General Categories > General Firearm Discussion
Lincoln Chief of Police being anti CC
Jay:
The problem is there is no clear answer, which of course could be bad for you.
The law only states that a sign must be conspicuously posted. What is considered "conspicuously posted" is anyone's guess.
This is one of those cases that you could legitimately walk into a park believing you are doing nothing wrong, and end up in a situation of being guilty until proven innocent.
armed and humorous:
That's the trouble with so many of our laws. They are either so wordy with legalese that a layperson can't understand them, or they are so vague that no one can interpret them. Even when the intent of the law is clear to a reasonable person, if it isn't written precisely enough, it can be difficult to enforce or to come up with a valid defense. I once read about a case where someone was arrested for possession of a certain street drug. When the case went to court, they were unable to convict him because when the law was written, they used the scientific name for the drug and misspelled it. Therefore, there was actually no law against possessing the drug that he was arrested for having.
One good thing came from the passage of the Concealed Handgun Act (well, lots of good things, but): the term concealed was actually defined. Prior to that, it was pretty much up to the individual police officer, or judge, to decide if someone was carrying a concealed firearm. To some extent, there is still some ambiguity, but at least we have a definition of some kind. Basically, the law says that if any part of the gun is visible, it is not concealed. That seems pretty cut and dried. However, no matter where or how you carry your gun, it is probably not visible from every possible angle. If you have it in an open holster on your right hip, and a cop is standing on your left side, it is not visible to him. I know that seems like a pretty ridiculous example, but when it comes to judges, lawyers, cops, and juries, nothing is too ridiculous to conceive.
OnTheFly:
I hope the city doesn't post the signs. I've got a fanny pack all ready to go that has Velcro straps to hold my holster. I'm especially interested in carrying my CCW while riding my bike after a young man who was in a passenger seat of a car told me "You better hope I never see you on the road again!". He and his girlfriend were apparently upset that I was riding my bike on the street. I usually stick to the bike paths, but the one that crosses Vine near the downtown UNL campus is still under construction, so I have no choice.
The young man would get out of the car at the stoplights and start to cross the road towards me. I'm thinking to myself, "my legs are like jello, I don't have the strength to defend myself, and I can't outrun a car if they want to come after me, what the heck am I going to do?". Thank goodness the guy decided to get back in the car and leave it at a verbal threat.
I got the license plate and told the police, so that they would have some connection if I ended up dead on the side of the road with tire marks down my back.
Fly
armed and humorous:
Fly:
I used to ride a lot, too, so I know what it's like when you get some hothead in a 4,000 lb. vehicle who doesn't think you deserve any part of his road. About all you can do sometimes is head somewhere an automobile can't get to and hope you lose 'em. In town, it's not too hard, but in a rural area you better have an off road bike and some tall corn around. If you do carry in order to protect yourself, you better hope there are witnesses and that the threat is real before you pull it out. In any case, you probably won't have to shoot, unless the guy's drunk, stupid, or also armed. Still, if you start brandishing your gun without a legitimate threat to your safety, you could be the one who ends up in jail.
SBarry:
Jay,
It's not too hard to loose them on a motorcycle, but I think he was referring to a bicycle. Of course with one of these, a long stretch of road is all you need.
With you, all they would have to do is follow you till you broke down again. Better mount a holster on that beast. LOL
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version