[E. Pluribus Unum]

It's not concealed if somebody can see it.

[Pajama Blogger]

Main Entry: con·ceal Pronunciation: \kən-ˈsēl\ Function: transitive verb Etymology: Middle English concelen, from Anglo-French conceler, from Latin concelare, from com- + celare to hide — more at hell Date: 14th century 1 : to prevent disclosure or recognition of 2 : to place out of sight

[Loud Mime]

So, the officer felt threatened or privileged?

[Responsibility2nd]

I’m thinking this attorney went out specifically to start the ball rolling for a lawsuit.

And he got what he wanted.

[Jack Hammer]

In a simpler age, the verdict would have been clear: the cop was/is a moron, was entirely too full of himself, and over-reacted.

But, then, these are the Obama years.

[SnakeDoctor]

The “concealing” was pathetic, and the response was disproportionate and ridiculous ... but disproportionate responses are not necessarily unconstitutional.

Lawyers are often a hammer in search of a nail.

SnakeDoc

[Gilbo_3]

well if the valid 'permit' isnt verifiable, why bother ???

eventually the cops are gonna pick on a BG instead of a citizen whose gone to great lengths to ask the state 'pretty please'...

BGs typically dont ask permission, nor do they hesitate, they just start shootin to eliminate the threat...

[lacrew]

Probably trolling for a lawsuit...BUT...the officer did a poor job....and so did the court. How can the court say it was appropriate to arrest (detain in the car) a person specifically for doing something that was legal?

What is it about the 2nd ammendment that is so confusing to people. Even if the cop was scared, concerned, whatever...this guy had the right to carry a gun. If he was dressed poorly, looked suspicious, was in a bad part of town, whatever, why does that give him the right to even ‘investigate’ the validity of his concealed carry license. Unless he stopped the guy for littering, jaywalking, etc., he has no business investigating the gun.

The court has now established that the mere presence of a gun is no probable cause to investigate the possibility the gun may be illegal. Its like getting pulled over because there is a possibility the car you are driving might be stolen.

What happens when a cop stops a guy for carrying a legal gun, and finds drugs in the pat-down? Is that admissable in court?

Sorry, I just don’t get it. Guns are legal - protected in the constitution, legally sold all over the place, and if I want to strap a holster to my belt, in the open, I should be able to.

BTW, I’m not a ‘gun nut’...only own uno rifle.

[Squantos]

Little gator was wrong cop was right.......

[catchem]

Obvious profiling. This cop just has something against suits......

[pawdoggie]

The purpose of “concealed carry” is to enable someone to protect him/herself without having to reveal that you're armed. If you do a poor job of concealment, you can frighten unarmed citizens (who may think that you have criminal intent), and invite unwanted attention from criminals (who will find a way to “get the drop” on you, and take your toy away) and the police. Granted, police officers are more attuned to spotting a concealed weapon than the average citizen, but there are ways to conceal a weapon that even a police officer cannot readily (e.g. traveling in a police cruiser) detect. Does anyone know for a fact that Mr. Attorney wasn't deliberately accentuating his “bulge” in order to intimidate any bad guys who might have eyes on him (or perhaps even subconsciously inviting attack in the hopes he could pull a Charlie Bronson “Death Wish” vigilante stunt)?

[SaraJohnson]

It is important that cops understand they are to respect peoples’ constitutional rights. When the cop jumped out agressively after seeing the gun, I can understand that. You don’t confront an armed man with a howdy if you want to survive as a cop. The gun was not concealed so he was right to make the assumption he was dealing with an armed criminal until he saw the registration.

However, not only did this cop act unprofessionally when presented with the gun documentation, he has a judge who has just pronounced that anti-constitutional behavior and attitude as dandy. He is probably unprofessionally rude and crude with citizens in this way every day on his beat.

So, there needs to be an education program for the cops in Georgia to understand and respect the second amendment rights of legally armed citizens and there has to be penalities for the unprofessional harassment of gun owners. There should be merely a ticket given to the concealed carry guy if his his gun is visable even though he took measures to conceal it, presented his documentation, etc.

[varon]

Officer Stern reasoned that because he could not confirm the "facially valid" license to carry, he would not permit the attorney to carry.

Hmm, that puzzles me.

In Michigan a CPL (concealed pistol license) is in the system along with drivers license and plate registration. Therefore, if a cop 'lights up' and pulls over a vehicle he knows if the registered owner has a CPL just by running the plates.

Now, in this instance, the cop was in his cruiser when he spotted the citizen. Why couldn't he verify the concealed carry license along with the drivers license (valid state ID) and case closed?

Do not all states have this interchange of information or ability of officers to verify information from within their vehicles?

[marktwain]

The State involved is Massachusetts. Important facts that are in the whole story when you read it are:

The officer confirmed that the lawyer had a facially valid concealed carry permit, then impounded the firearm, and left the permit holder defenseless in a high crime area after telling the lawyer that he was the only one allowed to have a firearm in his beat.

The court upheld this insane bit of illogic by saying that the officer had no way to immediately check the records to see if the permit was valid (presumably it might have been revoked, I suppose. This makes no sense to me, because if the officer thought the permit was not valid, why would he have left the lawyer without arresting him?

This is a truly bad court decision, but what do you expect from the New England States.

[ellery]

ping (a few days late)