Richard Terry Young Arrested at Obama Town Hall for Unlicensed Gun

I guess the only reason Young was arrested is because his gun was unlicensed.

Otherwise, William Kostric, who also felt it appropriate to strap a loaded gun to his leg at the town hall event, would've been arrested as well. It's legal in New Hampshire to carry a loaded gun. Ahhhh. Freedom. For the life of me, I still can't figure out how guns = freedom. Guns are oppressive. They can end a human life. Once again, kudos to the Secret Service, who have been quite busy these days.

Police said a man arrested at the scene of President Barack Obama's visit to the city Tuesday was found to be in possession of an unlicensed loaded gun.

Richard Terry Young, 62, of 821 Ocean Blvd. in Hampton, was arrested around 9:40 a.m., hours before Obama's arrival, and charged with the misdemeanor crimes of criminal trespass and carrying a loaded pistol without a license.

Young was found inside Portsmouth High School, where Obama later in the day held his town hall-style forum. Young was detained by the Secret Service and subsequently arrested by Portsmouth Lt. Corey MacDonald. Young was carrying a pocket knife, police said. A subsequent search of his vehicle, parked on school property, revealed a loaded hand gun, police said.

Police said Young is being investigated by the Secret Service for possible federal crimes resulting from the same series of events. Seacoast

Update Aug. 12: Apparently, people who work for Young say it's all an innocent mistake. Keep in mind that in New Hampshire, gun toting is part of the culture:

A Hampton contractor charged with having a loaded pistol in his truck, outside the high school where President Barack Obama was due to visit, “intended no harm,” according to someone who answered the phone at his business today.

“He’s just somebody who was forgetful and he made a big mistake,” said a man who answered the phone at Plain & Fancy Brick Work.

The 821 Ocean Blvd. masonry company is owned by Richard Terry Young, 62, of the same address, who was arrested Tuesday on a charge of having a concealed weapon without a license. BH

Obama Town Hall in New Hampshire Aug. 11

Obama artist Ron English's poster

Update: See video from Obama's town hall here.

Obama's upcoming town hall schedule:
Aug 14: Bozeman
Aug 15: Grand Junction

Update Aug. 11: Counter protesters show up in the pouring rain.

Update: Ticket information here.

Obama will be in the Portsmouth area of New Hampshire for another town hall on healthcare Aug. 11, according to Seacoast. The Obama family will soon be vacationing at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. The town hall will be start at 1 pm at Portsmouth High School and should be live streamed at cnn.com or msnbc.com. The White House will live stream audio from the event. From Seacoast:

President Barack Obama will make the case for health care reform in person with a town hall-style meeting Tuesday on the Seacoast.

The White House confirmed Wednesday that Obama will be in the "Portsmouth area" on Aug. 11. But spokeswoman Moira Mack said "the details of the event have yet to be finalized," including how tickets to the public meeting will be distributed.

Obama's visit to rally support for reform and educate the public on what reform means comes after Congress failed to meet his goal of floor votes in the House and Senate for a major makeover of the country's $2.5 trillion health care system before the August recess.

Reaction to Obama's visit was politically mixed.

State Republican chairman and former Gov. John H. Sununu said, "I hope President Obama comes to New Hampshire prepared to listen to both sides of the health care debate. I also hope he spends a little more time listening to (N.H.) Sen. Judd Gregg and the Republicans about how to reform health care without a government takeover."

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said she will attend the event Tuesday. She said the health care crisis is taking its toll in the state and across the country.