Some years ago, I had an encounter with a local cop, when she became aware that I was armed. (I was on my own property at the time.) One of her first questions was "is that registered?" I had to explain to her that there is no requirement or provision for registering firearms in this state. Her next question was "do you have a permit?" and I had to explain that there was no permit required to own a firearm in this state. She refused to believe me until another officer confirmed what I was saying. (I know how rediculous that statement sounds, but it's the truth.)
Someone had just tried to break into my place, and they (the PD) were in the process of setting up the perimeter around the area. As soon as she discovered I had a firearm sitting on a desk across the room from where we were standing, she called for assistance and had 5 other cops keeping her company instead of looking for the perp. Needless to say, they didn't find him. I received a lecture on how I didn't need a gun for defense and shouldn't have one, despite the fact that I'd just run off an intruder who knew someone was home when he decided to break in. (We strongly suspect that he thought my GF was home alone, as she had been sun bathing out back until just before he broke in, while I was working in the basement.)
A couple of weeks later, one of our dispatchers (Im a medic in a neighboring jurisdiction) let me know that my address had been flagged in the computer aided dispatch system with an officer safety warning, noting that the home owner was armed. That was evidently more important to them than someone trying to break into an occupied dewlling in the middle of the day.
We lil' people jus' don't know how to handle them guns safely. :banghead:
