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OMG! A Banana! With a Rifle! OMG!

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According to 12 News an unnamed man was cited by Beaumont, Texas police on Saturday while standing in front of a gun store and wearing a banana suit…with an AK slung across his back. Nothing to see here, officers: the man was working for the store’s owner. Notice I said cited, not arrested: the man was also waving a placard with an arrow, directing customers to the ‘Grand Re-Opening’ sale for the Golden Triangle Tactical store. This open display of commerce apparently violates a Beaumont municipal ordinance, which bans soliciting business while on or alongside a roadway . . .

The tropical fruit hawker was also questioned about his rifle (duh), which was equipped with a 50-round drum magazine. The rifle was eventually returned to him, but the matter was referred to the DA’s office for possible charges.

Let me pose this question: is this an IGOTD, a political statement, or just a slightly goofy marketing campaign? Beaumont apparently doesn’t have any Liberty Tax Service outlets, or similar businesses.

I was going to go with ‘slightly goofy’ myself, but this story goes a little deeper than Saturday’s spectacle. Remember that just last month, Golden Triangle Tactical left its prior digs at Parkdale Mall, after owner Derek Poe was charged with disorderly conduct for slinging a rifle across his back as he walked to his own store.

If this is a political statement by Poe, this might be just the time to make it. Republican Greg Abbott is the odds-on favorite to be the next governor of the Lone Star State according to Real Clear Politics, and he’s already voiced his support for repealing Texas’ ban on the open carry of handguns. And gee, even Democrat Wendy Davis has jumped on board the open carry bandwagon. If open carry is ultimately enacted in the Lone Star State, the next civil rights issue to address may be legalizing human tree fruits.

0 thoughts on “OMG! A Banana! With a Rifle! OMG!”

  1. Truthfully, one of those on an 7.62×39 SBR AK would be kinda fun. Muzzle flash, recoil, and noise can make things more entertaining when you’re just out on private land with a couple friends and a pile of water bottles, clays, cans of cheap soda, and other things to break. This is why my friends and I tend to go back to the mosins and garands when we’re just having fun. You know what I mean if you’ve ever put a 5 gallon bucket over a small amount of tannerite and shot it to see how high the bucket (or tactical mug, if you’re Tyler and Nick) flies, or went skeet shooting with pumpkins fired from a homemade trebuchet you and your friends made rather than clays. Sometimes excessive can be fun, if you’re still keeping the right distance and taking some safety precautions.

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    • I thought peanut butter/jelly time involved baseball bats, not firearms. Did I miss a memo or something ? Because I’m all for peanut butter/jelly time with an AK-47.

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  2. Daniel tosh posed the question on his show a few years back.

    Knife or banana? Which will you choose?

    Banana in this case.

    Lame pun ahead: I see why they have him back his gun, he wasn’t stalking anyone.

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  3. As a regular TTAG commenter and Libertarian, I’d like to point out that Kathie Glass is also a candidate for Texas Governor. There are options, folks.

    (cue all the don’t waste your vote hate, in 3…2…1…)

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  4. If I’m going to that size pistol, I’ll stick with the SR9c (w/ 17 round mag reload) or with the LC9 as the pocket nine. Didn’t think the R51 was that large in comparison to the 19 or 1911.

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    • +1

      If I absolutely need to go single stack, I think my first choice will also be a LC9 or XDS9 after seeing this, that is unless I find a smoking deal on a R51 and think I just cant live without an all metal pistol.

      I don’t need to worry about going with anything slimmer than a G26/27, SR9C, etc, though until the Texas summer hits. That’s still a little way off.

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  5. I wanted to *believe*! The R51 and I were going to hold hands and walk along the beach and live happily ever after. *sniff*

    Oh well. I had high hopes for this one. Let’s see what voluntary product upgrades this thing endures in the next five years.

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  6. So true. New models of gun and new girlfriends: Relying on either in a crisis is an act of faith or impulse, but not one of wisdom.

    Franklin: Ever apt. He probably said three stupid things in his life, none of which were recorded for posterity.

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  7. Agreed. It has always been my philosophy to NEVER be the first one on the block with the latest and greatest anything. That plasma TV my neighbor purchased 10 years ago for $8 grand 5 years later cost less than $1,500 and has a better picture.

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  8. Don’t forget the 84 vettes. If you didn’t run Exxon Super Premium they died as soon as the lesser gas hit the injector pump. The whole system had to be flushed.

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  9. If you set yourself up with a Mosin M44 that’s got a good bore and a clean crown or well-counterbored muzzle, clean up or install a new trigger, and then bed the action in a new ergonomic stock with a floating barrel channel, you get the results that the author got at twice the range. Combine this with a good hand-load and you’re talking a gun that’s realistically lethal at 500 yards with a decent optic.
    Currently grouping 7″ at 500 with my M44 ranch gun. That’s something that’d make Jeff Cooper grin.

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  10. I was just in Beaumont (and Orange) TX last week for business. The entire town is “alongside a roadway.” Seems like a carefully engineered ordinance.

    Any way, the continued harassment of open carriers doesn’t contribute to Texas’ seemingly undeserved reputation as a gun-friendly state. I really don’t understand why TX still carries that reputation.

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  11. I’ll be sure to remember that verbal authorization thing next time I’m in NYC. I’m sure the NYPD will go merrily on their way after I clear up the misunderstanding… oh wait? I have to be part of the political ruling class or one of their buddies? That can’t be true.. with NYC progressives saying they are for “equality” and all.

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  12. None of his excuses mean a thing. If everything he said is true he demonstrated that he is not responsible enough to carry a gun. He broke all four rules. If Cuomo doesn’t sack him then he shows himself to be a hypocrite that really doesn’t give a sh*t about preventing “gun violence.”

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  13. I believe that municipalities…should be the ones that ultimately have a say as to whether this is right for them

    So I’m guessing it’s ok for municipalities to ban voting by certain groups?

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  14. A little Googling brings up a number of issues for this jackass, per the Albany Times Union

    Apologies to other jackasses I may have maligned by the comparison.

    Very questionable departmental financial dealings, fired the auditor looking into his shenanigans, intimidating state troopers pulling him over going 60 down I-87…in the breakdown lane to get around traffic. “I know your boss…”

    I respected Mario Cuomo. But Junior? OMG. So the fact that this $ &&/!@” is one of his appointees? No surprise.

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  15. Even if HSB2473 passes, it won’t change anything from a practical standpoint in Wichita. Local LEO SOP will still be face full of concrete first, questions later.

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  16. There are many important facets to a person, and differing interests are fine so long as at least neutrality is present.

    My female counterpart doesn’t design integrated circuits for fun, and I can’t make dresses. We actually talk about both, however. We have things which we do together, and things we each do alone or with others. That’s healthy.

    Were I to be in the market, however, I’d look for at least comfortable with my interest in firearms. I’d also run, not walk, from someone who was:
    obsessed with snaring my soul for her religion;
    a racist;
    insisted that every moment must be shared;
    disdained my blue or khaki collar or my utility vehicle…

    If they think of me as clay from which to build a mate, that’s not my flavour of beer.

    That’s another one: O.K. with beer, Scotch and such.

    Firearms, if important to oneself (presumably that applies to you, gentle reader) should be at worst comfortably accepted by a prospective mate. Likely noone here believes them to be the only measure of a person, but this is a firearms blog.

    Doglovers.org or BBQ.net likely offer differing, complementary advice.

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