Know Your Rights

Is it okay to shout "Fire" in a crowded movie house? That question used to shade a little easier before James Holmes shot up a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado back in 2012. Racing out of the exit doors to avoid smoke and flames seems infinitely less dangerous than ducking for cover as a spray of semi-automatic weapon fire opened up just after the patrons had settled into their seats. The question currently in front of a jury in Denver is whether or not James Holmes was sane at the time of his rampage. Which brings us to these next two items.
A man walked into the Atlanta airport last week, carrying a loaded AR-15 assault rifle. You might remember the AR-15 as one of the weapons James Holmes was carrying in his midnight movie assault. Jim Cooley was dropping his daughter off for a flight and while he was there, he figured he would just take his constitutional rights for a stroll as well. According to Georgia State law, Mister Cooley was abiding by the letter of the law as long as he didn't try to take the gun through the TSA checkpoint. However likely or unlikely it was that an alert TSA agent might have stopped him, it was still local law enforcement that was called to check up on just exactly what a guy carrying a loaded rifle through one of the nation's busiest airports had on his mind. With the extended one hundred round drum. When police caught up to him and told Cooley that they had received a number of calls and that many people were worried, he responded, “People’s fears are not my responsibility. If you’re detaining me, then I’m going to have to file a lawsuit against the airport." And everyone knows that there is nothing in this great land of ours that stirs more fear than a loaded lawsuit. Mister Cooley was not arrested, and has become a Youtube celebrity. 
Up the road in Massachusetts, a forty year-old man was arrested for disturbing and loitering within one thousand yards of a school. At this point, it should be made clear that this man, George Cross, was dressed as an Imperial Stormtrooper and carrying a blaster. How could anyone tell that it wasn't a real laser gun? Authorities were called and the bad guy was taken away, much to the protestations of Mister Cross: "Like I'm some kind of weirdo or something? I bought a costume. I was walking through the neighborhood showing friends." Apparently dressing as an Imperial Stormtrooper is not a right protected by our constitution. At least not until the Imperial Senate has their say.