Carrying a gun in public?

[Dan W]

An old friend of mine was charged with terroristic threats for  standing in his own home with a partially disassembled AR15 when his neighbor started to beat down his front door with a hammer.  Of course the charges were dropped...right- no harm no foul??? The rifle was never returned until he sued LPD

Ask Gunscribe about the history of LPD and false charges involving open carry. He had several pow wows with former Chief Cassady about it and was guaranteed that the officers would be retrained, and no one would be charged with "disturbing the peace " for simple open carry of a firearm.

So, it would be no surprise to me  to see this charge for legal acts of open carry..the perp must have done something wrong ... right?

[bkoenig]

If you don't stand up for your rights they WILL be taken away from you.  Stuff like this needs to be fought when it occurs.  Don't just plead guilty.

An old friend of mine was charged with terroristic threats for  standing in his own home with a partially disassembled AR15 when his neighbor started to beat down his front door with a hammer.  Of course the charges were dropped...right- no harm no foul??? The rifle was never returned until he sued LPD

Ask Gunscribe about the history of LPD and false charges involving open carry. He had several pow wows with former Chief Cassady about it and was guaranteed that the officers would be retrained, and no one would be charged with "disturbing the peace " for simple open carry of a firearm.

So, it would be no surprise to me  to see this charge for legal acts of open carry..the perp must have done something wrong ... right?

[MissMichella]

I open carry in Lincoln all the time and haven't run into any issues.  From what I've heard from LPD, they are frequently called when a firearm is spotted, but won't issue citations unless someone is threatening others or brandishing (or carrying in an area that is prohibited).  I don't have personal experience with a disturbing the peace citation (knock on wood)...but we all should fight for our rights so we don't lose them.

[JTH]

An old friend of mine was charged with terroristic threats for  standing in his own home with a partially disassembled AR15 when his neighbor started to beat down his front door with a hammer.  Of course the charges were dropped...right- no harm no foul??? The rifle was never returned until he sued LPD

Ask Gunscribe about the history of LPD and false charges involving open carry. He had several pow wows with former Chief Cassady about it and was guaranteed that the officers would be retrained, and no one would be charged with "disturbing the peace " for simple open carry of a firearm.

Sounds to me like something where we should (if the specific people would give permission) collect a series of these stories where people were cited for something that was later dropped because it was STUPID---and talk to a reporter for a story to be put into print.

If there is a series of these things, and complaining to the police department is useless (which I'm sure it would be), then perhaps shedding a little light on the systemic issue might make something change.

If all we do to fight this is complain and have the police not respond, that isn't helping.  (And considering Cassidy, I'm pretty sure that we can agree that no matter what he says, he won't actually change anything unless forced.)  In addition, if the rest of us don't know it is happening, we can't help out either.

Has the board heard enough stories, and have enough contact information, to possibly talk people into telling their specific stories to a reporter?

[RLMoeller]

That would be a good approach.

I don't have much contact information for prior inquiries.  A lot of times the board will receive inquiries and after providing some information and recommendation to seek a good attorney we don't hear back.  Other times an ongoing conversation will take place with one or more board members.

[Dan W]

Sounds to me like something where we should (if the specific people would give permission) collect a series of these stories where people were cited for something that was later dropped because it was STUPID---and talk to a reporter for a story to be put into print.

I'll see if my friend is still around the Valentine area, that is where he escaped to back then and after this incident he left the big city for good.

[AWick]

What are you talking about? Casady is a swell guy... I met him once...

http://www.engineering.unl.edu/collegeheadlines/2009/collegeheadlines1-09-09.shtml

Only thing is they altered the press release from the real story... I'm sure so that people don't think they condone that "behavior", they don't want to be liable for a citizen. the suspect was fighting the officer and there were at least 25 people around yelling and throwing stuff. I helped hold the suspect down so the officer could get a free hand and radio for back up. It took about 45 seconds and there were 15 squad cars surrounding the place and they ran up to me with their ARs drawn. This was before I started carrying. I also didn't know it was a shots fired call.

[gigabelly]

Wow, that was pretty good of you, AWick. I am impressed.

[AWick]

I shared that only to show that there is actually good that happens to people. I was indeed lucky that I wasn't injured in that altercation and that I was able to give a very detailed account that matched the officer's account to the "T". They isolated us from each other so that we couldn't "get our story squared away" or mix our experiences or view points before our affidavit.

I really do hope that "Suzie" gets this squared away and look forward to LPD becoming more gun friendly or at least not trying to pin a charge on somebody that in the heat of the moment might not be able to explain why they weren't breaking any laws to begin with, or just flat out ignoring their side of the story... like that will ever happen.

[CliffD]

What are you talking about? Casady is a swell guy... I met him once...

http://www.engineering.unl.edu/collegeheadlines/2009/collegeheadlines1-09-09.shtml

Allan! You big dummy! I've known you for quite awhile, yet never knew this! I am seriously impressed Sir! Let me know when you're ready and I'm buying you lunch. Again, very impressive

Good luck to you Susie...

[depserv]

No point in me commenting on this case without knowing the details, but I would like to comment on the broader issue, which is whether or not citizens are harassed by law enforcement in Nebraska cities for openly exercising a Constitutional right. 

I've had dealings with a few police officers (usually for a traffic violation) and when I tell them I have a CHP it's never been a big deal.  Except once when I got pulled over by a Barney Fife who was sitting at the bottom a long steep hill with his radar on and he got mad because I told him I had a permit several seconds (literally) into the conversation instead of immediately.  Otherwise, I've carried various long guns and handguns in and out of my car, into businesses (in a case) and I've never had a problem.  If I carry an assault rifle around in a firing position though, I'll expect to have a problem.

If I remember right our last Lincoln police chief was an anti-gun bigot, and I know our current mayor is a hard core bigot; it's often said that a fish rots from the head down.  Does anyone know what the current police chiefs of Lincoln and Omaha are like regarding the right to bear arms?

[shovelhead69]

This is a prime example of why I back open carry. All I see are people giving advice to never do so (not this thread) and why bother etc etc. I never understood voluntarily giving up your right to do so? This is exactly why everyday Joe and Jane freak out and call 911 whenever the see open carry in use.
We should be promoting open carry instead of just watching for the after effects of encounters with law enforcement.

[MissMichella]

This is a prime example of why I back open carry. All I see are people giving advice to never do so (not this thread) and why bother etc etc. I never understood voluntarily giving up your right to do so? This is exactly why everyday Joe and Jane freak out and call 911 whenever the see open carry in use.
We should be promoting open carry instead of just watching for the after effects of encounters with law enforcement.

+1

[Gary]

People are sometimes blind sided with an ambush because they open carry, and a bad guy or group of bad guys wants one more gun in their arsenal.   I tend to keep my private life, private.  I do not want a target on my back.   

One example is the LEO killed by the Boston Bombers.  He was killed so they could have two handguns, rather than just one.  The officer had a triple retention holster, so the bad guys killed him for nothing, as they could not get the gun free of his holster.

[MissMichella]

People are sometimes blind sided with an ambush because they open carry, and a bad guy or group of bad guys wants one more gun in their arsenal.   I tend to keep my private life, private.  I do not want a target on my back.   

One example is the LEO killed by the Boston Bombers.  He was killed so they could have two handguns, rather than just one.  The officer had a triple retention holster, so the bad guys killed him for nothing, as they could not get the gun free of his holster.

First, I would like you to go and look for cases where a citizen and not an LEO had someone even attempt to grab their weapon. Once you've done that then look at the cases where the person was successful in gaining control of the weapon. I can tell you right now that you will find so few cases  that it is nearly a statistical improbability for a citizen to lose their weapon. So while I would recommend anyone that OCs to have at least a level II holster it isn't that big of a deal for citizens.

[bkoenig]

If I remember right our last Lincoln police chief was an anti-gun bigot, and I know our current mayor is a hard core bigot; it's often said that a fish rots from the head down.  Does anyone know what the current police chiefs of Lincoln and Omaha are like regarding the right to bear arms?

I don't know about Omaha, but Lincoln's current chief is just as anti-gun as the last one.

[00BUCK]

+1

+1

[depserv]

Maybe next liberal thought police will start harassing people who openly carry a Bible in public, since liberal cattle are frightened and offended by it.  Or a copy of the Constitution, or Declaration of Independence, both written by evil white male sexist pig slave owners.  If the 2nd Amendment isn't going to be obeyed by our government, why would we expect them to obey any other part of the document?

[depserv]

First, I would like you to go and look for cases where a citizen and not an LEO had someone even attempt to grab their weapon. Once you've done that then look at the cases where the person was successful in gaining control of the weapon. I can tell you right now that you will find so few cases  that it is nearly a statistical improbability for a citizen to lose their weapon. So while I would recommend anyone that OCs to have at least a level II holster it isn't that big of a deal for citizens.

That might be because open carry is relatively rare.  I like to remind anyone who advocates OC of some advice written over two millennia ago in the classic book The Art of War: "know your enemy and know yourself, and in a great many battles you will never be defeated."  And here's another one: "All war is based in deception."  These truths have been tested and proven.  It follows that the less your enemy knows about you the more likely he is to be defeated.  The more he knows about your capabilities the better able he is to plan against you.  Having a hidden weapon is a huge strategic advantage, and I wouldn't give it up.  Even in a situation where open carry might be common (like during a breakdown in law and order) I'll still be carrying a hidden pistol.  And during peacetime, I prefer that no one know whether or not I'm armed.

[depserv]

I think there should be a state law saying that police officers who harass law-abiding citizens simply for exercising their right to bear arms should lose their badges and serve jail time.  Or better yet, how about a federal law saying that citizens have a right to bear arms.  Oh wait a minute, we already have a federal law that says that.  Well then maybe what we need is a law saying that government people have to obey the law...