imported post
I am really of two minds on this issue.
On one hand, I have never met an out-of-control cop where this was needed. The ones I dealt with have all been polite, reasonable and seemed to be motivated in dealing with the job.OTOH, I have heard recordings, and seen videos, where cops have felt compelled to be abusive,crossing over into harassment of law-abiding citizens and attempts to force a lecture on someone carrying.
Additionally, there have been a couple of times when I wished I had my voice recorder during conversations with other citizens. John's experience at the Alpha-Omega table being one example of that sort of incident.
Those of you who are curious about this should get on You-Tube and watch some of the New Hampshire, Californiaand Virginia OC/Police encounter videos to get an idea of how these events progress, some are positive, some are...not positive. It lets you think through how you will react, although it takes a couple of times to get over that automatic lick-up to an adrenaline-fueled, nervous state.
I still believe that the key in this is desensitization and understanding of the laws. Just as people no longercall in and breathlessly inform dispatchers that, "OMG, a black man is walking through my neighborhood! Can you send a patrol car to check him out?", we should strive to get both the citizens and the police to become accepting of carry. When the police get tired of answering these calls they will begin pushing back on the 9-1-1 staff to screen for different behaviors before accepting it as a call to be investigated.
Just imagine the consternation of the police if they got one of these calls and showed up to see 40 armed citizens walking around with their children, snacking on tamales, playing on the swings and chatting over root beer floats. Do you think they can strip police protection off the the streets long enough to ID everyone? They simply don't have the manpower to keep it up, IF we continue to assert our rights. What would be the reality of coping with 30 OC-ing citizens scattered separatelyaround a town like Meridian or Nampa on Saturday around lunchtime?