imperialism2024 wrote:
expvideo wrote:
No, that would be possession. You did not use the firearm in the commission of your speeding violation. It played no role in that crime. WA state law says that you cannot use a device to suppress the sound of a firearm. It is completely legal in WA state to purchase, own, sell (with the right licenses), and even attach a silencer, but it is illegal to pass rounds through that silencer. There is a big difference in law between use and possession.
If a guy is robbing a bank and points to the gun on his hip while threatening a teller, then surely he "used" it in the commission of the crime. But if he makes no reference
at all to the gun on his hip, does that exclude him from the "while using a gun" sentence add-on?
If a guy goes into a bank with a firearm in a holster in the open (which I find VERY unlikely, for some reason they *also* like to have the element of surprise...hmmmm), then they are not "using" the firearm. And if the person point "at" the gun, it is still not "use" (although more than likely in most jurisdictions would probably constitute "use").
The simple fact of carrying a firearm in the open on your side is *not* use, nor should it ever be. Regardless of the circumstances.
Use is Use, and Possession, and Possession should never be illegal. Use should also never be illegal unless used in the furtherance of a crime.
And yes, taking out a firearm and aiming it at somone is considered assault, thus would be "used in the furtherance of a crime", and that assault would them become a felony.