Woman 'Nervous' About Man Open Carrying in Store Takes to Twitter, But She Doesn't Get Reaction She Wants
An Arizona woman took to Twitter on Friday to express her dismay at a man exercising his Second Amendment rights, but her tweet did not get the reaction she expected.
On Friday, Sharon Loeff posted a photo of a man open carrying a gun at a grocery store in Scottsdale, Arizona, saying that she found it odd that he was carrying a gun in public, given that it’s a “very high end area, far north of the city, very low crime.”
I saw this man w gun, at a grocery store in north Scottsdale, AZ….very high end area, far north of the city, very low crime, so I just have to ask why? Felt so odd to see it in that environment! What do you all think? pic.twitter.com/r2Zntm6lk7
— Sharon Loeff (@sharon_loeff) January 27, 2023
In a follow-up to her original tweet, she wrote “As an American I find it frightening!”
As an American I find it frightening!
— Sharon Loeff (@sharon_loeff) January 28, 2023
Yes, as an American, she finds it frightening that an American citizen is exercising his constitutional right to legally own and carry a firearm.
She then posted a second photo of the man in the vegetable area of the store.
Here’s another earlier shopping photo I took of the “legally carrying” gun guy! This time in the veggie area! pic.twitter.com/zcSTQADLyl
— Sharon Loeff (@sharon_loeff) January 29, 2023
Loeff was presumably expecting that people would react to the photos with horror at the thought of someone carrying a gun in public. But instead, people reacted very differently.
First off, what this gun owner is doing is completely legal. According to the Behan Law Group, the state of Arizona allows all citizens aged 18 or older to open carry a firearm. This man’s right to open carry a gun in public is allowed under Arizona state law.
One Twitter user responded to Loeff’s photo by pointing out the obvious, that he was merely exercising his right as an American to carry a firearm.
Because freedom, Karen.
— Brad Polumbo 🇺🇸⚽️🏳️🌈 (@brad_polumbo) January 29, 2023
Others expressed dismay, not at the fact that the man was carrying a gun, but at the fact that Loeff appeared to be stalking him and taking pictures without his knowledge.
It’s odd that your taking photos of people without them knowing tbh
— JaysWASD (@JaysWASD) January 30, 2023
What’s odd is you taking pictures of random people who aren’t doing anything wrong.
— James Kirkpatrick (@VDAREJamesK) January 30, 2023
Can I say, respectfully &gently as possible, that you following a complete stranger around the grocery store, taking pictures & tweeting about him is disturbing behavior. Rethink this activity. It’s not mentally healthy. If you’ve never seen a gun before, I understand but don’t
— Computer Colonics (@FerfeLaBat) January 30, 2023
The Libertarian Party of Arizona, meanwhile, pointed out that in her original tweet, she said that there was a low crime rate in that area of the city, and wondered if there was a connection between that and gun ownership among citizens.
A largely armed population in an area with low crime? Must be some kind of coincidence…
— Arizona Libertarian Party (@Arizona_LP) January 30, 2023
Clearly, this is a silly tweet. She was publicly shaming someone for exercising his Second Amendment right and was stalking him and invading his privacy.
Also, we know that many of the areas with the strictest anti-gun laws have some of the highest crime rates in the nation.
So yes, this encounter is disturbing — not because a man was carrying a gun, but because someone stalked him and tried to shame him for doing nothing wrong.
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