Ignorance Is No Excuse

[keith44spl]

This is 'Messed Up' as one newsie would say,

DPS Troopers arrest three men for open carry of pre 1899 pistols...

Men Legally Carrying Firearms Arrested at Texas Capitol 9/13/2013 ? Troopers Not Aware of Gun Law Exemption (VIDEO) | Texas GOP Vote

Sad day for the Texas Dept. of Public Safety.......

Ignorance of the law is no excuse....IMHO

I don't know what else to say.....Other than that,
Both sides of this issue ought to know their obligations before wadin in to turbulent muddy waters.
Ya just can't make a wrong, into a right, no matter how ya try to spin it.

.

 

[S&W45Colt]

You are right, that's a shame. Everyone's embarrassed now, plus the lawyers are going to get involved and that never makes things simpler. DPS in TX ought to know better, I could see it if that happened in NY, CA etc since they are known private gun haters.

 

[Bozz10mm]

The Troopers were probably aware of the law. They just couldn't verify the age of the pistols. And those 3 men.....what the heck were they thinking. You can't take weapons into the Capitol.

 

[mkk41]

Is it just me or does the Great State of Texas seem to be more anti-gun than this Yankee State of Taxes , Pennsylvania?

We are shall issue in regards to concealed carry licenses. Anyone so licensed can carry loaded & concealed in their vehicle and are not bound to notify LE.

We have no laws against 'open carry'.

We have no magazine capacity limits

We can have Class III machine guns.

We have preemption , no town/city/county can make any local gun laws that preempt the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act.

It is ILLEGAL for ANY law enforcement agency to maintain a registry of guns/owners.

 

[dswancutt]

Is it just me or does the Great State of Texas seem to be more anti-gun than this Yankee State of Taxes , Pennsylvania?

We are shall issue in regards to concealed carry licenses. Anyone so licensed can carry loaded & concealed in their vehicle and are not bound to notify LE.

We have no laws against 'open carry'.

We have no magazine capacity limits

We can have Class III machine guns.

We have preemption , no town/city/county can make any local gun laws that preempt the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act.

It is ILLEGAL for ANY law enforcement agency to maintain a registry of guns/owners.

I did a quick check and found out that open carry has been illegal since just after the civil war.

 

[keith44spl]

I hang my head in shame,

Not only for The State of Texas, the DPS, The Rangers and all the good folks of the Lone Star....

I know there are folks that want to exercise their rights...But they really ought to think it through first,
especial among-est all this controversy of late.


Oh, bicycle cops ought to wear their shorts a lit'l looser....
Them boys were wound purty tight on that video.

I just wish everyone could jest get a long.

.

 

[ringo1597]

This is what happens when agencies lower the hiring standards.

A young man or woman decides it is time to get a career type job. They never took High School seriously, they dropped out of school but later obtained a GED. Come on down you are now qualified to be a policeman.

This is just what my old agency has done.

 

[SMSgt]

Antique guns and their reproductions--by definition--are not firearms in FL unless used to commit a crime. So carrying one would fall outside any restrictions on carrying firearms.

 

[BaldEagle1313]

Keith, I understand your sentiment that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Any court will say the same thing. As gun owners/carriers, this applies double to us.

Not trying to make an excuse for the gentlemen in question, but reality is that laws now are so complex, convoluted, and contrary to each other that it's just about impossible to know all the various permutations. It isn't just ten of them on stone tablets anymore.

 

[redneckemt]

But what about the conversion kits for Black Powder pistols that allows them to fire centerfire rounds? Were the men arrested or detained until the Cops figured out what they were going to do?


Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[DigiRebel]

Is it just me or does the Great State of Texas seem to be more anti-gun than this Yankee State of Taxes , Pennsylvania?

We are shall issue in regards to concealed carry licenses. Anyone so licensed can carry loaded & concealed in their vehicle and are not bound to notify LE.

We have no laws against 'open carry'.

We have no magazine capacity limits

We can have Class III machine guns.

We have preemption , no town/city/county can make any local gun laws that preempt the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act.

It is ILLEGAL for ANY law enforcement agency to maintain a registry of guns/owners.

And yet, we have both Casey and Toomey representing us in the US Senate... weird huh?

Pennsylvania is a great gun state... not quite Vermont now... but It's definitely better than our crummy neighbors NJ and MD...

 

[DigiRebel]

I did a quick check and found out that open carry has been illegal since just after the civil war.

Where, exactly, did you do this check? Open carry has no laws forbidding it in Pennsylvania, and therefore it is defacto legal. The Police will likely bug you about it, but you are well within your legal right to carry in PA. The exception is in cities "of the first class" where a license to carry is required.

Openly Carrying a Firearm/Gun in Pennsylvania

 

[big&slow]

If ignorance of the law is no excuse. Everyone would be a lawyer.

 

[keith44spl]

But what about the conversion kits for Black Powder pistols that allows them to fire centerfire rounds? Were the men arrested or detained until the Cops figured out what they were going to do?


Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

I think there were already cartridge firearms before 1899...

So, what's your point thar?

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[keith44spl]

If ignorance of the law is no excuse. Everyone would be a lawyer.

I think the sideshow here is....
The three were arrested for openly carrying a handgun/sidearm.

After the DPS officer's searched the 'book' to find the applicable statues/code,
it became aparent that that didn't apply in this instance,
so they were not going to un-arrest the three subjects....

They jest charge them with 'disorderly conduct/causing alarm with a gun' and figgered the court would straighten their mess out for them.

Which sadly happens purty often now in days, in a lot of different situations.


.

 

[raljr1]

Yeah, the courts sort it out later, but the guys who have to go thru the process are still out the time and money necessary to protect themselves....

 

[BPNovum]

The Troopers were probably aware of the law. They just couldn't verify the age of the pistols. And those 3 men.....what the heck were they thinking. You can't take weapons into the Capitol.

They weren't carrying them into the Capitol. In Texas, however, you can take a handgun into the Capitol as long as it is concealed and you have a CHL.

These men were part of a protest group advocating open carry and were on the sidewalk outside of the capitol grounds.

 

[ladder13]

Is it just me or does the Great State of Texas seem to be more anti-gun than this Yankee State of Taxes , Pennsylvania?

We are shall issue in regards to concealed carry licenses. Anyone so licensed can carry loaded & concealed in their vehicle and are not bound to notify LE.

We have no laws against 'open carry'.

We have no magazine capacity limits

We can have Class III machine guns.

We have preemption , no town/city/county can make any local gun laws that preempt the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act.

It is ILLEGAL for ANY law enforcement agency to maintain a registry of guns/owners.

Not to get off base too much, and apologies to Dave for the drift, but doesn't the PSP keep some sort of sales database of handgun sales? And aren't FTF handgun transfers between individuals required to go thru an FFL? Just asking for my own education.

 

[ladder13]

Kudo's to the onlookers questioning the police on their actions, it's good to see more and more of this, Americans unafraid to speak out in these type of occurances which seem to be more common.

 

[Harrison]

The Troopers were probably aware of the law. They just couldn't verify the age of the pistols. And those 3 men.....what the heck were they thinking. You can't take weapons into the Capitol.

Check your Texas law. You certainly can take a pistol into the state capitol, if you have a CCL and the pistol is concealed. I do not believe Texas allows open carry of pistols/revolvers anywhere except on private property, a range, or when hunting.