“’Would you like to engage in dialogue?’ (gun rights advocate Jeffry) Smith asked (Moms Demand Action) group organizer Becky Morgan. ‘No, thank you,’ Morgan said. ‘Have a good day.’” And that’s about what you’d expect from your average member of Shannon’s Moms brigade. Tell them to walk in circles, hold a sign and maybe chant a little “hey, hey, ho, ho” and they’re perfectly capable. But asking expecting them to debate the merits of gun control is like asking a gibbon to translate Crime and Punishment from the original Russian. Smith showed up at the St. Louis Zoo as promised yesterday, but he left his heater in his ride and entered the park sporting an empty holster after schmoozing with supporters and the media for a while outside the gate . . .
Telling a friend on the phone that he was “going in for video,” Smith pushed through the turnstiles without any hassle — save for the disapproving glares from the roughly 10 counterprotesters. His empty holster was in response to a court order Friday from St. Louis Circuit Judge Joan Moriartybarring gun rights activists from carrying sidearms into the zoo.
Smith planned the zoo entry after hearing Sam Peyton, 40, say that on Memorial Day he was harassed when he wore an empty holster inside the zoo. In a statement Saturday, the zoo said it disputed “Mr. Peyton’s description of the incident that caused him to leave the zoo. The zoo does not eject visitors for carrying empty holsters.”
So now empty Blade-Techs are OK while strolling through the Penguin & Puffin Coast. That’s one small step for man. But as we mentioned yesterday, the Zoo has gone to court with claims that it’s not just a public park inside a larger public park, but a school, a day care center and an amusement park and can temporarily exclude licensed carriers thanks to a judge’s restraining order. Watch this space.