NOT arbitrarily stop and interrogate citizens because they are exercising their natural rights and not disturbing the peace in any way. From what I experienced, they did not care. Just stop you, License-Registration-Proof_of_Insurance -and they had a quick new ticket/citation to present at the end of shift and new fines flowing into the government coffers.
Which IS, after all, the real reason why they write them...
You are a FReeper. I doubt you intentionally set out to make a scene that would arouse suspicion and worry. I know there are Jacka$$ cops out there looking to cause trouble, likely the same ones that stop blacks for driving in the wrong neighborhood.
You shouldn’t be harassed for driving around in biker gear even while open carrying. I live in a big city in the Midwest. I see bikers (and others) open carrying about once or twice a month. It’s not commonplace but it’s not unusual either. I haven’t seen anyone harassed even when cops are around.
All that said, this guy was wearing a bullet proof vest and carrying a rifle downtown. He was inviting a confrontation by police. I think police should be able to simply ask questions and get some reassuring answers so they can send him on his way. Had someone stopped any number of mass shooters on their way into a theater or college campus, they likely would have changed the outcome.
I am VERY pro 2A and do carry concealed daily. I don’t open carry but don’t disparage those that choose to. This is blatant to point out the conflict of having LEO in a “public protection” capacity at all. They can’t legally protect anything and must wait for a crime to be committed to do anything. This guy is pointing that out.
He doesn’t do anything positive for our cause of making guns in public more sociably acceptable. He makes us look like nuts. The lay person would assume there can’t be very many of us because they don’t see nuts like that every day.
I don’t support what he did.