Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Famous
Can anyone yet explain why the guy was carrying a metal while working on his car on his own driveway?
Since such a thing is obviously bizzare and threatening - the police's reaction has to be judged in relation to this strangeness.
So yes, it does matter.
Its legal to walk around wearing all black and a balaclava and a sports bag at 3 am round a residential street... but if you did youre behaviour would be judged as suspicious and youd expect to be stopped and searched.
The same thing goes to any guy who is armed in his own front yard. The police are gonna obviously think "why has this guy got a metal on him?" and arrest him, because its incredibly suspicious and threatening behaviour.
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While that behavior will certainly get you noticed in the UK, here in many states of the US, it is quite legal, though we still have issues with local police about it. We're having to take care of the issue through federal lawsuits against the police for it.
so, for this particular issue, the gun is irrelevant.
-----Added 4/2/2009 at 06 : 12 : 47-----
Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Famous
This isnt about gun ownership in general.
If a guy is tooled up in the middle of the woods, wearing an orange jacket and taking pot shots at wild animals - in America at least this is reasonable.
Its about the context of a guy who is tooled up, in a residential area, with kids and women around, who is aggressive when the police approach him. Im the last person to defend police, but they were correct to treat this guy with caution. And the resisting arrest charge suggests the guy was more aggressive than the poster wants to communicate.
Whatever articles you can quote, I cant see any reasonable reason for a sane person who does not wish to do anyone harm to be carrying a metal in the middle of the day in his own front garden!
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if you want to read actions in to the person involved with the issue, fine. it negates any of your responses. As I said above, in many states it is not only legal, the states laws make very specific exceptions for people on their own property that handgun carrying laws do not apply. the resisting arrest charge resulted not from the gun or asking about the gun, but about resisting the surrender of the video camera.