When I was a kid, I carried rifles in public all the time - especially going from my house to the woods. Cops never even thought to draw down on me. I'm not that old either.
How should this kid have gotten to a safe area to shoot a BB gun without getting swarmed on? You probably can't answer that, because it seems that nobody can bring a gun from point a to point b anymore without getting this type of treatment.
From what I can tell, the kid didn't do anything wrong, except running into a few easily-frightened idiots.
The reason why the right and the left alike are becoming "cop-haters" (if that's the term you like) is because modern policing is more and more being viewed as a menace instead of the honorable profession it once was.
“The reason why the right and the left alike are becoming “cop-haters” (if that’s the term you like) is because modern policing is more and more being viewed as a menace instead of the honorable profession it once was. “
Interesting that this is one of several areas where political consensus is emerging.