Hey, let's stop in DC on the way back from huntin'...

[Hobie]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/04/ar ... onal-mall/

[gamekeeper]

If he was from Arizona, then surely he should have been only arrested if he was found to be "without" any guns

[Hobie]

I have no idea what he was doing but a camper, a couple of rifles and a handgun and I could just see my title...

[darkwater]

What is "unregistered ammunition and firearms offenses"? I guess in DC you have to register your ammo? Doesn't say if his handguns were locked up. Seems like if they were, then there shouldn't have been an issue, but then, I don't know DC laws, either.

[J Miller]

Oh brother. What a total extremist over reaction on the part of the DC cops. Looked inside and found something suspicious. What probably cause did he have to spy in somebodies vehicle?

Oh, and that AZ guy was none too smart taking guns into DC. Their horrid laws have been broadcast everywhere. He should have known better.

JMHO

Joe

[AJMD429]

What is "unregistered ammunition and firearms offenses"? I guess in DC you have to register your ammo? Doesn't say if his handguns were locked up. Seems like if they were, then there shouldn't have been an issue, but then, I don't know DC laws, either.

18 years ago, we were on a passenger train going from Florida to Indiana, via Alexandria VA, and it developed problems, so they advised us they were going to go to D.C., and give us plane tickets to our destination.

About HALF of the passengers on our car demanded to be let off at Alexandria, despite the conductor's warning that they would NOT be able to have their luggage unloaded, and it would have to be sent along later. I'm betting they had handguns on their person.

We decided to 'chance' it, even though we had a handgun, since when in Florida, my pregnant wife and 2-year-old would be trekking around in taxicabs and so on while I was at meetings. Our Indiana CCW was valid in Florida, but NOTHING was valid in Washington, D.C., even for possession of a handgun, back then. Of course we couldn't board the airplane without the handgun being 'discovered', so we went to the car-rental place, and rented a car to drive the rest of the way.

Later on, a couple cops have told me that if we'd been caught, even though we had NO control of the fact that we were 'taken' into D.C. by the train, we likely would have been facing a 'firearms felony', and certainly could have permanently lost any further gun owning rights, professional licensures, etc., seconday to that 'felony'.

We should be ashamed to have the capitol of an allegedly-free nation one which disarms honest citizens, as if they are all mere 'subjects'.

[RIHMFIRE]

When ever I travel....I carefully avoid the a-hole states and cities who
do not honor my licence...like the liberal northeast states
BTW
who the heck wants to visit DC anyway.....

[Mac in Mo]

Total speculation, but probably yet another man's life ruined due to unconstitutional regulations. If he is found to be a hunter making a tourist stop, let him go, with a sorry for the bother as he leaves. If he has evil intentions, slam him.
We recently had a case here where two young guys parked on a school lot to go into some public hunting grounds that surround the school on three sides. They had guns. That area has very little parking for hunters. They were arrested on several weapons charges. Dumb move on their part but no criminal intent. Lives ruined.
As a former LEO, I cannot stand these zero tolerance policies. Discretion and judgment are thrown out the window. In these type cases, chew the guys butt out for having made a poor choice and send him down the road. Making criminals out of people with no criminal intent is evil, in my opinion.
I don't like to second guess others and obviously have no inside info, however, don't see the point in making these cases.

Kevin

[piller]

+1 on disliking zero tolerance policies. They usually are put in place to controll rather than protect.

[darkwater]

Speaking of zero tolerance...we went to one of the Spanish Missions in CA last week, myself, my wife and two kids. We parked the car in a lot that was used for visitors to the mission as well as a Catholic school and a more modern church. We had a good tour, and then we headed out to the parking lot to leave. I noticed that there was quite a bit of traffic going into the lot, and we figured out that the kids had a minimum day at the school because it was the Friday before Halloween and they were all dressed up for a costume party that day. We walked across the parking lot and then walked between two cars that were temporarily parked in the middle of two rows of parking spaces to get to our car on the other side. The school apparently had parents pull up close to the school, 4 cars at a time, stop to load the kids, then when all cars were full and doors closed, they would pull away and let the next group move up to load kids.

Well, when we walked inbetween the stationary cars, a lady starts yelling, "Sir!! I need you to use the crosswalk!!" We are already at our car at this point and are in the process of opening the doors, and she yells twice more, "Sir, I need you to use the crosswalk!" First of all, it's a freaking parking lot, not a busy thoroughfare, so I was surprised that there was a crosswalk between the rows of parking spaces. Second, I'm thinking it goes against common sense for her to want me, my wife and kids to cut back between the cars just to turn around and use the crosswalk. She probably thought that because we had kids that we must have been part of the school and should have known all the school's rules and regulations regarding the parking lot, even though the lot was not exclusive to the school. I just told her "we aren't from around here", and got in the car.

Moral of the story...never park near a Catholic school...zero tolerance even in the parking lot.

[junkbug]

From 2003 until 2005 I worked as an engineering technician at the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) project to enlarge the Capitol building. Basically if you did not have current law enforcement credentials, and probably a good reason to be there, any firearm or cartridge was prohibited for anyone with the exception of a few firearms grandfathered in, and registered by 1976. There is a process for residents to legally own and register long guns, but it makes NYC look lienient. Every firearm owned by private DC residents needs a licence. There is no provision at all for non resident private citizens to posess firearms.

The stories of construction contractors getting a 3 night stay in DC jails for having one or two stray shotgun shell in their service trucks, which they took hunting and did not clean thoughly, then going through mega security checks, are legion. It happens so regularly it doesn't make news.