Open Carry Incident.......

[blujax01]

Some of us have situational awareness and common sense.

Is an action I take with a firearm likely to be a problem? Do I need this problem? Can I avoid this problem?

Pity? that's reserved for those who are clueless as to why open carrying an AR through a mall might cause a problem.

 

[Rick_A]

I inadvertently sent a field of migrant workers running with a tacticool 10/22 slung over my back. If it was a bolt action rifle or long barreled shotgun I bet nobody would've flinched. The camo clothes, leather boots, and OD green hat probably didn't help, but it goes to show ya.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Ill advised-maybe...but does that make it illegal? He is going to his store-was it loaded? What is the determining factor; the law or political correctness??

 

[williamlayton]

Just because of a complaint does the officer not have the right to see that no infraction was done and just NOT do anything.
I think that is daft !
Blessings

 

[GerSan69]

Just because of a complaint does the officer not have the right to see that no infraction was done and just NOT do anything.
I think that is daft !
Blessings

Did you see where I said, "Welcome to my world"? I've been dealing with "daft" for the last 34 years, my friend.
OK, one last time: IF someone is demanding action... IF there's a chance that the complaining person's "peace" was "disturbed" by the mere sight of an AR on this young man, and remember, all the complainer has to do is say so... the cop is going to write the ticket.
Remember my Rule #2: I don't know about you, but I'd rather get complained on for arresting a dude with a rifle in the mall than have my boss get a call from "Miss Do-Gooder" complaining that I "completely disregarded how this madman with a rifle was just walking thru the mall, and we told the officer all about how scared we were, and how I needed oxygen to catch my breath, and your officer did nothing! I want you to take his badge!!!" And yes, that's how it happens.

 

[Old TexMex]

There's been some mis info on this issue. The arrested man did not own a gun shop. He is not an FFL holder.
The officers responded to a distress call,(though how they handled it,I think,was not appropriate).
The D.A.s office has said they will press charges, of disturbing the peace.

That is all.

 

[Cyrano]

I inadvertently sent a field of migrant workers running with a tacticool 10/22 slung over my back. .

A friend once had a pickup a lot like those the Border Patrol used, both in color and configuration. It had the same effect.

 

[Old TexMex]

I walked into the kitchen in a Mexican food restaurant in Corpus Christi accidentally, looking for the men's room, there was a huge flurry of movement towards the back door. Stetson Open Road and a pearl snap khaki shirt was all it took. Oops...I left a extra big tip...their enchiladas are really good.

 

[Marshwheeling]

I inadvertently sent a field of migrant workers running with a tacticool 10/22 slung over my back. If it was a bolt action rifle or long barreled shotgun I bet nobody would've flinched. The camo clothes, leather boots, and OD green hat probably didn't help, but it goes to show ya.

My buddy used to have an ex-Highway Patrol Crown Vic. People were always mistaking us for cops. There was a place in south Minneapolis called Armadillo Flats. If we nosed it up the alley just so, all the crack dealers would scatter like cockroaches.

 

[williamlayton]

Ger
It seems the facts of this have come to light--it chages things.
Back to the squabble we have.
Having been burdened by BAD bosses who just wanted to protect their poitical arses during my life, I can assure you that I know what you are saying.
That said---you can cave in or stand the ground.
Blessings

 

[Rick_A]

My buddy used to have an ex-Highway Patrol Crown Vic. People were always mistaking us for cops. There was a place in south Minneapolis called Armadillo Flats. If we nosed it up the alley just so, all the crack dealers would scatter like cockroaches.

I can relate to that some. My wife used to have a blacked out Ford Taurus SHO four door. People would part on the highway...except for the real police of course!

 

[Dominus_Lex]

I would argue in our present climate, open carry of any "black rifle" in a shopping mall is equal to yelling fire in a move theater. You have a right to do it, but also will suffer the results of your actions.

I ask all of you to imagine being in a mall with folks you love and are responsible to protect (spouse, kids, grand kids) all you know if someone unknown to you is walking through the mall with a AR, it appears to have a loaded Mag... Is he looking for his ex? Mad his boss, or just plain crazy? How long do you give him before you are moving your family to the first cover? How long until you call 911? How long until you take action to protect yourself?

I fully understand that he has not broken the law until he points the rifle at someone (how long does it take from being a threat to a shooter?) Who would like to be the LEO who did nothing until the first clerk is dropped?

Part of being a responsible citizen is knowing when not to force your rights on others?

 

[williamlayton]

Let's examine--in this present climate.
Should carrying a rifle in the open be considered breaking the peace ? I will argue NO ! I will argue that the people need to git a grip on their emotions. They need to change---why should we have to change.
People have been wrecking havoc, killing innocents since Adam. mass murders are not a new invention---they will happen again.
If you think things like this will prevent you need to get your head/heads out ofthe sand.
Really the only thing that needs to be do is for folks to see that arming theirownselves is just about the best protection yo can have and that buying a Police Force does nothing to prevent---they are the ones in charge of where the paperwork is stored.
Blessings

 

[SgtLumpy]

Let's examine--in this present climate.
Should carrying a rifle in the open be considered breaking the peace ? I will argue NO ! I will argue that the people need to git a grip on their emotions. They need to change...

And I will argue yes.

I can think of absolutely zero reasons for anyone to carry an AR through the mall except that he wants to demonstrate that "I can exercise my 2a rights". That is what I consider the absolutely worst reason to open carry. It is absolutely guaranteed to freak some people out. That's not at all what I want anti-gun people to think of me. "They" do not "need to change" just because you don't agree with them. They are free to think however they care to think, just as you and I are free to think however we care to think.

The "emotional" reason for being alarmed when seeing a guy in the Mall with an AR is no less valid than the "emotional" reason for pulling such a stunt. And I again emphasize that it's a STUNT. There is no good reason to do so except to incite an emotional response.

Acting responsibly is part of what being a responsible gun owner is all about.


Sgt Lumpy

 

[Hodgin]

I doubt the first thing I'd think of if I saw a guy walking around with an AR would be that the guy's is trying to get a rise for his you tube video. I know my wife and her friends sure wouldn't. It's not some irrational "emotion," it's a fear based on the fact that people do this type of thing in places like malls. I'm over 60 and have never see such a thing. I'd take notice.

 

[BC38]

For those arguing that this 'tard's behavior IS acceptable, you need to fast forward to the present day. In the past it may have been acceptable when the majority lived on the farm or in small town America. Back then the majority of folks were familiar with and comfortable with guns and the idea of guns as tools. Like people in this forum.

Today that isn't the case. The majority live in urban environments and are not personally familiar with guns. Their exposure to guns is the "blast everything to hell" movie scenes that they see on TV and in theaters, and the sensationalism of incidents like Sandy Hook, Columbine, etc. and of course the resulting demonization of tacticool looking weapons by the mainstream media.

Those are the FACTS. Is that how it SHOULD be? NO. Is one lone numb-nutz - like the guy in this case - packing a Rambo looking rifle around the mall - going to make John-Q public more familiar and comfortable with the sight of guns? NO IT ISN'T. Is it gong to disturb a lot of people? DAMN RIGHT IT IS. Like I said, it would disturb me. If I saw a guy walking around packing an AR in public, I'd have my hand on my CCW and be eyeballing him pretty darned close. I'd also be getting me and mine the heck away from the situation ASAP.

If the fool was just walking to or from the gun store by the shortest route, and being less blatant about displaying it then there would have been no problem. BUT HE WASN'T. He was walking around from shop to shop with it slung over his shoulder dressed like some sort of commando. Why did people get upset? Because there are only two possible reasons for doing that. Either you're trying to provoke a reaction, or you have murderous intent. If he was trying to provoke a reaction, he succeeded. On the off chance that his intentions were to shoot up the place, calling the police is not an unreasonable response - especially buy Joe or Jane Average who don't know spit about firearms. Familar with the idea of better safe than sorry?

Suppose he had been a nut job, and was allowed to walk around like that for a half hour or so before suddenly starting to spray lead? Every person who ignored him and DIDN'T call the police would feel like an idiot, and even feel partially responsible for having done nothing.

TECHNICALLY carrying the rifle around wasn't illegal. WHEN and WHERE he did it was disturbing the peace. Like I said, the only two reasons for doing what he did are to be in-your-face about a 2nd amendment issue, or to do something horrific.

Despite the fact that WE feel like it SHOULDN'T be that way, the fact is, that is the way it is. Like it or not, carrying a tacticool rifle in a public place is NOT the socially accepted norm. Doing it anyway does NOT further our cause. It makes all those who are already afraid of guns view us as inconsiderate, unreasonable, and even irrational. This guy and people like him don't help us, even if you somehow can't see anything wrong with what he did, it still hurts our cause.

 

[Palinvan]

While it may hurt our cause in the eyes of those who already hate guns I see conforming to those who want to see our rights removed as a much larger threat to freedom. As we know they will always try to take it a step further. What is next? Getting a disorderly conduct charge for having a NRA sticker on your car because someone thinks people who join the NRA are nutjobs and dangerous? This is akin to the kids wearing American flag shirts getting kicked out of school for wearing them to an American school on Cinco De Mayo. According to you because they didn't conform to the norm of that school that they deserved to be kicked out.

sent from my Galaxy S3, superior to the iPhone.

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

On some sight the shop owner said that he had carried rifles into his store a number of times with out incident. That time he chose not to go directly to his store but went into other businesses.

 

[GerSan69]

Ger
It seems the facts of this have come to light--it chages things.
Back to the squabble we have.
Having been burdened by BAD bosses who just wanted to protect their poitical arses during my life, I can assure you that I know what you are saying.
That said---you can cave in or stand the ground.
Blessings

Not a matter of "caving" vs. "standing your ground." The rules in policing are quite clear: The guy at the bottom of the food chain does what he's told. Believe me, the definition of the "smart cop" is the one who knows how to do his job within the limits placed on him by management. Those who "stand their ground" and defy the boss will quickly come to the end of their career.
The bosses tell you exactly what you can or cannot do, and how they expect you to do it. Contrary to folklore, there's not a lot of discretion these days, and hasn't been for a long time. Every action is tightly regulated. The bosses second-guess things that you wouldn't think were important. They take complaints with the thought that the cop is automatically in the wrong, and is expected to prove his own case. And it's not limited to complaints from the public-today's cops will drop a dime on each other in a New York second. I always laugh at these people that think all the cops protect each other. Nothing could be further from the truth. Maybe 40 or more years ago, but not now. These days, if something controversial happens, there's a race to IA to be the first one down there to complain on everyone else. There are anonymous letters left under doors, pictures of other cops taken surreptitiously to show "wrongdoing," and secret voice recordings sent to bosses and the media.
So there's my rant. Glad I'm retiring.

 

[flundertaker]

A right you are afraid to exercise is a right already lost. Maybe if everyone OCd then it wouldnt be so unusual that folks called the cops nor could the police stop and question everyone exercising their rights.

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