[Malum Prohibitum]

:shock:

Bad, bad precedent. There is no license required to carry a pistol openly in Washington.

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/sep/ ... -gun-case/

A college student who got in a dispute with police officers over his right to “open carry†nearly two years ago was convicted Thursday in Clark County District Court of unlawfully carrying a weapon.

An attorney for Joshua R. Watson, 23, unsuccessfully argued to a jury of four men and two women that Watson was merely exercising his constitutional right to bear arms.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

The officers, who had been the only customers, walked outside and noticed a young man wearing a winter jacket with one side raised up and tucked behind his pistol, which he was wearing on one hip.

DeFrance said Officer James Burgara asked the man if he knew his gun was showing. The young man, whom Burgara would later learn was Watson, told Burgara that it was his right to carry his gun.
. . .

Burgara explained to Watson that it wasn’t the smartest idea to be hanging out in an otherwise empty parking lot and that the Round Table employees, whom Burgara had spoken with, were uneasy about Watson’s gun because of the recent attempted robbery.

Watson asked to speak to Burgara’s supervisor . . .

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

“Wyatt Earp, ready to draw.†Witnesses also said he was “giving everyone the eyeball with his hand on the gun,â€

What witnesses later told police (not what police saw), according to the police reports.

Another person is going on trial for carrying openly in Washington later this month.

 

[BG_Atl]

DeFrance said he and defense attorney Beau Harlan asked potential jurors extensively about their feelings toward firearms and related laws.

Of the pool of 12 people that was narrowed down to the final six, 11 people were gun owners, DeFrance said.

Yikes... now THAT is scary

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Scary? Expected.

How many gun owners are there in Georgia?

How many members are there of www.GeorgiaCarry.Org :?:

I do not think being a gun owner necessarily makes one a friend of liberty.

 

[drtybykr]

Three on-duty officers from the Vancouver Police Department had just finished taking a dinner break at Round Table Pizza on Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard.

It was approximately 10 p.m., and nearby businesses were closed.

The police, and the pizza shop employees were the only witnesses? How convenient.

He needs a good lawyer, the conviction is ridiculous.

 

[gruntpain1775]

disregard...

 

[EJR914]

Scary? Expected.

How many gun owners are there in Georgia?

How many members are there of http://www.GeorgiaCarry.Org :?:

I do not think being a gun owner necessarily makes one a friend of liberty.

Exactly, there are gun owners and carriers here on this very site that I would say are unfriendly towards liberty. True liberty scares a lot of people.

 

[Match10]

I visit Washington often as my parents live in Leavenworth. (Actually, the closest town is Leavenworth.) Before I had multiple reciprocity with non-resident licensing, I talked to a Deputy at the tire store in Wenatchee. I lamented I did not yet have the ability to carry, and he pointed out reather correctly that "This is a Gold Star Open Carry state! You should carry open and unconcealed and you will be fine." I learned something about carrying that day.... Though others had not had the same experience over in Cle Elum and that area.

 

[Bulldawg182]

Ok, so here's where I have no choice but to sound naive.

There's no law against displaying an openly carried firearm......yet he's convicted and going to spend time in jail for.......displaying an openly carried firearm!!

I can understand how a jury of 6 imbeciles might vote to convict based on whatever personal or emotional baggage they each carry. But how can a DA prosecute and a judge permit someone to be convicted of violating a law that simply doesn't exist?????

 

[smn]

Nifonged!

 

[mountainpass]

smn I rarely click on a link like that, one where I don't know where I'm going to end up(blame it on coffeemate), but thanks for the new word.

 

[Mr_Z]

Alie wrote in his police report that he spent nearly an hour talking to Watson, trying to convince him to conceal his weapon and leave.

“Watson did not want to listen to anything I had to say,†Alie wrote. “He repeatedly tried to speak over me, saying I did not know the law and that he was going to consult with someone who did.â€

Well clearly he was in the wrong. He did want to listen to anything the police had to say. They couldn't convince him to do what they wanted. Clearly that is a crime.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

For those who do not know, Washington adopted a law after the Black Panthers went to the Capitol in Sacramento. The law did not go as far as California did in making sure black males did not scare white lawmakers anymore, but again, this is the racial baggage we are dealing with in gun laws throughout the nation. Washington's law makes it a crime to carry a gun in a manner that warrants alarm for the safety of others.

I just thought people here might appreciate the background of this law.

Keep in mind that this is not an isolated incident. The police in Washington threaten people with this law all the time. There is another person going to trial this month in another city. People are refusing police requests to conceal, and the police are reacting, and so are the courts, and the jails.

 

[kwikrnu]

In other news, the Supeme Court decides that the right to keep and bear arms is fudamental and applies to the States...what a joke.

 

[Savvy Jack]

Scary? Expected.

How many gun owners are there in Georgia?

How many members are there of http://www.GeorgiaCarry.Org :?:

I do not think being a gun owner necessarily makes one a friend of liberty.

Yeah, looks at the gun shops that wont let you carry or carry loaded.... :3hat:

 

[smn]

Some would call the end result "jury nullification."

 

[zetor]

We have people here that are always on "code red" alert when walking through the dark wal mart parking lot. Not too long ago, someone was ready to draw down on a car that was driving very slow through a parking lot.....didn't even see a gun.

What would that guy have done if he saw someone with his hand on a pistol grip "eye balling him"? This assumes the witnesses are being truthful about the eye balling ...

 

[EJR914]

Washington's law makes it a crime to carry a gun in a manner that warrants alarm for the safety of others.

So we could actually call this law, "The Sheeple Law." This sounds like one of the worst gun laws ever.

Gun carriers need to get this law off the books. It sounds like a horrible law. All a sheeple has to do is see a peaceful carrier walking with a gun in the open, call the cops and the guy will be arrested, booked, convicted, and he/she will probably be spending time in jail, even though open carry is not illegal there. Its a terrible law.

As with most gun laws, they were originated with racist intent.

I agree with smn, this would be a great place for jury nullification to occur.

 

[smn]

If I understand this correctly, the DA prosecuted the defendant on a law that doesn't exist and got the jury to agree with the DA... how does one nullify a law that doesn't exist? Anyone see a problem with this?