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open carry group killed

Michigander

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Aug 24, 2007
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Mulligan's Valley
As the article says, they were on their way to do activism with us. I had spoken to Jason many times on the phone because he wanted to tap into all my years of this stuff for input about how to keep things together for an activist group. Our organizations were planning on working and collaborating together in various ways for a long time to come, and had been looking forward to tomorrow for months.

I am beside myself with sadness and survivors guilt. The liberty community has lost 4 very good friends with promising ability to help change things. It is such a tragic waste. Anyone here who was lucky enough to know them has my very sincerest sympathy.

Also for whatever it may be worth, anyone else here who knew them and maybe worked with them at some point, if you want to directly continue their work and network with us on national projects, we are certainly down.
 
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Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
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May 21, 2006
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35,317
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Valhalla
Deepest sympathy and condolences to their family and many friends.

This is a loss to all Virginian's.

Somewhere there will be a service - I feel the need to attend.
 

Firearms Iinstuctor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
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3,428
Location
northern wis
Very sad indeed.

Car and semi's are not a good mix I have investigated dozens of crash's like this the cars never win.

The amount of damage that is done to both is some times just amazing.
 

Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
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May 21, 2006
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Valhalla
The greater mass of the tractor/trailer combo leaves the smaller vehicle at a serious disadvantage.

The truck driver is above the point of impact, the lower, smaller vehicle is the point of impact.

This tragedy has effected many, far and wide.
 

TFred

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
7,750
Location
Most historic town in, Virginia, USA
As far as I have seen, the media coverage of this horrible accident has been fair and neutral from the gun rights perspective. The couple I have seen do say they have been controversial in their methods to support gun rights, but not critical. Maybe even the liberal press has limits?

Group known for open carry marches in Carytown die in head-on collision

It will be interesting to watch the gun-hater social media. I've never seen any evidence that they have decency filters for their propaganda.

TFred
 

Brian D.

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
937
Location
Cincy area, Ohio, USA
My deepest sympathies. I see that these were younger folks, and their route to Michigan included a goodly stretch of two lane U.S. highway where the incident occurred. I wonder how accustomed to driving roads like that versus interstates they were ? For example, passing a slower vehicle is a much more problematic event on a two laner rather than the multiple lanes of an interstate.
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
While everybody would like to know how it happened/why it happened knowing that is not going to change the fact that we lost four staunch supporters of the practice of open carry. Some might even say that speculating on the cause takes away from the loss the gun community is experiencing.

Think good thoughts about them and for comfort to those they left behind. Stay alert for news of any funeral/memorial service(s) and decide how you will respond. Those of you who do social media please keep us who do not advised of what's happening there.

In closing I'd like to share a little exchange I had going in to our weekly OC breakfast this morning -- all of the waitstaff had heard about the incident and wanted to know if they were one of us - meaning the fairly regular group who meet there for breakfast. They know one guy because he eats there very often. They know the name of the 5-year old who comes with his father because he (the kid) is cute. They know the others to recognize us when we come in (maybe every 5-6 weeks) but not by name and may not recognize us if they ran into us elsewhere. But to them we are the face of open carry, and they read in the papers that the four did open carry awareness in another part of town. To them we were all connected.

Let us stay connected.

stay safe.
 

scouser

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2011
Messages
1,341
Location
804, VA
If there is an afterlife, we have four people fighting diligently for our rights there now. Rest in peace gentlemen.

reading some facebook posts from a couple of the guys, it's my understanding that at least 2 of them believe in an afterlife.

It was saddening reading some of the things they recently said knowing what had happened to them. I noticed one of them had only changed his facebook status to "in a relationship with xxxx xxxx" just this very week, hard to imagine how this will affect the girl he left behind so early in their relationship. I'm not saying her loss is any different to any possible long term partners or blood relatives of the other men but so early in a relationship people are on such a high from meeting someone it's such a long way to fall.

I didn't know these young men but they were not strangers, they were just friends I never got to meet.

I agree with skid, this isn't the place to speculate on the hows wheres and whys, we'll never really know all the facts so speculating serves no purpose
 

Michigander

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2007
Messages
4,818
Location
Mulligan's Valley
We had a good event today in Detroit, tragically without our unmet friends, hopefully tomorrow will be as good too. Several of us took our guns off and drank a few shots of Cognac in their honor after the walk, which I found interesting in that it seemed to make the pain of knowing what happened worse rather than better.

It still doesn't seem real. :(

Scouser, indeed at least two were highly reverent Christians. All 4 were exceptional people; top tier activists from a very small and tight knit community who were in it for all the right reasons. If there is a heaven I am confident they are already there.
 
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FreeInAZ

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2012
Messages
2,508
Location
Secret Bunker
If anyone wants to donate to help cover their final expenses, here is a link.

http://www.gofundme.com/phbdp4

Donation made, hope many others chip in too. I can only imagine how hard it is on their families, let alone having to worry about the costs involved in funeral services. :(

"There but for the grace of God, go I"
This could have happened to any of us.
 
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Rusty Young Man

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Messages
1,548
Location
Árida Zona
Just saw this. A great loss to their loved ones who will now feel the void left behind by the smiles they will no longer see, the laughter they will no longer share, as well as being a loss to "our" shared community.

Though I did not know them, they were my brothers.

No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a Clod be washed away by the Sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a Promontory were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
-- John Donne
 
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