Posted on 06/12/2012 7:01:42 AM PDT by marktwain
BIRMINGHAM, Mich. -
Gun carrying protestors let their voices be heard during a Birmingham City Commission meeting.
A number of protestors came armed with AK-47’s, a variation of rifles and pistols during Monday night’s meeting. The advocates of Michigan’s open carry law attended the meeting to support a young man who was arrested for openly carrying a weapon.
“We understand that it’s not something that’s apart of the public norm or something you see in everyday life, but there is not a law against it,” said open carry advocate Phillip Hofmeister.
Sean Combs, 18, from Troy was arrested back in April after he was spotted with a loaded rifle slung across his back in downtown Birmingham.
According to Combs, he did nothing illegal. His lawyer wants to see the charges against him dropped, which range from brandishing a firearm to obstructing an officer.
“You stand up for your rights period, regardless of what the right may be you stand up for it. So even if it’s a firearm right, if you want a firearm you have to stand up for those rights,” said Combs.
“He has no driving tickets, no parking tickets, no speeding tickets, or any kind of ticket. I would hate to see his record marked by this especially when he did everything legally right,” said Sean’s mother Pam Combs.
Combs, his mother and attorney did not attend the meeting.
“I hope that council sees that good people carry guns,” said Hofmeister.
Combs pleaded not guilty to all charges.
(Excerpt) Read more at clickondetroit.com ...
Video at the site.
Even though it’s legal and I’m all for open-carry, why would an 18yo carry a loaded rifle into a downtown area? That just doesn’t sound smart. He may as well have been waving a flag and yelling ‘look at me’.
USC Title 18. Section 242. Deprivation of Civil Rights under color of
law. It’s a felony. The cops that arrested this kid need to be charged in turn.
I have a CCL. I would NEVER consider carrying a weapon openly. It’s not about protection when they do this.
It’s a stupid, stupid, stupid idea.
They can’t leave well enough alone. Just to be able to carry should be enough.
Did I mention, it is a stupid, stupid idea.
We used to carry guns like that in my hometown into the 1990s when I still lived there. Used to carry them right into the grocery store and even the bank.
Nobody even flinched about it. They just assumed we were on our way to the woods.
I grew up in Birmingham. It is a very well to do suburb of Detroit. It is one of the most desirable suburbs to live in with home values starting at around a half million. I would have to win the lottery just to move back there.
When we lived there, the police were viewed as a joke since nothing really big happened there. If the charges are not dropped, then the city will probably face a law suit. Publicity that the city does not want.
What is ironic is that there were ( and are) Birmingham kids that are using drugs and are probably stoned in Shane Park and other public places in B’ham. Are the police doing anything about it? Based on my experience when I lived there, no.
No one has Constitutional rights.
We all have Constitutionally protected rights. The document only outlines the limits placed on our government. Any rights mentioned there were granted to us at birth by our Creator.
I know this is something you knew. Just picking nits since it is critical that we all understand the distinction.
Umm, that was clearly his intent. They want this fight, and it will lead to some interesting debate if they get it rolling.
Nobody even flinched about it. They just assumed we were on our way to the woods."
Sean Combs, 18, from Troy was arrested back in April after he was spotted with a loaded rifle slung across his back in downtown Birmingham.
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Agreed. Imho, the police overreacted.
Actually, waving a flag and yelling ‘look at me’ could conceivably, depending on the circumstances, constitute disorderly conduct or a breach of the peace (on the other hand, it might just be the preliminary part of an exercise of free speech, if once people were looking at the flag-waver he went on to communicate something either by the content of the flag or saying something besides ‘look at me’.)
In this case, the young man was simply exercising his natural *and* constitutionally-protected right to bear arms. Why? Maybe as an oblique reminder that we all have that right, maybe because he found out that the right to bear arms is untrammeled by Michigan law if the arms are borne openly and he thought it would simply be cool to exercise his rights, maybe because he was on his way on foot to a rifle range or other place where discharging the rifle would not have been a breach of the peace. It doesn’t matter why: the cops and the prosecutor are depriving him of his civil rights under color of law and should be so charge and prosecuted themselves and the young man should go free and be compensated for the maltreatment by law enforcement.
He very well may have been doing that. If so, we need more like him.
Free men own guns, slaves don’t.
I did too when I was a kid in rural Wisconsin. Did you live in an affluent suburb of Detroit?
Obviously they already have open-carry. What do they want to fight? The cops attitudes? I don’t think it was very smart.
Maybe he was a muslim terrorist? Perhaps they were profiling?
I agree, charges should be dropped, but he should also try to be smarter and people shouldn’t be so surprised that the police accosted him.
Why? They already have open-carry.
Really? ok then
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