Paranoid cops in Texas? Open-Carry violation.

[Wolferz]

Saw that one some time ago. Cops knew they were in the wrong and invented an excuse to haul the guy off.
I would love to see a follow up on the incident.
Have you ever noticed that a lot of police out west wear brown shirts even when the uniform is blue?

[Armistead]

I've watched them all. I open carry all the time when detecting, been stopped and sometimes harassed, but I don't carry a rifle to make a statement on youtube.

[Ducimus]

Yeah I saw that one awhile too. If memory serves correctly, I think the story I read was he was participating in some Boy scout activity, and was not in any urban area at the time of the incident. The video would seem to collaborate some of that, because there didn't look like there was a lot of people around, and he looked like he was on some country road, with day hiking equipment on.

Anywho, i think his biggest mistake was he lost his cool. The instant you pop off to a cop, it will all go downhill from there. Once he gave them an attitude, the outcome was predetermined.

As an aside, unless im at the range, or out in BFE target shooting, or actively hunting, i don't open carry because I just don't normally carry a rifle or shotgun otherwise. As for handguns, I have a IWB holster and a CFP if i feel the need.

[CaptainHaplo]

This goes back to the whole responsibility thing on firearms ownership....

There are people that do this JUST to interact with le and create videos - and you know what - in doing that they are acting irresponsibly. A firearm is a right AND a responsibility - and they are showing they are not up to that side of it.

There is no purpose in it other than to try and get harassed. Guess what - if you go looking for trouble, trouble will find you. That doesn't mean the cops were in the right, but he was just as much in the wrong.

Open carry is a legal right in many states. Then again - carrying whether OC or CC is generally done for defensive purposes or to exercise your 2A rights. Those are fine - but doing so just to get a youtube video .....

[garren]

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

This goes back to the whole responsibility thing on firearms ownership....

There are people that do this JUST to interact with le and create videos - and you know what - in doing that they are acting irresponsibly. A firearm is a right AND a responsibility - and they are showing they are not up to that side of it.

There is no purpose in it other than to try and get harassed. Guess what - if you go looking for trouble, trouble will find you. That doesn't mean the cops were in the right, but he was just as much in the wrong.

Open carry is a legal right in many states. Then again - carrying whether OC or CC is generally done for defensive purposes or to exercise your 2A rights. Those are fine - but doing so just to get a youtube video .....

Nobody should be getting stopped by the police at all for simply carrying a firearm in this country. It's a constitutional right. So tired of cops stopping people and asking them for their papers. This is not Nazi Germany and if there's no reason to suspect the person carry the weapon has committed a criminal offense there's no probable cause to stop them and doing so if a violation of that persons rights and is actually a criminal offense by the police. They should tell these people who call to complain that it's a right to carry a firearm in this country and inform them that if they have witnessed the person committing a crime then that's a different matter.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by garren

Nobody should be getting stopped by the police at all for simply carrying a firearm in this country. It's a constitutional right. So tired of cops stopping people and asking them for their papers. This is not Nazi Germany and if there's no reason to suspect the person carry the weapon has committed a criminal offense there's no probable cause to stop them and doing so if a violation of that persons rights and is actually a criminal offense by the police. They should tell these people who call to complain that it's a right to carry a firearm in this country and inform them that if they have witnessed the person committing a crime then that's a different matter.

+1

Firearms are too much automatically associated with crime. Sadly, I don't see that changing.

[CaptainHaplo]

Originally Posted by garren

Nobody should be getting stopped by the police at all for simply carrying a firearm in this country. It's a constitutional right.

Yes it is - but every right we have should be exercised with responsibility and consideration.

So tired of cops stopping people and asking them for their papers. This is not Nazi Germany and if there's no reason to suspect the person carry the weapon has committed a criminal offense there's no probable cause to stop them and doing so if a violation of that persons rights and is actually a criminal offense by the police.

The fact that they received calls may give them probable cause under the law (depending on what the calls report). While we agree can it shouldn't - it does and we have to deal with the situation we have vs wishing for what should be.

They should tell these people who call to complain that it's a right to carry a firearm in this country and inform them that if they have witnessed the person committing a crime then that's a different matter.

I agree - but your expecting the police to teach the public what the law is - and that isn't their job. Heck, many le's don't even know what the laws are when it comes to carrying firearms. A sad thing to be sure.

As a gun owner who does carry - its important to exercise our 2A rights in a responsible way that does not further reinforce the negative image of firearms and those of us who do choose to carry. Wandering around to make a video interacting with leo's and being an asshat is not. If we don't want society to look at us as if ownership and carrying automatically make us suspicious, then we ought to conduct ourselves in a more respectful and responsible manner. People who fear firearms and those of us who carry them see idiots like in the link and we all get associated with being disrespectful morons - who own guns... No wonder there is a negative stereotype.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

Yes it is - but every right we have should be exercised with responsibility and consideration.



The fact that they received calls may give them probable cause under the law (depending on what the calls report). While we agree can it shouldn't - it does and we have to deal with the situation we have vs wishing for what should be.



I agree - but your expecting the police to teach the public what the law is - and that isn't their job. Heck, many le's don't even know what the laws are when it comes to carrying firearms. A sad thing to be sure.

As a gun owner who does carry - its important to exercise our 2A rights in a responsible way that does not further reinforce the negative image of firearms and those of us who do choose to carry. Wandering around to make a video interacting with leo's and being an asshat is not. If we don't want society to look at us as if ownership and carrying automatically make us suspicious, then we ought to conduct ourselves in a more respectful and responsible manner. People who fear firearms and those of us who carry them see idiots like in the link and we all get associated with being disrespectful morons - who own guns... No wonder there is a negative stereotype.

I have to +1 this post too.

Gun Rights need to be promoted in positive ways.

[garren]

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

Yes it is - but every right we have should be exercised with responsibility and consideration.



The fact that they received calls may give them probable cause under the law (depending on what the calls report). While we agree can it shouldn't - it does and we have to deal with the situation we have vs wishing for what should be.



I agree - but your expecting the police to teach the public what the law is - and that isn't their job. Heck, many le's don't even know what the laws are when it comes to carrying firearms. A sad thing to be sure.

As a gun owner who does carry - its important to exercise our 2A rights in a responsible way that does not further reinforce the negative image of firearms and those of us who do choose to carry. Wandering around to make a video interacting with leo's and being an asshat is not. If we don't want society to look at us as if ownership and carrying automatically make us suspicious, then we ought to conduct ourselves in a more respectful and responsible manner. People who fear firearms and those of us who carry them see idiots like in the link and we all get associated with being disrespectful morons - who own guns... No wonder there is a negative stereotype.

I can agree with most of that. I don't think this guy in this particular video was trying to be a problem to the police however. He was on a hike with his kid and was smart enough to record it with his camera. He could have tried to remain more calm than he was but he was pissed and I can't really fault him for that because they did screw up badly with him. But it didn't make his situation any better with the cops being mouthy with them either. It's one of those things where you're best of just letting them violate you with your mouth closed and obedient to their commands. Then you sue the hell out of them when you got an attorney on your side.

[u crank]

Originally Posted by garren

Nobody should be getting stopped by the police at all for simply carrying a firearm in this country. It's a constitutional right.

So what you are saying is that anyone, including criminals can walk the streets with an AR 15 strapped to their back and this is not a cause for concern. When this happens then you will really have cause to be worried about your constitutional rights.

no reason to suspect the person carry the weapon has committed a criminal offense there's no probable cause to stop them and doing so if a violation of that persons rights and is actually a criminal offense by the police.

So until I walk through the bank door and level my weapon at the teller I'm above suspicion? Wouldn't that be great?

They should tell these people who call to complain that it's a right to carry a firearm in this country and inform them that if they have witnessed the person committing a crime then that's a different matter.

There are lots of things that arouse the suspicion of the police. Carrying an automatic weapon should be one of them. The day when it is normal for people to walk around with automatic weapons and the police do nothing is the day your country becomes Somalia.

[garren]

Originally Posted by u crank

So what you are saying is that anyone, including criminals can walk the streets with an AR 15 strapped to their back and this is not a cause for concern. When this happens then you will really have cause to be worried about your constitutional rights.

Criminals already carry firearms illegally and will continue to do so if we (law abiding citizens) lose our rights to carry them. So this point is invalid and been debunked about a zillion times already. There will be less criminals shooting people if more people carry firearms. Notice how they shoot up people in places that are "Gun Free Zones" most of the time, and notice how most victims of gun violence were unarmed? They tend to shoot people who can't shoot back. Guns deter violence just like Nukes deter war.

So until I walk through the bank door and level my weapon at the teller I'm above suspicion? Wouldn't that be great?

I bet you wouldn't do that if you knew that most bank tellers were armed and that you'd never be able to kill more than one before getting killed yourself. Not too many people barge into police stations and shoot at the cops either unless they have a death wish. The same would be true if banks armed all their tellers and it was well known that you'd never get out of the bank alive with any money.

There are lots of things that arouse the suspicion of the police. Carrying an automatic weapon should be one of them. The day when it is normal for people to walk around with automatic weapons and the police do nothing is the day your country becomes Somalia.

I don't believe that at all. Remember, there's a difference between automatic and fully automatic. Most pistols today are automatics and not revolvers. Many hunting rifles are magazine fed semi-automatics as well and don't require bolt or lever action.

I can understand fully automatic weapons being banned for the common citizen but automatics, or semi-automatics, are fine with me. I can understand a cop having questions about the make and model of certain types of weapons. I saw a video recently of a guy carrying a H&K MP5 submachine gun. His was modified however to be semi-auto only and did not have the 3-round burst or fully automatic capabilities that the military and police SWAT teams have, so he was fine to carry it. I have no problems with cops questioning those weapons but they seem to be questioning any gun, even shotguns (and Biden told us we could have those didn't he?) which is ridiculous and nothing more than government harassing the people of this country for practicing their rights.