Reporter caught taking gun into Allegheny Co. courthouse

[HiredGoon]

Originally Posted by knighthawk06699

Thanks Goon!!! It says it all, tired to slip it past. I forgot...that will not get him off either. Imagine how easy it would be for every time someone gets busted they say oops "I forgot". The the kindly LEO lets them go and says it is ok. Try not and forget next time ok. Imagine what state this country would be in if "I Forgot" was a valid loop hole. Well sir, your piss poor memory is going to show you first hand what the inside of a prison looks like. Maybe you can report on that.

Ha ha...So if the gun wasn't his, what was he doing with it in his possession anyway

IDIOT

Yeah and he can report on bending down to pick up soap in the showers too! Mr. reporter guy....meet Bubba

[axmdr40]

38 snubby..no his, eh...DCPD musta sold him PA Patriot's gun out the back door.


(yes yes I know PA got it back)

[Evolution]

Something tells me that their are a lot more stupid people breeding these days than there used to be...

[Evolution]

Originally Posted by axmdr40

38 snubby..no his, eh...DCPD musta sold him PA Patriot's gun out the back door.


(yes yes I know PA got it back)

I wonder if his .38 Snubby was "Registered" lmao!

[pirateron]

Originally Posted by jcheinaman

Something tells me that their are a lot more stupid people breeding these days than there used to be...

STUPID PEOPLE SHOULDN"T BREED!!!

[Philadelphia]

Originally Posted by HiredGoon

Ha ha...So if the gun wasn't his, what was he doing with it in his possession anyway

IDIOT

Yeah and he can report on bending down to pick up soap in the showers too! Mr. reporter guy....meet Bubba

For you and the others finding such joy in this guy's predicament, I have to wonder why.

He did nothing intrinsically wrong. If the laws were as they should be, there would be no metal detectors or sheriff's officers searching every person who sought to enter a public building. He made a simple mistake, a lapse of memory, but oops, that mistake involved a (OMG!) GUN!!! so now he's accused of a felony.

Sure, I believe in the rule of law and either following the law or working to change it, but when someone makes a dumb mistake and ends up violating an even dumber law, I find no joy in that. It actually makes me very sad. We are no longer a free people and my fellow subjects revel in the gov't's unbridled power. Yipee.

[knighthawk06699]

Originally Posted by Philadelphia

For you and the others finding such joy in this guy's predicament, I have to wonder why.

He did nothing intrinsically wrong. If the laws were as they should be, there would be no metal detectors or sheriff's officers searching every person who sought to enter a public building. He made a simple mistake, a lapse of memory, but oops, that mistake involved a (OMG!) GUN!!! so now he's accused of a felony.

Sure, I believe in the rule of law and either following the law or working to change it, but when someone makes a dumb mistake and ends up violating an even dumber law, I find no joy in that. It actually makes me very sad. We are no longer a free people and my fellow subjects revel in the gov't's unbridled power. Yipee.

Ok so they guy forgot about the gun whatever, I have said my piece on this. But the one thing you can't deny is he was carrying a concealed handgun with out a license. Knowingly and willfully that is a felony and he deserves what he gets.

[pirateron]

Originally Posted by knighthawk06699

Ok so they guy forgot about the gun whatever, I have said my piece on this. But the one thing you can't deny is he was carrying a concealed handgun with out a license. Knowingly and willfully that is a felony and he deserves what he gets.

hard to find much on this story right now. I do recall the guy saying that the gun wasn't his, found this quote in on of the local papers, "Milford told screeners at the Downtown courthouse he forgot the gun was in the briefcase. Mullen said they are attempting to find the gun's owner. "

so much for Knowingly and willfully

[Mike]

Here is what I just sent the reporter:
--
A couple of things for your to ponder before the next update on http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_573031.html.

First, Nobody needs a license to carry a handgun openly - only to carry one concealed or inside a vehicle. 18 Pa.C.S. Section 6106. A gun in an unlocked briefcase in your hand is arguably concealed. A gun in a locked briefcase is arguably not concealed.

Second, watch for police weirdness over who the gun's "owner" is - we have some problems around the state with police obsession with the gun being "registered" even though PA has no registration - that's what all the hubbub is about in Dickson City and Wilkes-Barre right now. See http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum46/11874.html & http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum46/11843.html

Finally, the crime of bringing a gun into a courthouse presumably has a mens rae requirement - the government presumably must prove some of "GUILTY MIND" to bring the gun into the courthouse - recall Sen. Webb's aide's charges of bringing a gun into the US Capitol being dropped on such grounds.

[headcase]

Whether or not you agree with this law is not the point. The point is that it is a well known law. Based on the reported information, there are very valid reasons that people feel this guy was wrong and why there is no outpouring of support for his plight.

First, everyone knows you can't carry into a courthouse, unless you are specifically exempted. In the hard to believe event that this person was unaware of this fact, there are signs and a screening point that are likely hard to miss. That, IMO, is more then enough to remove reasonable doubt as to whether or not he was aware of the law.

Second, being aware of the law, and the impending search of your property and person, there was plenty of opportunity to turn and leave. There was the option of declaring the firearm. Had he been subject to arrest or some form of harassment for choosing those options, there would have been a huge outcry against the injustice.

Third, with the information available, I don't buy into the whole, "I was unaware, or forgot", line of bullshit. It was in his briefcase, no? It was not in a huge piece of luggage, where I would be able to maintain a reasonable doubt that it was carried without coming to his attention. It is hard for me to believe that he had a heavy firearm in his briefcase and it never gave him occasion to wonder.

Fourth, if he was in legal possession of the firearm, he really should have just said, "Oh boy, I was so distracted this morning I forgot to declare that. Sorry guys, can we go lock it up?". There is no mention of him attempting anything of the sort. From the information given, the gun was not his, yet he had knowing possession of it. I say, "knowing", because he said he forgot it was in his briefcase. Him forgetting means that he was aware it was in there at some point. Why was he knowingly carrying a concealed firearm he knew was not his without a license? Is someone going to argue that he maybe didn't know that was illegal?

Fifth, they had enough cause to run his firearm to see if it was stolen, as he put it through an inspection point without declaring it. They had cause to demand his license for the same reason. He committed a crime, intentionally or not, it gives reason to further investigate.

I do not for a minute, say that pex's argument about the ambiguity of the statute's definitions is invalid. I do say that it is not relevant to this instance, because the argument is not that the reporter didn't know he was in a prohibited place, it is that he tried to pass a highly visible check point with a loaded, undeclared firearm. The check points are recognizable to any idiot. Are they legal, and what power do they actually have? I would argue that they are what they appear to be. Pex will argue that they are an illegal intrusion, or at least the results of them finding an undeclared firearm are. I wouldn't be opposed to that point of view being put forth, but it doesn't bear upon this instance. Everyone knows what a check point is, and what it is for. Should they be there, IDK. But they are, and they aren't in stealth mode. A surprise inspection turning up the firearm gets this guy a pass, guilty or not, but walking into a fully disclosed inspection of your property does not.