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Opinions on Walmart Open Carrier - Charges Warranted?
Frogdog
Member Posts: 2,817 ✭✭✭✭
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/09/us/missouri-walmart-terrorist-threat.html
Curious what everyone's thoughts are on this. Granted, this guy was an idiot, open-carrying his rifle around Walmart to get attention after the recent shooting. That said, if it was legal for him to open carry and he wasn't making overt threats (which it sounds like he wasn't), then should he be charged with a crime? Just because recent events make it a sensitive issue, does that make an otherwise legal activity a "terroristic threat" (a felony)?
Personally, I think it is a slippery slope. Just because people FEEL threatened, doesn't mean they ARE being threatened.
Thoughts?
Curious what everyone's thoughts are on this. Granted, this guy was an idiot, open-carrying his rifle around Walmart to get attention after the recent shooting. That said, if it was legal for him to open carry and he wasn't making overt threats (which it sounds like he wasn't), then should he be charged with a crime? Just because recent events make it a sensitive issue, does that make an otherwise legal activity a "terroristic threat" (a felony)?
Personally, I think it is a slippery slope. Just because people FEEL threatened, doesn't mean they ARE being threatened.
Thoughts?
Comments
+1
The only crime he committed is being a *. He is lucky he wasn't shot.
Trespassing or disturbing the peace possibly.
Yea, those guys make me furious. Abusing your rights and flaunting them in people's faces is a sure fire way to get those rights taken from everyone.
Fair point. And if you aren't already crazy when you go to one, you sure are by the time you leave.
Regardless of if that was his intent, that was the result that he caused.
He was definitely a * and that is not a crime. His actions had a detrimental impact upon the image of the lawful firearm owners. Why do these people need to be the center of attention?
Justifiable or not?
I would say crying fire when there was none. Open carry of long rifles in stores should be outlawed unless you just bought it there or getting it repaired.
Inside a case too when getting to the counter too!
serf
The epitome of Liberalism.
Nope is bad publicity when politicians go to vote on your 2nd amendment rights. And it's coming! Red Flags laws along with FBI background checks for all gun owners continuously! That's what is called an universal background check now! Just watched them do it now!
You get a parking ticket they are going to know immediately! Big brother is truly watching you believe it or not.
serf
If I were on a jury I wouldn't convict either one. The * had a right to do what he was doing even though very stupid and the firefighter would be doing what he thought was the right thing to do if he had shot him due to all the recent shootings.
?...the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, except you can?t carry one into a store??
They can argue and vote on it until they turn blue but the 2nd amendment is not going to get repealed until 3/4 of ALL the states ratify it. These idiot politicians don't even know how an amendment gets repealed.
Do you have the right to open carry in this particular Wal-Mart?
Are you carrying in a safe manner?
If yes to all three, your fears do not trump my right to carry. You either have the right or you don't.
See how easy it is to demonize your rights? Here you all are, on a gun board, complaining about someone who had the balls to prove a point. If you don't exercise your rights, you are bound to loose them. You can see plenty of these first and second amendment audits on You-Tube.
Watch a few of them and see just how authority respects your rights.
Yeah, right, let that camel stick it's nose in the tent. That's precisely how we got to where we are now.
Yes Sir! And the same ones who say he should be prosecuted are the same ones who ask, "what is it about "shall not be infringed" do you not understand!
That?s exactly my thought. It could have been an off duty taxi driver legally carrying and not a fire fighter.
Great points here as well. We must remember that rights also carry responsibility.
Well how many long gun rifles have you seen open carry down at your drug store? I bet the pharmacist would get plenty upset and trigger happy!
People cannot use common sense anymore and believe it or not demanding you have the right is counterproductive for you and I in keeping our rights. I hope the idiot goes to jail for poor judgment. I never open carry in my town I am not looking for trouble I am trying to prevent it.
serf
Exactly. As a responsible gun owner, you know when and how to exercise your right. This jerk went about testing his right in the most stupid manner. Yes, he is lucky he was not shot first, questioned later.
What he said....
At the end of the day, he was an attention seeker, and he got the attention he desired, and now he's going to pay the price. I'm not sure what a domestic terrorism charge entails, but sounds like he is probably regretting his choice of activities.
On a side note we've had those second amendment monitors come to our PD before or show up at our traffic stops, filming us and themselves..just a bunch of annoying dipshits. We have a local jagoff that drives around with "cop watch" stickers on his windows and films our stops, whatever, he's a tard.
And this is exactly the point they are making. The police see you as a tard and annoying jagoff for exercising your rights.
He is a tard, he could just as easily do what he's doing with out drawing attention to himself and hoping/fishing for a confrontation.
I was not actually refering to the wal-mart guy in this post, but to the guys who photograph the police in shilowar's post.
That's exactly who I am referring too the tards that conduct their "audits", walking into buildings recording people, doing their best to cause alarm and confrontation. Those folks IMHO are tards. You want to sit across the street and record cops doing their jobs, have at it, but when you inject yourself into the story, make yourself obvious by coming to close, bordering on interfering with their activities for your own thrill and glorification you are a tard. I didn't advocate preventing their activity, however if they free to do it, i am certainly free to decide they are tards and jagoffs.
There are some videos on youtube of folks that have tried that...LOL
Justifiable or not?"
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
The idiot was not violating any MO state laws. The over-reaction of the public led to charges of disturbing the peace/creating a panic which is not a capital offense. From the reports I've seen, the idiot did not "threaten" anyone. The "sheeple" stampeded at the cry of wolf w/o real cause.
With that in mind, p[picture this: Your next door neighbor has some beef with you and one day he sees you handling a gun in public view. He calls the fuzz claiming you have "terrorized" him. You then become a criminal by the same judgement as you applied to this idiot.
Common sense and good judgement can't be legislated.