You See a Man Carrying a Gun - Do you Alert the Police?

WhitePony wrote:

So if a man is walking around the mall carrying a shotgun you think the police are just going to look the other way?

If he is carrying it his hands that can be considered brandishing in my state. The correct way to open carry a long gun is in a sling.

The question is, "would you call the police"

90% of people would. its the reasonable thing to do. guns are not very common in public (despite open carry laws), and they are used in public to kill people.

If you look at how most people behave - including gun owners - they are pretty reasonable and acknowledge that guns in public make people uneasy. there are a select few that think, "this is my right. I can carry this weapon anywhere I want". this is extremely anti-social, and these people are exactly the ones we should all be afraid of.

Dick Doobey wrote:

I would expect them to calmly initiate a consensual stop and get a feel for the 'situation'. [/quote]

That is exactly why I would call the cops, it is not my job to find out if that person is a threat to the public but it is the police officers job.

Actually, guns are very common in public in many states. I see it everyday here.

Carrying a shotgun in a mall is a different matter. But a holstered handgun? The cops will tell you to STFU.

Really? The cops would tell me to shut up if I called and said there was a guy walking around the mall with a visable gun?

Dick Doobey wrote:

h2o2 wrote:

Because you're going to pull out your gun and kill someone?

Um. Great?

If the NEED to defend myself or my family arises...yes. Without hesitation.

From experience, I understand what it is to take a life and do not say that lightly.

Your aversion to firearms does not make them illegal and nor does it justify violating the constitutional rights of others.

Great. So in your fairy tale situation we now have two people exchanging gunfire in a public place.

I hope that both of you would go in jail.

And my calling the police does not in any way violate the constitutional rights of anyone.

And nothing you say will change my mind, nor should it. A gun is a weapon used for killing and nothing more. I see you walk into a McD's with one on your hip and you'll be chatting with a cop by the time I finish my cheeseburger.

If you don't like that, don't carry it around. I don't know whether you're a psycho or ex-Delta force/psycho so I want someone to ensure you're not going to pull that out and wave it around if your french fries are cold.

If I have to deal with whackos carrying around killing machines, I'm going to deal with it by alerting the authorities.

I hope that you don't think you are irritating me with your nonsense. I also hope I'm not irritating you with my views. I suspect we'll have to agree to disagree at some point, else challenge the post count in the post nuptial shut-off thread.

In my state (Maine) the constitution (Article 1, section 16) is very clear and has been upheld many times. "Section 16. To keep and bear arms. Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned." There is also another section which says that political subdivisions (towns and cities) may not enact ordinances which infringe upon this. It's called supercedence or something like that.

You may call the police and they will respond, but in my town (where I am an elected official, btw) I can 100% guarantee you that they will engage me in a brief consensual stop where they try to gain enough clues to satisfy them that there is nothing illegal taking place and then leave. The only possible exception to this is the couple of recent hires from New Hampshire (I'm in a Maine border town) but that's doubtful because NH laws vary only very slightly and mostly with regards to the definition of concealed carry in motor vehicles.

So basically you would be calling the cops to report a legal activity and taking them away from their jobs. If that makes you feel good, fine. I shoot with most of the local cops on a regular basis and they know that my everyday carry piece is a Sig P226 except when I'm wearing a suit and want something smaller I'll go with a Walther PPK (a la 007).

By the way, those cheeseburgers are going to kill more people this year than guns. Eat more healthy, dude.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

If he is carrying it his hands that can be considered brandishing in my state. The correct way to open carry a long gun is in a sling.

Absolutely right. Context and manner are everything. If a man is walking through the mall with a rifle slung on his shoulder on his way to Bass Pro or Cabela's, then I'm going to look to see what he's carrying out of curiosity as a collector. But unless he acting strangely, that's it. And it's the same story if a guy is walking through the grocery store with a holstered sidearm, acting normally.

Brandishing a firearm in public is a different story. That's dangerous and threatening behavior. I'm going to call the police and either GTHO or take cover, depending on the situation.

I haven't carried openly outside of a rally since Ohio's CHL system went into effect in April 2004. I much prefer to carry concealed. But I occasionally carried openly prior to that as a political statement. Only one time out of dozens did anyone ever say a word to me, and that was a grocery store manager who just wanted to check me out. Here in SW Ohio, the police were never called on me. It's not common, but I still see a few folks carrying openly each year.

Jhfentin wrote:

Absolutely right. Context and manner are everything. If a man is walking through the mall with a rifle slung on his shoulder on his way to Bass Pro or Cabela's, then I'm going to look to see what he's carrying out of curiosity as a collector. But unless he acting strangely, that's it. And it's the same story if a guy is walking through the grocery store with a holstered sidearm, acting normally.

Brandishing a firearm in public is a different story. That's dangerous and threatening behavior. I'm going to call the police and either GTHO or take cover, depending on the situation.

I agree with this. I hate to say it and this is going to sound horrible, but it also depends on what the person looks like. If I see an individual dressed nicely carrying a weapon in a secure holster I probably wouldn't give it much thought, however if I saw someone dressed a little more "urban" with a gun tucked in their waist band I would be alerting the police for sure.

This is very difficult for a non-US citizen to understand.

Why do people want/need to own and carry guns? Is the US really so dangerous that you need to be ready to defend your life?

Because we are Americans. Our ancestors were the adventurous ones who left Europe. Just cut from a different cloth than those that remained in Europe.

Take this study for what it is worth, but it states that carrying a gun increases your chances of getting shot and killed.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17922-carrying-a-gun-increases-risk-of-getting-shot-and-killed.html

I guess I can understand why someone would want to keep a gun under lock and key in their home for self-defense but I don't really understand carrying and displaying one in public places.

Also, 55% of shootings in America were suicides. It seems that we would want less guns around and more focus on getting the mental health that many people need.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-4223476.html

"A person who protects himself with a gun is not a tough guy at all. He is a coward. A man defends himself without a gun, in a primeval battle of survival, with his bare hands. Weapons are for weak men, who fear the physical contact of the fist. It is a womanly act to use a gun."

-Bruce Lee

Bosnian wrote:

Because we are Americans. Our ancestors were the adventurous ones who left Europe. Just cut from a different cloth than those that remained in Europe.

Just another fantasy to rationalize gun ownership. What your distant relatives did has no bearing on who you are.

Australia is more grizzled and violent than the US will ever be, and they don't think owning guns is a good idea.

What happens when two people carrying guns get in an argument and it escalates to the point of aggression.

Do they just shoot (if you don't, they might....)?

I haven't have yet witnessed a fight in the states where one or more parties were carrying. Any fights I have witnessed finish pretty quickly after one or both parties get tired or whacked on the nose - it's never serious.

If we are talking about a po-dunk Maine border town, I don't imagine the cops are terribly busy anyway.If I was eating in a restaurant in said town and you walked in with a gun, I probably wouldn't call the cops but I would leave as soon as possible. As long as you feel secure, I guess that is all that matters, right? (you being a public servant and all).

Most people would need more information to answer OP's question. Like what color the man's skin is.

gun legal wrote:

If we are talking about a po-dunk Maine border town, I don't imagine the cops are terribly busy anyway.

If I was eating in a restaurant in said town and you walked in with a gun, I probably wouldn't call the cops but I would leave as soon as possible. As long as you feel secure, I guess that is all that matters, right? (you being a public servant and all).

Well, it is a po-dunk town but we've managed to get ourselves two Dunkin Donuts, so the cops keep pretty busy driving back and forth between them and looking for Maine residents who have their cars registered in NH to avoid the excise taxes.

blast off wrote:

"A person who protects himself with a gun is not a tough guy at all. He is a coward. A man defends himself without a gun, in a primeval battle of survival, with his bare hands. Weapons are for weak men, who fear the physical contact of the fist. It is a womanly act to use a gun."

-Bruce Lee

Is that General Bruce Lee, who led barbarian hordes to victory over the Romans with just bare hands?

Or was it an actor?