Posted on 01/07/2014 6:06:34 PM PST by marktwain
I think the three parties in this situation have combined to create one big snafu by their lack of common sense. Therefore I offer the following advice to keep this from happening in the future:
1. Citizen Rambo - You are within the law to carry and display your rifle in a non-threatening manner but expect the persons below may overreact. You may want to avoid GUN FREE areas and get a soft carrier to conceal your rifle while walking through public areas. When you shop, try not to wear any body armour, bondoleros, guns, knives, clubs, etc which might attract the unwarranted attention of the persons below.
2. Citizen Sheeple - Educate yourself, learn about the gun laws in your state. If you fear the sight of a gun or any weapon try to overcome these fears. There are people who can help you. If you cannot overcome these fears, shop only in designated GUN FREE areas. The person above and below has assured me he is here to help you and that you will be safe there.
3. Officer Friendly - Know that you are hired by the above persons to protect and serve them. Know the laws and administer them fairly. Expect them to overreact when you have to use SWAT teams, tanks, war wagons, flame throwers, assault rifles, tear gas, etc. to maintain order and peace. Be kind to animals (especially canine) and little children (they trust you).
If just one of these persons had used common sense, this situation could have been avoided. Excuse me while, I have to go change into my flame proof underwear. /s
and in this case someone called the cops when there was no intent to do harm. again it’s subjective and any litard can claim it’s being carried in a manner to cause alarm. liberals just seeing the gun, period, causes them to be alarmed.
I found nothing in the article stating the mall was a "gun free zone" Beaumont is a small east Texas town, it would be an anomaly if the mall was such. Secondly he has a gun shop in that mall so he would know his rights as to the 2nd amendment. These charges will either be dismissed or he will demand a jury trial and found innocent (judged by my experiences in situations like this in the state of Texas). I would be surprised if the DA would waste any time on this!!
I agree, unless signs were posted, he was permitted to carry his rifle into the mall. And since he didn’t threaten anyone by pointing or waving it around, he should not have been charged with anything.
If he had carried one into a GUN FREE mall intentionally or by mistake, he might have been subject to a charge. Even under those circumstances, he might not have been convicted of anything.
I find common sense has been thrown out the door because of all the leftists social engineering. This scenario was created to cast a negative light our constitutional gun rights. We can’t let them take our rights because of some lack of common sense or stupidity. You can’t legislate for that.
Now it's not legal to openly carry an unloaded firearm in California anymore and life there sucks even more than it used to.
People who would use the ostentatious display of firearms to make a political point should be aware of this object lesson. Stunts like this could lead to the mall's posting a 30.06 sign. In order to "educate the sheep" you need to be smarter than "the sheep".
The left are brain washing the sheeple into believing that guns are bad and the root of many social issues which would be fixed if our guns were taken away. The issues are not caused by the majority of citizens who own guns and abide by the law, but by the minority who illegally own guns and violate the law.
When other countries have tried this, it has never worked. Leftists know there are no examples where it has. They also know that the constitution would have to be amended and ratified by 2/3 of the states. Instead they are trying to steal away our rights one piece of legislation at a time. Starting with gun control and ending with the elimination of all guns in the hands of citizens.
The wind has been blowing from right to left for too long. A change is due. Maybe after the November elections, the wind will begin to blow in a new direction.
It’s one thing to be technically correct and another to be fundamentally stupid.
Openly carrying an AR-15 into a mall, no matter how it is held, qualifies for the latter.
Too late. The sheep in California are starting to reap what they have sown. I am afraid the good old days are gone and the change they voted for (twice) is upon them. Somebody on the leftist side in a similar situation described it as “the chickens are coming home to roost”. If so, I hope the incoming chickens don’t get run over by the sheep on their way out. The chickens are probably not going to stay anyway, because somebody stole their roosts while they were gone.
Good luck and keep your head down.
P.S. If I use that quote, does that make me a racist? Also I want to assure PETA that no animals (or birds) were harmed in this reply.
It’s a tad sickening how many news articles you have to read on this incident before gleaning that little tid-bit...
I hope he ends up collecting a whole lot of cash (enough to justify the time and stress, plus to discourage the thugs in uniform from abusing their power in the future). The taxpayers made a mistake tolerating this sort of police behavior or electing leaders who would act in this manner. It’s time for the taxpayers to pay for that mistake - and hopefully learn.
“Upon being told that the people carrying the guns were perfectly within their rights the “sheep” didn’t call the police anymore. They called their state assemblymen.”
I believe that it was the collectivist politicians who found out that open carry was legal, because it was not practiced for decades. Because it was not practiced, they were outraged that they had not made it illegal already, and did so at the first opportunity.
If you do not exercise your rights because you fear the consequences, they are already gone.
Hi Travis,
Do you have a source for that? I’d caught that in passing as well and now one of the mods over on AR15.com is asking for a source. None of the online news stories I’m able to access from here have that bit of info in it.
Found on Poe’s Facebook that he open carries from time to time and this is the first time he’s been rousted for it. No mention of the length of time he’s been doing it...
For what it’s worth dept..... take with a grain of salt.
The mall says that open carry prohibition has always been their policy so who knows.
The following article quotes a mall mgmt person.
Mall posts signs barring guns after rifle incident
The Texas 30.06 signs only pertain to pistols.
Also, odd that a mall that houses this guys FIREARMS TACTICAL STORE would be anti-gun...
The Texas 30.06 signs only pertain to pistols.
I think what the article was referring to was the mall code of conduct that
is posted at all entrances. The code specifially states:
20.Carrying or displaying weapons of any kind except those carried by certified
law enforcement officers in the performance of their duties.
http://www.parkdalemalltx.com/code-of-conduct
You don't see the disconnect there?
May be a disconnect but their policy isn’t that guns aren’t permitted. You just
can’t open carry or that is the way their code reads. The guy signed a lease
so he should have been aware also assuming he bothered to read it.
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