Donut Destroyer
Member
Bovice--The fact that I have come across unregistered NFA weapons is very germane to the issue here. I never said they all were illegal and won't begin to believe that, but if I have come across some (and its more than just a couple) then multiply that by whatever number of LEO's you care to use, and the final statistic will be much higher.This isn't about perspectives or walking in someone else's shoes, donut. Just because you found a couple unregistered NFA weapons doesn't mean they all are, and it doesn't give you the right to assume guilt. People are innocent until proven guilty.
This is about what's written in the books. Entering opinions into your self proclaimed "roadside court" won't fly here.
While "innocent until proven guilty" is a basic tenet of criminal prosecution, there are still times that this becomes somewhat of a gray area during the initial investigation. If someone is required to have some sort of documentation and they are asked for that documentation by a competent authority, and they can't provide that documentation, there may be consequences. If you are required to have auto insurance and an LEO asks you for that proof and you cannot provide it, the consequence may be the seizure of your license plate and/or impoundment of your car until you can prove compliance with the law. If you have an NFA firearm and an authorized LEO, be it state, local or federal as the case may be depending on state or local laws, asks for your registration and you can't provide it, he is completely within his authority to take the weapon into official custody until you provide the documentation. You are not deemed as being guilty, you are simply being tasked with proving compliance.
As for my "self proclaimed roadside court", I didn't bring that up, someone else did. I only attempted to inject that "roadside courts" rarely end favorably for the individual because the "court" consists of the individual and the LEO, with the LEO being the judge. Obviously there may be other "judges" down the line and the ultimate outcome may be in favor of the individual, but rarely "at the side of the road". That isn't "entering my opinion" that is a fact. You may not think it flies in here, but it will and does in the real world. SO, my entire intent here is to just put across that it is better to have documentation available and not argue or get an attitude about it. It's just common sense, but then common sense isn't really that common.