Pistol-packing preacher protests arrest; DC police confiscate guns

[Dan W]

For the rest of his life Pastor William Duncan of Caldwell Springs Baptist Church will remember the Fourth of July as the day he lost his freedom.

?I learned our freedoms can be taken away in a heartbeat,? the 64-year-old Duncan said of the ordeal he encountered in Washington, D.C., when he was arrested in front of his shocked family and forced to spend last month?s Fourth of July weekend in the city?s jails.

More at the link

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?ID=80252

ETA
Not sure what attracted me to this article, but something seemed strange about it.

Good for discussion. Since the passage of Heller and Mcdonald, does DC have the power to infringe on a fundamental civil right

[OnTheFly]

Gosh...how to respond to this?  Do I think a person should be allowed to protect themselves and their family? Absolutely!  On the other hand, it is our responsibility to abide by the laws so that we do not portray gun owners in a bad light.  Stories like this hurt our fight to protect 2A rights in the eyes of those who are in the middle of the pro/anti gun debate.

The only question I have is whether jailing someone for this offense is justified by the DC laws?  I'm not asking whether it was morally justified, but rather is it deemed a serious offense such as a felony?  If it is a misdemeanor then the cops should be slapped with a lawsuit; otherwise, a person really needs to know the laws before they travel with a firearm.

Fly

[475okh]

The police that responded to this would have been fully armed.  So one could surmise that the Constitution and laws were written for the benefit and protection of a chosen few, namely the police.  I am sure this is what the founding fathers had in mind.  Limited rights for the law abiding masses and a elite with power over the masses.  Move along Joe Taxpayer nothing for you to see here.

[HuskerXDM]

I agree that one should know the laws of your destination location, however to me this just underscores the need for national reciprocity for concealed carry.  That or lie to hotel parking attendants when they ask if you have any weapons

[OnTheFly]

I am all for national reciprocity.  Until that happens, a person needs to at LEAST be aware of the laws they decide not to follow. 

Considering what a paramount battle the DC vs. Heller case was for 2A rights, you would have had to be hiding in a cave on Iwo Jima since the end of WWII not to know that the District of Columbia is still horribly restrictive on gun rights.

Fly

[HuskerXDM]

And if he had stored them locked in the trunk, wouldn't this be a totally different story? 

[DaveB]

And if he had stored them locked in the trunk, wouldn't this be a totally different story? 

Yes, he would have been just another of the sheeple that had to rely on the government to protect him and his family.