Open Carry Incident.......

Legal open carry or not, common sense and discretion are part of the equation. Factor in the negative stigma that AR rifles have to many in the mainstream, and this sounds like one colossally stupid thing to do. I'm curious to know whether this fellow was trying to make a statement by carrying his AR slung through a mall, or was simply ignorant as to the potential trouble it would cause. Acting without common sense often makes the actions in question irresponsible, and possibly illegal.
 
Had I been the cop responding, I think I'd explain the problem, escort him to his shop, and warn not to do that again.

If he started mouthing off, he'd probably manage to talk himself into trouble.

As an aside, I've noticed that few malls still have gun stores. Those are usually in smaller strip malls, with direct access from the parking lots. Even so, taking a gun in should usually involve a suitable case.

This includes going to ranges, especially indoor ones located in big cities.
 
I am torn on this one. Did the guy make the best decision? No. But he wasn't breaking any laws and telling him he cant do something that is 100% legal only helps perpetuate the stigma that anti-gunners want to increase. I am continually amazed at how fast modern day Americans roll over and willingly give up their rights and want someone else punished for doing absolutely nothing illegal. Now if he did start mouthing off then yeah he deserved it. But if he didn't I don't see how he was disturbing the peace by doing something that is legal. Like someone else mentioned it is the person making a big deal out of someone else's legal activity that disturbed the peace.
Where can this kind of charge then be stopped? Can you then be considered as disturbing the peace if your are wearing a progun shirt in public because someone finds it offensive?

sent from my Galaxy S3, superior to the iPhone.
 
I'm not a LEO or lawyer so my knowledge of this sort of thing is limited, but my guess is that the activity in a disturbing the peace case doesn't have to be illegal. If it creates an uproar, especially on private property, then it can fall into that category.

The guy should have been given an opportunity to leave peacefully but it looks like he was exerting his right to carry but he got caught disturbing the peace.
 
I am torn on this one. Did the guy make the best decision? No. But he wasn't breaking any laws and telling him he cant do something that is 100% legal only helps perpetuate the stigma that anti-gunners want to increase. I am continually amazed at how fast modern day Americans roll over and willingly give up their rights and want someone else punished for doing absolutely nothing illegal. Now if he did start mouthing off then yeah he deserved it. But if he didn't I don't see how he was disturbing the peace by doing something that is legal. Like someone else mentioned it is the person making a big deal out of someone else's legal activity that disturbed the peace.
Where can this kind of charge then be stopped? Can you then be considered as disturbing the peace if your are wearing a progun shirt in public because someone finds it offensive?
sent from my Galaxy S3, superior to the iPhone.

Well it is legal for me to wear one of those skin tight European style bikini size swim trunks on the beach, but that is a sight I don't think the world is ready for. It really could disturb the peace.

I like Texas Star's solution best. The officer should have just escorted the man to his shop and advised him to use better judgment in the future.

I doubt a Texas jury will find this man guilty. Still it is sad we live in an age where people are so easily frightened. But since we do we need to use some judgement. Much like what we say on this forum.
 
It seems to me that if this mall had a gun store inside it , it would be common place to see people carry long guns in and out of the store and if the gun store had an entrance that opened up into the mall itsself, which is what we are lead to believe , then I would think this would be pretty common .
If I were in a mall that had a sporting goods store for example, and I saw somone carry a golf club , or baseball bat , I would probably not even think twice about it . Same holds true for this situation .
What's happening to society is people are becoming so anti-gun that
even the thought of anybody other than a uniformed police officer or person in the military with a gun , means they must be about to do something bad . I agree it may not be the smartest thing to do , carrying a long gun around, but given the circumstances , I see little problem in what he did. The bigger problem is all the boneheads that panic and call 911 . These are the people who are greasing up the "slippery slope" that we are all going down . Get enough of these guys complaining and going into full panic mode, then next thing you know laws get changed and more and more rights are taken away, because little joey public wet hims pants when he saw a bad man with a big gun .

Lewis
 
The local news interviewed one of the shoppers who dialed 911 .
He admited to also calling 911 a few weeks earlier when he saw a bright red Mustang GT in the mall parking lot. He reported that some serious and possibly deadly streetracing was probably about to take place , even though the cars owner was simply just ordering a subway sandwich inside the mall .
Also , he reported major prostitution taking place, but it turns out it was simply just 3 very pretty girls walking from the cosmetics store to the food court .

Lewis
 
May I weigh in on disturbing the peace? I don't know the rules everywhere, but as was stated, someone's "peace" must be disturbed in some way, and that "way" varies from place to place. Sometimes it's noise, sometimes certain actions that are spelled out but sometimes (and I suspect is the case here) the aggrieved person's feeling of being "violated" in some way is what they go by. Pretty vague.
Also, in some jurisdictions such as mine, an officer cannot be "disturbed." In other words, the officer can't sign a complaint against someone as the victim. So in a case like this, some civilian witness must sign and be willing to go to court. Now, maybe in Texas you only need names and phone numbers, but the essence is the same: somebody other than the cop is pushing the matter and a citation is issued.
One last point: the "in-your-face" attitude that some folks take in these open carry situations. I hope I don't p-off too many folks here, but that's just not helpful. None of us were appointed by anyone to be the point-man in the drive to "get the public and the cops used to seeing guns in the open." You can have every right in the world, but trying to go toe-to-toe with the cops or even "Moms What Be Hatin' Guns" is not going to go well. You may "win" in the end, probably after a protracted and expensive battle, but you'll lose the war in the court of public opinion.
 
This may get the thread locked.....

If I'm dispatched to a man with a rifle in a shopping mall and I then encounter this guy with an AR slung over his shoulder, it is the worst possible time for him to start acting like a fool. I have a duty NOT to wait until he has fired the weapon at shoppers to decide that there might be a problem and that I should stop him. Perhaps, charges can be avoided if he applies common sense. He put himself in this spot. This guy is apt to become a poster child for the anti-gun crowd just like the state representative who had a negligent discharge IN HER OFFICE last week!!

Kentucky state representative accidentally fires gun in Capitol building - Salon.com
 
Maybe I missed it but I don't see where any report says he was acting like a fool or even complaining about the cops being called. If you decide to shoot and kill a guy for doing nothing but legally open carrying a rifle then you would be a murderer plain and simple. Your attitude is the reason why every year larger and larger portions of the population lose the trust of law enforcement. You swore to uphold the law and shooting someone who isn't breaking the law falls way short of that.

sent from my Galaxy S3, superior to the iPhone.
 
Maybe I missed it but I don't see where any report says he was acting like a fool or even complaining about the cops being called. If you decide to shoot and kill a guy for doing nothing but legally open carrying a rifle then you would be a murderer plain and simple. Your attitude is the reason why every year larger and larger portions of the population lose the trust of law enforcement. You swore to uphold the law and shooting someone who isn't breaking the law falls way short of that.

sent from my Galaxy S3, superior to the iPhone.

At what point did I even suggest shooting was the solution? I said I'd "stop" him.

Maybe you should read my entire post before venting......
 
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I did read the entire post.

sent from my Galaxy S3, superior to the iPhone.
 
How would you stop him then? I guess maybe I'm just used to cops here in Green Bay who shoot first and ask questions later. It wasn't too many years ago they put over 80 rounds at a guy who wasn't armed and hit innocent bystanders in the process.

sent from my Galaxy S3, superior to the iPhone.
 
How would you stop him then? I guess maybe I'm just used to cops here in Green Bay who shoot first and ask questions later. It wasn't too many years ago they put over 80 rounds at a guy who wasn't armed and hit innocent bystanders in the process.

sent from my Galaxy S3, superior to the iPhone.

If that is the case where you live, then you have my sympathy. I can say without fear of contradiction, that neither I nor anyone I've ever worked with has ever done anything like that and I'll guess that despite that tragic incident, other Green Bay officers couldn't imagine doing that either. Don't paint us all with the same brush.
 
I apologize if I came off that way I have just had very bad experiences with cops in my area. Both first hand and 2nd hand accounts. None of which benefit this conversation at all. Sorry I read in to your post incorrectly.

sent from my Galaxy S3, superior to the iPhone.
 
For little or no exposure to legal consequence, the anti gun movement has been handed a nice fresh cherry. They will get several bites of it.
We will hear it brought up in the coming election etc. etc.

This is another case of pro 2nd amateur going up against the adversary that does not play by the "rules".


These anti gunners are professional panic merchants, liars and cheats....and they don't get called out in the media for it.

It's time to wise up, we should stop giving them ammunition, and keep our powder dry.
 
People need to get over the looks of a gun.

It's the intent and state of mind if the wielder that matters.

No guns around schools is another bit of "feel good" legislation, at least until the nut job breaks in and starts killing people unimpeded.
 
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