database. This happens with alarming frequency.

But then, here , I may have found something similar to the purse in question in the story. Great. But I digress.

So ultimately you did find it? I’m now really confused what the point of that entire paragraph was supposed to be. Did you want to express the fact that you’re bad at using search engines? That really seems irrelevant to this discussion.

What is the purpose of carrying such a purse around? Is it to provoke people? To make a statement? To let people know that they should not mess with you? Is it just for fun?

The purpose of carrying such a purse is the same purpose as carrying any accessory, because the person carrying it likes it in some way. This enjoyment of the accessory may come from the statement it makes, the beauty of the design, the utility of the accessory, etc. As value is subjective the only person who can properly answer that question is the one who owns the accessory in question.

Why does a young girl think this is a good idea?

Likely it’s for the same reason I wear my shirt with the silhouette of Murray Rothbard and the text, “Enemy of the State” whenever I go through airport security. Agents of the TSA are thugs and one of the few ways we as Americans can rebel against their legalized sexual assault is through free speech. Unlike some people I refuse to blindly submit to force without comment. If I’m ever forced to enter one of those naked body scanners I’m opting out and making the biggest scene of doing so I can. After the TSA agent walks me around the corner I’m going to make obscene remarks to the agent who is tasked with sexually assaulting me.

Follow the motto of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, “Do not give in to evil but proceed ever more boldly against it.”

Did her parents know about this purse?

Considering purses aren’t very concealable I’m pretty sure her parents knew about it. If they didn’t they are two of the least perceptive people on the planet.

Who bought it for her and what were they thinking?

Perhaps she bought it herself because she liked the design.

Does it seem appropriate to you?

Yes.

The teen is pregnant so one has to wonder what role model this will be for her young child? There’s a message here and it’s not one of “peace on earth, good will towards men.” It’s the holiday season- just thought I’d throw that in.

What relevance does the girls pregnancy have to this debate? Oh yeah I almost forgot, character assassinations are favorite tools of the anti-gun crowd. When you lack facts to back your arguments all you can resort to is attacking the characters of those you ideologically oppose.

Having flown recently, I am so aware of what I can and cannot put into my carry-on bag and what I can and cannot wear when going through the security area. When someone says that it was a mistake when a gun is found in their carry-on, I say nonsense. If you own a firearm and intend to travel with it, you should know the rules. Even the NRA has good advice for people when traveling with their guns. There are plenty of warnings about firearms on planes for anyone who can read.

Once again I ask what the relevance of this statement is. The girl in question didn’t attempt to smuggle a firearm onboard an airplane, nor was the firearm image sewn onto her purse in any way realistic (if you don’t believe me click the first link in this post, it has a picture). Thus the girl didn’t break any of the TSA’s rules and they decided to arbitrarily harass this poor girl because some agent decided it would be a jolly good amount of fun to be a dick. People need to realize that a large majority of agents in the TSA didn’t take the job because they wanted to help keep Americans safe, they took the job because it’s an easy way to gain authority over other people without actually having to go through the training required to become a real police officer.

From here Joan goes on a long and pointless rant about those of us with carry permits. I’ll save you the hassle of reading it because it’s entirely hysterical and unbacked with any citations.

This statement was funny though:

Haven’t they learned that some of us, the majority actually since only 2-3% carry their guns around in this country, don’t want those guns around in public where we gather?

I’m sorry to inform you of this fact Joan but unless you own the property you have no say in what other people can do while on that property. If you want to prohibit people form having a means of self-defense while they’re at your home that’s your right as a property owner. Thankfully you and those who believe as you don’t have a say in what people can and can’t do while on public property. As I’ve explained before the government can’t rightly own property and therefore has no right to make restrictions upon people carrying while on any publicly owned property (they do make restrictions of course, but they have no right to do so).

Sometimes people who can’t be trusted want to take guns and other weapons or methods of killing innocent people on airplanes or in other public places.

And sometimes people who can’t be trusted want to write a blog and other material or methods of expressing false statements, lies, and slander. Luckily for you, Joan, this country has the right to free speech declared in the Constitution so you can continue blogging. I will also say it’s lucky that there is a Constitutional amendment protecting my right to keep and bear arms otherwise the lies and slander your ilk spew would have likely prohibited me from legally protecting myself.

The fact that the screeners at the Virginia airport wouldn’t allow the purse with a real looking gun in the design get on a plane makes me hope that they won’t miss the real thing when someone has it.

Have you ever seen a real gun before? If you have you should know that the gun on the girl’s purse was in no way realistic.

This TSA blog is an interesting read about what screeners find ( or don’t find) in carry-ons at airports. “Sometimes after reading the incident reports, it‘s as though they’re having a gun and knife convention at the airport. ” Grenades? Loose ammo? I thought these folks who carry their guns around in public were responsible law abiding citizens.

Notice the bigotry. TSA agents note that they’ve found guns, grenades, and loose ammunition on passengers. Joan doesn’t like people with carry permits. Even though the TSA statements never said the people found with those items held carry permits Joan instantly claims they did. That’s like asking a member of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) who most likely robbed a local store. As the KKK member doesn’t like people of color they’re likely to claim it was a person of African American decent even though they never actually saw who robbed the store nor read the police report.