posted on Apr, 22 2014 @ 09:41 PM
originally posted by: SgtHamsandwich
Yeah, this guy was being a rude A**hole. I don't know the CCW laws in his state but here in Ohio, we are required to tell an officer immediately that
we are licensed and have the weapon present. Not wait until we are asked. He waited WAY to long to tell the officer about the .45 on his side.
Regardless of any laws, I side with the officer on this one. With as many crazy people running around and the mass shootings happening, the officer
had every right to question what the hell this idiot was doing. Taking the weapon from the guy was not about rights or laws, its a freaking safety
issue. The officer needed to secure the situation is all. He didn't know this guy.
And no, OP, this man was not the least bit rational and calm. The rational and calm thing to do would be to comply until the officer assesses the
situation, learns what this guy is doing and then lets him go about his way when everything is in order and the officer see's no laws are being
broken. I've been there and done this. I was not detained or arrested.
I don't know the concealed carry laws in Texas but there is nothing in the Kentucky statutes that requires me to identify myself as a concealed carry
licensee when I'm stopped by law enforcement. In our concealed carry classes we were "advised" to do so but told that we are under no legal
obligation to do so. We were told that the proper procedure was to announce, "Officer I am a concealed carry permit holder and my weapon is
located...." with both hands in clear view of the officer. That's the official position.
In private conversations with my friends in law enforcement, I was told that in some cases it might get me dragged out of the car and
spreadeagled---even if I told them the weapon was in my purse on the seat! Every one of them said, "My wife doesn't inform the cops that she's
got a gun unless they ask. You do as you wish."
I'd be willing to bet that if such a statute existed in Texas, the cops would have charged him under that law. But they didn't. They stood there
in the road and made up law that the Texas legislature never dreamed of..."interfering with police duties"....seriously? It seems to me that the
common sense definition of interfering requires some action other than simply walking down the road with a rifle. In a place where rattlesnakes are
common...
I guess a lot of people really don't realize what rural life is and how we conduct ourselves. It is not at all uncommon in our neighborhood to see
people walking around with guns. It is not at all uncommon to hear the sounds of repeated gunfire. On most nice days there is someone plunking at
targets, tin cans or ...turkeys. It is no cause for alarm to hear gunfire. It is no cause of alarm to see someone carrying a gun. We don't shoot
people, we shoot varmints, food and targets. We spend the time shooting the targets so we can be accurate when using our weapons. That's why the
sound of people practicing their craft is a very comforting sound. It is not my intention to injure my target, it is my intention to kill
quickly---be it the copperhead that has wandered into my yard or the deer that will fill my freezer.
I understand that if you weren't brought up in this culture it might be difficult to accept and understand. I will never ask you to become a part of
that culture if you won't ask me to give up mine.
While I can agree that the victim was rude, crude and didn't handle the episode well at all, it is the police who are paid to be professionals,
public servants in fact. These officers were a prime example of public servants acting like our Master. Being rude, crude and emotional is not
against the law. These men knew they were going to cost this guy a great deal of time and money in return for his rudeness. That is wrong.