Gun Nuts Play Soldier After Chattanooga - Daily Beast

In the wake of the Chattanooga shooting that killed five service members, armed activists are guarding the nation’s military recruiting centers and they’re encouraging average citizens to do the same. In Concord, New Hampshire, gun-shop owner Brian Blackden stood alone Monday outside the Armed Forces Career Center. He wielded a sniper rifle and handgun in broad daylight as he paced the sidewalk of the center's strip mall. “These people are putting on the uniform to protect you and me, yet they don’t have the weapons necessary to protect themselves,” Blackden told The Daily Beast. Blackden is one of scores of civilian watchdogs taking it upon themselves to guard recruiting stations—even as military higher-ups discourage the displays of force. They say the shooting death of four Marines and one Naval officer in Tennessee last week reveal recruiting centers aren't safe from domestic terrorism. Blackden returned to the Concord center Tuesday with a. 308 sniper rifle as he and fellow enthusiasts pounded the pavement. In one video, taken by a local Patch reporter, Blackden stands next to a sign declaring “We’re at war. “We need to prove to the bad guys that not only are you fighting our military, you’re fighting us, the people of this country,” Blackden told The Daily. Source: www.thedailybeast.com