OK, so that's one, named and publicly reported.
She called the encounter "scary". Why? Because he was openly carrying a gun? I've seen people I thought were "scary" even though they did not appear to be armed. BFD.
Here's Embody's take on events from the ARFCOM thread:
I went to the Tennessee State Radnor Lake State Park this afternoon to take in some nature and get some exercise. I dressed in boots, blue jeans, t-shirt, vest, and an old military issue gore-tex woodland camo jacket. I carried my new Romanian Draco AK pistol loaded with 31 123 grain FMJ ammunition from Walmart. I arrived at approximately 3:30 pm and with the pistol slung on my back I started my walk. It was mostly uneventful. I saw no deer and passed maybe 30 hikers. As I reached the end of the trail I made sure no one was close by and shifted the ak-47 pistol to the front of my body. I reached the end of the trail and turned onto the roadway where I saw the first ranger of the day. He asked me if it was an airsoft and I said no it was an AK-47 type pistol. He looked at me strangely and asked to see my permit. I showed my Tennessee handgun carry permit. He asked where I parked and I told him. He said I could keep walking I kept walking as he called someone. By the time I reached my car the ranger was no where in sight as I walk quickly. However, another ranger vehicle pulled in the parking lot and a ranger jumped out with a shotgun pointed at me and yelled at me to stay still and put the weapon on the ground. After I put the weapon down he told me to move away which I did. He then told me to put my face on the ground and my arms on my head. I complied. I think he had a gun trained on me the whole time, but I couldn’t see. He searched me quickly and put my AK into the truck. This particular ranger has seen me before and has asked to see my TN handgun carry permit. He asked to see the permit again and asked for my driver license. I told him I would not give him my license, but he could see the permit.
Three Nashville metro cop cars showed up pretty quickly. They talked among themselves for about an hour and then a cop pulled out a citation for arrest. It said I was being arrested for 39-17-1311 unlawful possession of a weapon. He asked me to sign and I told him I wanted to speak with his supervisor. He said okay, but that it would take a long time and he just wanted to cite and release me for my convenience (yeah right). I asked what part of 39-17-1311 I violated he said I couldn’t carry a rifle. I told him my firearm was classified as a pistol. It has no stock and never had a stock. I also pointed out that it has an 11.5” barrel with complies with the length of a handgun definition in Tennessee. He said it looks like I had cut the stock off and another said they had never heard of a 7.62x39 handgun. It took about another ½ hour for the sergeant to show up. In the meantime one of the original cops left, another park ranger came and left and two more cops showed up. The sergeant showed and I tried to explain that the firearm was a handgun. I also told him if they were going to arrest me to just take me in front of the magistrate right away. They spent another ½ hour asking me if I had a form 1, that the ATF classifies my pistol as a rifle, and they had never seen an AK pistol before. Finally they told me they had gotten in touch with the manufacturer and the manufacturer said it indeed was a pistol. I highly doubt that, but that is what they told me. They released the handcuffs, and gave me back my magazine, ammo, and pistol.
I think they handled it as well as could be expected. I felt the cop who was trying to charge me with a violation of 39-17-1311 had no basis for the charge.
Does he sound like a dangerous criminal? Does it sound like he knew exactly what his Rights are and what the Law is?
I don't give a flying fig what some Sheeple have been conditioned to believe. People who go that far to know the law and what their Rights are do not commit crimes and are no danger.
Is Embody a poster child for RKBA. Probably not. Does he deserve a smack upside the head to set him straight on his carry choice? Probably.
BUT HE DID NOTHING WRONG. Period. End of story. Everyone just needs to get over it.
He is retarded. He must have been to flagrantly induce being arrested.
He doesn’t mention the tip of the gun being painted orange. That was what I have criticized him for. If he has a good explanation as to why he made his gun look like a toy (I wonder if that’s why the ranger thought it was an airsoft?).
Another freeper said that people found him scary, you asked for proof, I gave you proof. I did not agree that he was scary, just that people he encountered WERE scared, which is what you were arguing with the other freeper.
It makes no difference whether you or I find him scary. It makes no difference if he can WRITE in a way that makes him sound reasonable, the question was whether people who saw him that day found him scary.
I have no idea why the woman found him scary, or why several people who saw him contacted the rangers (as reported in the story).
It was interesting that the police didn’t think there was an AK pistol (I note that some freepers also didn’t believe that was true). It seemed clear from his write-up that he knew the pistol was unique, and he doesn’t seem to blame them for making sure he hadn’t sawed-off a gun (which I would guess is illegal).
If I were him, I might well carry some identifying papers showing the gun is a pistol, so that in the future he doesn’t have to go through this process again. And I would stop painting my guns to look like toys.
And if he actually did dress up like this specifically to get a reaction, he should consider whether he is really being helpful to whatever cause he feels strongly about.