August 13, 2009 12:55 AM

Interview: The N.H. Man With A Gun Outside Obama's Town Hall

By
Declan McCullagh
Topics
Social Issues
(IStockPhoto)
When William Kostric showed up outside President Obama's town hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H. on Tuesday, he didn't expect to be the object of a storm of media scrutiny. The handgun that was -- legally -- strapped to his leg in full view of the television cameras may have had something to do with it.

Kostric's name has popped up in over 72,000 Web pages posted in the last few days, according to a date-limited Google search. A New York Times columnist used him as an example in a piece that claimed members of Congress are looking "semiheroic" by comparison; Salon.com's headline read: "Who was that gun-toting anti-Obama protester?" After featuring Kostric at least twice on Tuesday, MSNBC returned to him the next day when asking Rep. Ron Paul, the former Republican presidential candidate, what he thought of being armed in public.

In an interview with CBSNews.com on Wednesday, Kostric said he is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and has carried his firearm openly in accordance with state law before. "We have a regular open carry contingent in New Hampshire," he said. "We do litter pickups and normal everyday events. People do that with their firearms... A right not exercised is a right lost."

The image of an armed man who was not a policeman anywhere near a presidential event sent TV commentators into fits -- especially when this one happened to be carrying a sign saying "It Is Time To Water The Tree Of Liberty," a reference to Thomas Jefferson's famous phrase. It also seemed to fit the theme of escalating violence and undercurrents of racism at town hall meetings, even though the first person hospitalized appears to have been one Kenneth Gladney, 38, a black conservative activist from St. Louis, who was handing out literature.

Over at the Huffington Post, the discussion has reached a remarkable 139 pages, and is still climbing. (Some of the more polite posts: "There was only one reason he brought that gun, to intimidate people, and one person in particular, President Obama" and "It is weird and unnecessary to carry a gun to a political event.") LavenderLiberal.com unearthed Kostric's MySpace page, which lists Atlas Shrugged as one of his favorite books, and discovered that he moved from Arizona to New Hampshire to join fellow libertarian-leaning types as part of the Free State Project.

Kostric, who is in his mid-30s and lives near Concord, N.H., said he never entered the town hall or laid eyes on Mr. Obama, who was ushered into the event held in a local school through a back entrance.

He has only positive things to say about New Hampshire police, who appeared to be familiar with state law regarding the carrying of firearms. "I did interact with the local Portsmouth police," he said. "They were quite professional... People expected me to get my face planted (on the ground). But it was handled professionally."

(AP Photo/Jim Cole)
New Hampshire state law is pretty clear about protecting its citizens' rights to carry firearms in public. Carrying a pistol or revolver openly is permitted without a license; carrying a concealed weapon requires a license from the state or local police.

Maine and Vermont are similar in terms of gun rights, Kostric said. "And New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island are just horrible places to live if you care about the Second Amendment at all."

All U.S. states except Illinois and Wisconsin grant licenses for concealed carry, and the National Rifle Association says 36 states require local police to issue the licenses unless there's a valid reason (such as a criminal history) not to do so. Most states also allow carrying firearms that are not concealed, although details can vary even within states.

Kostric said the Portsmouth police initially asked him to move 1,000 feet away from the school, but then permitted him to stay on the grounds of a church because it was private property. (Federal law generally restricts carrying firearms within 1,000 feet of school grounds, but the law does not apply "on private property not part of school grounds" or to anyone with a carry permit, with Kostric says he has.)

"I was weighing my options," Kostric said. "I was considering walking out to the car and dropping off my firearm and coming back. (The policeman) got off hte phone and relayed to me, that if I wanted to stand on the church property, which is about 30 feet from where I already was, that would be acceptable because it was private property."

"When someone's wearing a gun, they're not automatically a criminal," Kostric added. "The only way to do that is to make it an average everyday thing."

  • Declan McCullagh is the chief political correspondent for CNET. Declan previously was a reporter for Time and the Washington bureau chief for Wired and wrote the Taking Liberties section and Other People's Money column for CBS News' Web site.

Add a Comment See all 27 Comments
by 081980 August 18, 2009 10:32 AM EDT
As quoted from the Free State Project website www.freestateproject.org

"The Free State Project is a plan in which 20,000 or more liberty-oriented people will move to a single state of the U. S. to secure there a free society. We will accomplish this by first reforming state law, opting out of federal mandates and, finally, negotiating directly with the federal government for appropriate political autonomy. We will be a community of freedom-loving individuals and families, and create a shining example of liberty for the rest of the nation and the world."

"A stellar idea, but what are the plans to accomplish this? Once the membership reaches 5,000, the state will be chosen and that is where the free-staters will move. The FSP is doing extensive research on all the candidate states. Many criteria are being considered with 10 states in the running: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Wyoming."

"Criteria for a Free State: States with a population of approximately 1.2 million or less are being considered as viable locations for 20,000 liberty activists to infiltrate existing government and create a free state."
Reply to this comment
by ssykes1 August 17, 2009 8:28 PM EDT
This idiot gives all legal gun owners a bad name. I bet he doesn't even know how to use it. Get a life man. That was a stupid move on his part. I bet he was paid to do that. Dumb Ass!
Reply to this comment
by lithvak August 16, 2009 11:50 AM EDT
The president in INFINITELY more dangerous than this citizen who was simply carrying a gun !
Reply to this comment
by CHLinTexas August 14, 2009 4:53 PM EDT
Ok lets sum this up.

The guy shows up to a town hall protest, and protesting and free speech are still legal! No law broken yet!

Concealed Carry and open carry is legal in his state! He exercised OPEN to prove his point of exercising his rights to carry his gun within the law!!! No law Broken Yet!

He is carrying a sign with a HISTORIC line on it that just happens to have tyrant and blood in it! No law broken yet! But oh my gosh this guy must be a terrorist or not job right!

I see this as he is exercising his right to free speech and protest using a line from history, end of story PERIOD? If this means that he is a bad guy then I expect a bunch of professors, teachers, students, text book publishers and librarians to be arrested really soon as they would be just as guilty of doing something bad or causing harm to someone in the near future as this guy!

The guy protested peacefully with no harm to others and without arrest I might add. And to think his big bad evil gun didn?t even pull itself out and shoot anyone like the gun grabbers would have you believe it would! LOL

I don?t understand what all the commotion is about yet?..


There is a saying that goes:

He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool; avoid him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a student; teach him.
He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep; wake him.
He who knows and knows that he knows is a wise man; follow him.

There is a bunch of you that this saying fits you perfectly!

DW
Reply to this comment
by nh4ronpaul August 14, 2009 1:43 AM EDT
He was not 'sending a message' but doing what we do every day of the week, especially if you are a woman in politics.

And NO it is not the 'dumb repugs' as they had nothing to do with it.

Face it you Dems have a limited vocabulary -- it's all the repubs fault, or it's racism, or it's Tim McVeigh who by the way was working for our government and had 'help'.

Please. I'll bet you 300 others there were carrying, just not in the open.
Reply to this comment
by goodwill22 August 14, 2009 12:19 AM EDT
My favorite part of the story is the quote from the liberal who said that this guy "only carried the gun to intimidate people." Liberals are so wrapped up in their own world-view that they don't even realize that when they say "we need health care", what they're really saying is: "we need people with guns (the government) to force other people to give us health care."

This guy in NH wasn't intimidating anyone. Rather, he was sending a message that he won't be intimidated.

The 2nd Ammendment is clear: A well-regulated (that is, well-scared) militia (the 18th c. word for military), being necessary of the security (of the people from government intrusion) of a free state (that is, individuals existing in a state of freedom), the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

In other words: the only way, ultimately to ensure that the people we give the right to use force had better always remember that we can use force on them right back if they start abusing their privledge.

But, of course, the low-self-esteem liberals in this country can't stand the fact that they've lost their desire to live, and so they want to insult and snuff out anyone who's high-self-esteem reminds them of it.
Reply to this comment
by destruto247 August 13, 2009 11:51 AM EDT
This is ridiculous. William acted within his rights. Simple and plain. As somebody who knows him personally I know that he doesn't carry to be intimidating or to show off any 'right-wing' extremism. Why is it such a big deal as soon as the all mighty president is around it's a big deal and we hear the stupid McVeigh comments and people assume he's a republican. He's a citizen doing his part to keep our constitutional rights that the Republicrats have diminished while most of you people drift through life without living for ANYTHING. More people should open carry. A world where only cops and criminals have guns is an ugly, unfair one. Go William.
Reply to this comment
by mattcat25 August 13, 2009 11:01 AM EDT
Republican/NRA 2nd Amendment aficionados seem to be getting more anxious (then normal) to shoot someone.

The 2nd Amendment only allows for the purchase and legal ownership of firearms but, it does not allow for threats, intimidation, and of course overt homicide without an unprovoked defensive confrontation.
Reply to this comment
by smoknmirrors August 13, 2009 10:07 AM EDT
I totally understand the man's frustration. I think that if he is honest about it he'll stand up for the right of the Black Panthers to do the same. He surely would experience no hesitation in allowing skinheads and neo-Nazi sympathizers and KKKers and John Birchers the same rights. Wouldn't it be great to live in a society where everyone had a gun strapped to their leg? One thing is for sure, it might quieten down these comment sites. One way or another.
Reply to this comment
by chitown639 August 13, 2009 9:53 AM EDT
These nutcases from the right bringing GUNS to political discussions. This gun-toting tactic is clearly meant to intimidate those who support health care reform. Beyond the obvious intimidation ploy, there is absolutely NO REASON why anyone should bring a firearm to a townhall meeting......
Reply to this comment
by hypno444 August 14, 2009 10:16 AM EDT
ROFL, What hypocrisy, you say "there is absolutely NO REASON why anyone should bring a firearm to a townhall meeting" and yet seem to have no qualms about all the firearms brought there by the police and secret service. Surely they should be forbidden too from your statement.
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