I'd like to get the thoughts and the experiences of the folks on THR about something that came up during the radio show yesterday.
Long story, but a man (with witnesses) was carrying openly in Missouri. The Springfield Police Department officers who stopped him, he was on a bicycle, kept him for two hours on the side of the road, asking everything from where he was going and why he had a gun, to information about his taxes, to finally saying he would never get a CCW in Missouri because they were calling the sheriff of his country, and they telling him that if they ever saw him carrying openly again, they would force him into involuntary commitment in a mental institution for evaluation, and then he would never be able to get a carry license or buy a gun.
All with with a witness. I talked with the man and the witness.
Following that, I got calls and then emails from people all over the country who have had similar treatment from police who stopped them and saw a (LEGAL) gun in the car (for instance, a shotgun on the back seat). Questions such as why the person has a shotgun ("None of your business, officer" would be the comment I would like to make), where was he going, etc. Officers drew guns at the mere sight of an unloaded shotgun on a back seat.
Another caller said some Portland, OR, officers now carry thorazine they can administer. Can this be correct?
What experiences have the folks here had with police reaction to legal open carry, or to traffic stops where you had a legal firearm with you?
Long story, but a man (with witnesses) was carrying openly in Missouri. The Springfield Police Department officers who stopped him, he was on a bicycle, kept him for two hours on the side of the road, asking everything from where he was going and why he had a gun, to information about his taxes, to finally saying he would never get a CCW in Missouri because they were calling the sheriff of his country, and they telling him that if they ever saw him carrying openly again, they would force him into involuntary commitment in a mental institution for evaluation, and then he would never be able to get a carry license or buy a gun.
All with with a witness. I talked with the man and the witness.
Following that, I got calls and then emails from people all over the country who have had similar treatment from police who stopped them and saw a (LEGAL) gun in the car (for instance, a shotgun on the back seat). Questions such as why the person has a shotgun ("None of your business, officer" would be the comment I would like to make), where was he going, etc. Officers drew guns at the mere sight of an unloaded shotgun on a back seat.
Another caller said some Portland, OR, officers now carry thorazine they can administer. Can this be correct?
What experiences have the folks here had with police reaction to legal open carry, or to traffic stops where you had a legal firearm with you?