Open Carry Cell Phone Holder Concerns NJ Prosecutor

Gun Watch ^ | 7 July, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

This model is carrying the "edgy" cell phone holder in about the worst or *best* way to make it sensational.  The choice of black holder, black phone and black shorts does the most to make the holder look as though a pistol is in the back pocket.  It does not hold up to close inspection.   From japantrendshop.com:

More a piece of equipment than a regular "cover," the Gun Grip Case transforms your iPhone 5 into a handgun! Available in black, white or pink, this fake "pistol" works with an app so you can interact with a digital version of the gun in the same color on your iPhone 5 screen. The app means you can play games of Russian Roulette at parties! Don't worry, you can't actually shoot anyone!

From cnn.com:

Dellla Fave, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey, shared a Facebook (FB, Tech30) photo of the iPhone case that he found on a closed social media site for cops. A model poses with her phone tucked into her back pocket, and the protruding case looks like the handle of a semiautomatic compact pistol.
Della Fave said that if a teenager draws the phone in the presence of a cop "the first thing they're going to see as it's coming up is the trigger guard and the butt of the gun. This doesn't seem like a good idea at all to me."

 Note that this is from a Prosecutor's office in New Jersey, a very political, and likely, anti-second amendment position.  It is illegal to openly carry a gun in New Jersey, and police would have probable cause to stop someone who looks as if they are carrying a gun illegally.   If the phone holder is pink or white, as shown below, it is less likely that they would be stopped. 

The phone holder has some merit as a political statement in the majority of the states where open carry is a right, as it has been in most states throughout most of the history of the United States.  A couple of appellate courts have upheld that history, stating that the mere open carry of a firearm is not sufficient probable cause or reasonable suspicion, by itself, for a "Terry" stop. 

In a way, the phone case is a variation on the theme suggested by Perceived Carry Decoy system, a device that has not received the attention that this phone carrier has.

 Unlike the phone carrier, the Perceived Carry Decoy is never meant to be "drawn".  The decoy gun and holster are all on piece of molded plastic, so they cannot be separated.

For those who prefer wheelguns, this imitation of the back half of a Colt Revolver is offered.

 I suspect that the "draw" of the gun grip phone carrier is the shock value, and that it is "aimed" at the young, wannabe "gansta" culture.  

It may cause some people to have some problems, but it is no worse, perhaps better, than carrying a fake gun around in your back pocket.   Real criminals will not want to draw attention to themselves.  It may have some deterrent value.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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[marktwain]

Chuckie Schumer is throwing a fit over this, and the manufacturers have caved.

[Cboldt]

Never mind the first amendment and other rights associated with the thing, the manufacturer is guaranteed to be on the receiving end of lawsuits when the phone cover is present at a shooting incident. Just as a business proposition, this accessory is risky.

[WayneS]

A person would have to be a complete retard to use one of these things.

I can see making a gun that looks like a cell phone or cell phone case, but a cell phone case that looks like a gun is just plain stupid.

Why would anyone PRETEND to be carrying a firearm? What are you going to do if some criminal a—hole who actually IS carrying challenges you?

Most of the time I prefer being armed while others think I am not armed (or they simply does not know).

And when I open-carry, I carry a fully loaded, REAL firearm.

[WayneS]

...which is NOT to say I think they should be banned.

[redgolum]

Good way to get shot by a cop in many places.

Kind of cool though.

[tacticalogic]

Chuckie Schumer is throwing a fit over this,

The population is not becoming sufficiently hoplophobic, and more indoctrination is going to be required.

[relictele]

Why do we care what a NJ prosecutor - or any other prosecutor - has to say until and unless he is reviewing an arrest and contemplating pressing charges?

Politicians - and of course the media - have been led to believe that they are entitled to express opinion on every aspect of life and that their opinion should matter i.e. carry the force of law.

Speaking of law, surely a NJ prosecutor should have enough cases to handle that he would be quite unavailable to comment on trifles?

[novemberslady]

Stop infringing on my right to carry.

[arthurus]

In some states and many cities that cell phone holder will get you shot on sight and maybe your house SWATted and the press and the “authorities” will get all righteous about it and call it deserved.

[kjam22]

A person would have to be a complete retard to use one of these things. I can see making a gun that looks like a cell phone or cell phone case, but a cell phone case that looks like a gun is just plain stupid.

[JimRed]

The phone holder has some merit as a political statement in the majority of the states where open carry is a right, as it has been in most states throughout most of the history of the United States.

I have suggested empty holsters containing copies of the second amendment prominently displayed as a political statement in hoplophobic locales like New Jersey, or at DC rallies.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

And the first person who will be shot by police who is carrying one of these will be a black person.

And then we'll be right back in the sewer...again.

[archy]

Ran across these fairly nifty belt buckles a while back. I wanted one in a vertical format, but they're not available that way. Yet.

I've told a pal to pick me up a couple and drop them off to me next time he's off to Medicine Hat, and we'll see what can be accomplished with some cutting and reassembling.