Posted on 05/14/2008 1:54:56 PM PDT by Tallguy
DICKSON CITY — A Friday evening police incident spilled over into a Borough Council meeting Tuesday, with gun-rights advocates alleging harassment by two police officers.
The regular monthly meeting erupted into a full-blown debate on the Second Amendment, with more than 20 Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association members — many of whom were openly armed — arguing their right to carry a weapon in public.
Police have yet to release a report of the incident in which a group of customers at Old Country Buffet were questioned about openly carrying handguns in public. At least one of those customers, Rich Banks, of Luzerne County, was detained for refusing to cooperate with police in regard to his concealed .38-caliber handgun, Police Chief William Stadnitski said. Mr. Banks’ weapon remains confiscated, but the chief said he can pick it up at any time.
Pennsylvanians are required to carry a permit for a concealed weapon; however, there are exemptions, such as in the case of Mr. Banks, who Dickson City police later found out had a federal gun-dealer license.
(Excerpt) Read more at thetimes-tribune.com ...
Oh great, thread number 4! Woohoo!
Sorry. Been having trouble with the new search engine.
Please pull this thread!
I hear Pa has sure changed alot over the last 20 years.
Contacted by The Times-Tribune, Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola declined to comment on this specific case, but said people have a right to openly carry a weapon without having to show identification or a permit.“Police can ask, but if they don’t want to give it, they don’t have to,” he said. “It’s going to be surprising to the public, but that’s the current state of law.”
Maybe the public should be educated, instead of subjected to propaganda about the evils of firearms.
So, does an FFL grant the right to concealed carry?
Yep. It will be 20 years since I graduated high school this June. We used to have the 1st day of deer hunting season off from school. A lot of guys took off the 1st day of doe season as well(those of us not lucky enough to get a buck). I regularly had a shotgun and or rifle in the truck of my car to go hunting after school. Heck, a couple teachers joined us every now and then.
I'd imagine most of that would not be possible today.
What was at issue here in PA was Open Carry. The article is confusing the issue somewhat.
The weapon that was confiscated was a backup which was concealed. I gather that the reason the weapon was confiscated was that the owner could not provide “proof of ownership” as the gun was legally aquired in a private transaction — hence it when the cops ran the serial it didn’t show in the database.
Initial reports indicated that the weapon would only be returned when Mr. Davis showed proof of ownership. It appears that the Police Dept. has retreated from that position.
I gather from some of the websites that are buzzing about the incident that the cops should not have confiscated the weapon in the first place.
They only seem to address the drug issue if they can do big, headline sweeping raids. In PA DUI has much higher penalties than possession and use of heroin...
On the illegals, it seems like most of them are caught when they are stopped for vehicle violations (no brake lights, for example) or are found broken down along the highway. I'm certain the PSP don't go out of their way looking for them. Usually they are at meetings or on traffic patrol, raising $$$ for Guv Ed ;-)
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