Posted on 05/24/2009 6:16:33 AM PDT by marktwain
Oleg Volk,A Human RightWith the explosion of what is often erroneously termed "concealed carry licensing," including more than 120,000 licenses issued in 2008 alone, many people often forget that it is legal to carry a firearm openly in Georgia.
Sometimes, the people who forget are the police.
Georgian Luke Woodard thought he was going to have a good day when he purchased a winning lottery ticket at a convenience store in Paulding County, west of Atlanta, but his luck was about to take a turn for the worse. Before the day was over, Mr. Woodard found himself spending the night in a cold, concrete cell. The reason? Mr,. Woodard was carrying a pistol openly, where members of the public could see it.
He cooperated fully with the police. He showed them his Georgia firearms license and his driver's license and submitted to being disarmed. The result? The police officers arrested Mr. Woodard, charged him with carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, and seized both Mr. Woodard's firearm that his was carrying, and, inexplicably, a firearm that was in a case inside his car.
When the police first stopped and surrounded Mr. Woodard, he asked "What is the problem?" He was told that the problem was that he was "carrying a firearm openly." His attempts to explain the legality of his conduct fell on deaf ears. Ironically, Mr. Woodard was not charged with carrying a weapon openly, but with carrying a concealed weapon.
Because the charge of carrying a concealed weapon is a disqualifier, Mr. Woodard lost his Georgia firearms license, and he was facing two years in jail. The charges against Mr. Woodard were pending for months until the intervention of the Georgia organization GeorgiaCarry.Org and Marietta criminal defense attorney Doug King. The criminal charges have now disappeared, and Mr. Woodard retained Roswell attorney John Monroe to file a federal lawsuit for violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Yesteday, Mr. Woodard filed a motion for summary judgment. You can (and should) read it here.
The outcome of this case is important for the public in Georgia and law enforcement alike, as Mr. Woodard's treatment, although rare, has not been an isolated incident. GeorgiaCarry.Org has a similar case pending against the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority for detaining a man who was spotted carrying a concealed handgun.
Luke Woodard's goal for this lawsuit is to stop police harassment of people exercising their right to bear arms when the police have no reasonable suspicion of a crime.
Here is wishing him success.
I’ve been almost 35 years and have seen people carrying pistols openly all this time, IMO the cops knew EXACTLY what thet were doing! B.O.H.I.C.A.
It is a matter of principle vs pragmatism. To some people demonstrating a the principle to insured it, is important. Maybe not so for you.
Open carry is legal in AZ, and as best I can tell, does not raise a fuss. At least is rural AZ. Actually, everybody is pretty polite.
Bump for later.
Exactly right. This was ALL about intimidation. “This is what you’ll face if you exercise your right to bear arms openly.” And this is why these “cops” should be fired and the city fined bigtime.
We as the American people MUST NOT permit this sort of tactic to deter us from exercising our rights to keep, bear and carry arms. Allow the goverment to intimidate us and the nation is lost, along with our liberty.
And to add to your point, the sheriff should lose his sovereign immunity in the lawsuit against him for depriving a man of his rights.
There is no reason why taxpayers should foot the legal bills of people who abuse the authority of their elective office. People who exceed their authority and deprive people of their rights should be forced to bear their own legal expenses - and the penalties.
Hear Here !!! ==== People who exceed their authority and deprive people of their rights should be forced to bear their own legal expenses - and the penalties.
ping
No, actually they won't "...always will...(panic)". The whole purpose is to educate those morons who have been misled and mistaught to fear inanimate objects. I hope the "open carry" movement continues and expands. When I was growing up (1960's), I often carried a 22 pistol with rat shot (Louisiana---lots of snakes) , openly, in a holster. Often stopped in to the local store to grab a cold soft drink on the way home (haying = hot work). Nobody even raised an eyebrow.
Our so-called "educators" have a LOT to answer for---none of it good.
Concur!
The police demonstrate on a daily basis that the number one priority for every Law Enforcement Officer is officer safety. Your life, your property, and especially your constitutional rights place a distant second.
This was a STUPID post ... and there are some. But even though people have a right post stupidly on FR ... why they do it?
Legal issues aside, carrying a 1911 by sticking it in the wasteband of your pants, sans holster, is a dumb thing to do.
I keep wondering if the attitude is/would/should be the same if one sees a nice, well-dressed, obviously middle class white man openly carrying a firearm, versus a gangsta-looking black man openly carrying.
Somehow, I don’t think most people would have the same reaction (or maybe they would)...
Even so, sometimes circumstances make less than optional methods acceptable until you can do better.
There, I fixed it so now it says what I think you were trying to say.
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