Open Carry triggers school lock-down -- Police say HCP holder did nothing wrong

[Ebow1]

Next thing you know people and politicians will be hollering to make it a felony to get within x amount of feet of a school while carrying.

[Garufa]

Next thing you know people and politicians will be hollering to make it a felony to get within x amount of feet of a school while carrying.

It will happen.

[Oh Shoot]

Next thing you know people and politicians will be hollering to make it a felony to get within x amount of feet of a school while carrying.

It already is. Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990.

- OS

[EastHipster]

If I open carried in my neighborhood there would be a hundred 8600 or 911 calls.

Largely because there are a lot of shootings here.

In my case though, a lot of people would assume that I was LEO.

But if I OC'd walking up to my kid's school, all hell would break loose.

Don't screw it up for every one by "exercising your rights"!

[Guest bkelm18]

Bear in mind that carrying a firearm is illegal in TN. Having an HCP is merely an exception to that law. The school responded properly. The police responded properly. The guy was legit. What else do you want? False alarm today. Might not be a false alarm next time.

[Guest kirkosaurus]

Wow, this is less than 2 miles from my house.

Kudos to this guy. The guy was walking down Poplar Wood, which is the street the entrance of the school is on but is quite a distance from the school.

Sounds like a bit of PSH to me.

[Guest kirkosaurus]

Bear in mind that carrying a firearm is illegal in TN. Having an HCP is merely an exception to that law.

Driving without a drivers license is illegal too but the cops can't randomly pull you over just to see if you have a license.

[Guest bkelm18]

Driving without a drivers license is illegal too but the cops can't randomly pull you over just to see if you have a license.

Just stating fact. Lovely thing about laws is that they don't care if you agree with them or not. If you are open carrying and a LEO sees it, they every right to check and see if you are licensed. How's that possible you ask? It's the law. Sucks but it is what it is.

Edited September 2, 2011 by bkelm18

[mikegideon]

Open carrying a gun around a school while kids are going to school is ignorant. The school did what they are expected to do; the Police did what they are required to do.

Police investigated and determined that he was not a threat. He was not arrested.

Short of not responding to a man with a gun call (that should never happen) I don’t know what else could have been done.

When I went to high school, folks carried rifles and shotguns in plain view. A lot were in gun racks hanging across the back windows of pickups. What changed that? Did everyone with a gun turn into a mass murdering psychopath? I think not, but it's how we act.

Why do third world scumbags attack us on our own soil? Because we're fun to watch.

[EastHipster]

For starters not everyone lives on a farm.

I love visiting my relatives in the country where they don't need gun ranges.

But anyway...I'll tell you why that has changed....over here we are having Drivebys in the middle of the day.

It is drug dealers shooting each other (so far).

We had a woman in her 60's pushing a baby stroller and a crazy guy ran up behind her at 10am on a busy street and tried to stab her in the neck.

A guy in East Park got 'shot in the leg' TWO WEEKS IN A ROW (the SAME guy).

A couple of weeks later a crazy guy was running people down in the Park driving a John Deere Gator.

So when people see you walking down the street wearing a gun they aren't going to think "oh...there's a nice man exercising his right to carry".

And imagine if you happened to be BLACK and were OC.

The Helicopters would be out.

[mikegideon]

The Helicopters would be out.

Yep, nothing that resembles paranoid idiots there.

[Pain103]

For starters not everyone lives on a farm.

I love visiting my relatives in the country where they don't need gun ranges.

But anyway...I'll tell you why that has changed....over here we are having Drivebys in the middle of the day.

It is drug dealers shooting each other (so far).

We had a woman in her 60's pushing a baby stroller and a crazy guy ran up behind her at 10am on a busy street and tried to stab her in the neck.

A guy in East Park got 'shot in the leg' TWO WEEKS IN A ROW (the SAME guy).

A couple of weeks later a crazy guy was running people down in the Park driving a John Deere Gator.

So when people see you walking down the street wearing a gun they aren't going to think "oh...there's a nice man exercising his right to carry".

And imagine if you happened to be BLACK and were OC.

The Helicopters would be out.

That statement is full of ****. Really going to start playing that card. I've met several black citizens with HCP along with several white citizens with HCP doing my job. Guess what the color of their skin doesn't mean anything. Certain people looking for an excuse want to say that crap.

[EastHipster]

I'm talking about where I live and the people that would see you walking down those streets.

These people call 862-8600 when a door to door Cable TV salesman rings their doorbell.

And my point is...there are people shooting each other on the sidewalks in the middle of the day.

So if some one sees an Open Carry walking down the street, they will be alarmed.

I carry ALL THE TIME and would like to keep it that way and keep it legal.

Edited September 2, 2011 by EastHipster

[Pain103]

I'm talking about where I live and the people that would see you walking down those streets.

These people call 862-8600 when a door to door Cable TV salesman rings their doorbell.

And my point is...there are people shooting each other on the sidewalks in the middle of the day.

So if some one sees an Open Carry walking down the street, they will be alarmed.

I carry ALL THE TIME and would like to keep it that way and keep it legal.

Got ya, it is hard sometimes to understand someone's tone or point they are trying to get across just by typed chat in a forum.

[Guest WingMan380]

If the carrier was displaying an uffishal handgun carry badge either hanging on a chain around the neck, clipped to the belt or pinned to the chest it would have avoided all this hullabaloo.

That's it!!! I'm ordering my HCP badge today!!!!

[DaveTN]

When I went to high school, folks carried rifles and shotguns in plain view. A lot were in gun racks hanging across the back windows of pickups. What changed that?

Gangs (first and foremost), school shootings, open disregard for the law, lower morals, collapse of the family unit, entitlement attitude, no respect for others?

There were guns in the back windows of trucks when I was a kid. How long would they last today even if it wasn’t illegal? A rifle in the back window of a pickup truck today probably wouldn’t last one day, and in most mall parking lots it wouldn’t last 10 minutes, and has nothing to do with guns laws.

I don’t openly display my gun. One of the many reasons is that if a gang decides to take it, there won’t be much you can do to stop them; I don’t care who you are or how many training classes you have been to.

[netmindr]

I think that those that are inclined to spook always will, whether they see 1 gun or 100. Seeing it more often will not convince them that it is "normal". I think it is more likely to convince them that the problem is getting worse and more should be done to prevent it.

I am perfectly happy if no one ever knows I'm carrying.

I completely agree, but somehow can't help but hope that those unfamiliar with guns and HCPs would not immediately assume that a MWAG = mass shooting. It's a pipe dream I know.

Personally, I never OC unless I'm in a 100% gun friendly zone for that sole purpose of not drawing that kind of attention from either the guy I would defend myself or family against or those that are happier not knowing. However, I completely support the guy's right to OC, but I think it was poor judgement to do it right next to school property right in the middle of everyone arriving.

[mikegideon]

Gangs (first and foremost), school shootings, open disregard for the law, lower morals, collapse of the family unit, entitlement attitude, no respect for others?

There were guns in the back windows of trucks when I was a kid. How long would they last today even if it wasn’t illegal? A rifle in the back window of a pickup truck today probably wouldn’t last one day, and in most mall parking lots it wouldn’t last 10 minutes, and has nothing to do with guns laws.

I don’t openly display my gun. One of the many reasons is that if a gang decides to take it, there won’t be much you can do to stop them; I don’t care who you are or how many training classes you have been to.

Don't get me wrong. I think the used poor judgement. I never open carry. I'm just fed up with everybody running and hiding every time somebody farts. That kind of behaviour just encourages some of the folks you mentioned above.

[Fallguy]

Driving without a drivers license is illegal too but the cops can't randomly pull you over just to see if you have a license.

It isn't the same.

There is no law that says driving itself is illegal and that having a license makes it ok. It is just required to have a license.

There is a law that says possesion of a firearm is illegal. Then there is another law that provides a defense against it.

So if you are in possesion of a firearm, it can be assumed you are in violation of the law until you show your permit. But if you are driving there is no law you are presumed to be breaking to give reason for a stop.

Now in states were carry is legal without a permit.....then mere possesion of a firearm is not a reason to stop someone, but it's not like that in TN...

[JAB]

If the carrier was displaying an uffishal handgun carry badge either hanging on a chain around the neck, clipped to the belt or pinned to the chest it would have avoided all this hullabaloo.

Like most here, I think the HCP 'badges' are laughable, at best. However, the sad thing is that in this, particular circumstance your statement (although probably intended as sarcasm) is most likely correct. If he had been wearing one of those stupid badges then the Nervous Nellys who had to decide whether to clean out their shorts before or after calling the cops likely wouldn't have given him a second glance.

I do think it probably displays a lack of foresight to walk near a school with an openly carried firearm. Further, I don't routinely OC because I don't want to set the sheep off on a stampede. I also don't agree with the idea that more people OCing will somehow make the ninnies feel better about it any more than seeing 100 spiders would make someone with an irrational fear of arachnids feel better. That said, I have to agree with mikegideon in his opinion that more and more people in our society seem primed to panic and overreact about anything and everything and it is getting old.

Edited September 2, 2011 by JAB

[Guest WingMan380]

That's it!!! I'm ordering my HCP badge today!!!!

For the record, I was being HIGHLY sarcastic with this comment!

[gl19gobang]

I've had mine 3 months and only saw 1 person carrying. It was a woman in the tobacco store.And I look around all the time, would like to see more.

I have been carrying since I got my permit about a month and a half ago, and I still have yet to see anyone carrying, either open or concealed. Anyone got any tips for scoping it out? I want to see a fellow citizen packing heat!

[tt0511]

Like most here, I think the HCP 'badges' are laughable, at best. However, the sad thing is that in this, particular circumstance your statement (although probably intended as sarcasm) is most likely correct. If he had been wearing one of those stupid badges then the Nervous Nellys who had to decide whether to clean out their shorts before or after calling the cops likely wouldn't have given him a second glance.

I do think it probably displays a lack of foresight to walk near a school with an openly carried firearm. Further, I don't routinely OC because I don't want to set the sheep off on a stampede. I also don't agree with the idea that more people OCing will somehow make the ninnies feel better about it any more than seeing 100 spiders would make someone with an irrational fear of arachnids feel better. That said, I have to agree with mikegideon in his opinion that more and more people in our society seem primed to panic and overreact about anything and everything and it is getting old.

Although I've only OC'd a couple of times outside my home, I'm gonna have to go ahead and disagree with this point. It sounds good at first. However, just like others have said, I grew up with kids carrying rifles and shotguns in the windows of their trucks openly displayed. Kids also carried big ole buck knifes hanging out of their pockets, and not one of them would ever have considered pulling out the knife in a fight (that would make you a sissy). So, we were in a society wherein folks were commonly exposed to guns and knifes all around them. Those things were "ubiquitous". I'm unsure of the reasons for the dwindling away of that atmosphere (perhaps laws or a misplaced feeling of common safety in our society?) but that environment has been replaced with an environment where most folks associate guns with criminal activity or police officers. That's probably due to movies and news that don't really portray the normal citizen with guns around for self defense and enjoyment. Exposure to this new environment absent of law abiding, normal citizens carrying firearms has led to a fear of folks in public carrying weapons. There is a knee-jerk association of a firearm with danger and fear and criminality.

If the change in exposure changed the default reactions of a big portion of society, it only stands to reason that a change in the opposite direction with the general population regularly and continually exposed to law abiding citizens carrying firearms for protection would erode much of the sheepish fear they currently have. A good analogy, and pardon me if this is just too sensitive a topic, is exposure to the homosexual lifestyle. I do not personally accept that lifestyle, period. But it is a fact that exposure to that lifestyle through television, media and public exposure has been eroding the traditional response and reaction to the open display of such. This has been and is an ongoing transition in our society. Now there are even organizations, corporate policies and laws to protect and "normalize" this lifestyle. I fail to see how this differs from normalization of gun sightings in our society. And, I would disagree to some degree about the spiders. Through education and exposure I believe folks can overcome a great degree of an inherent fear of spiders. I freaking hate spiders but after I've learned that out of about 300 species, only a small handful are poisonous to humans, I fear them WAY less.

-T

[RobertNashville]

Bear in mind that carrying a firearm is illegal in TN. Having an HCP is merely an exception to that law. The school responded properly. The police responded properly. The guy was legit. What else do you want? False alarm today. Might not be a false alarm next time.

I pretty much agree.

What bothers me most about this story is that if this guy had really been a threat to the school/anyone in it; there wouldn't have been anyone around who was armed to try and stop him until the police arrived thanks to our absolute "no guns at school" policy.

[DaveTN]

What bothers me most about this story is that if this guy had really been a threat to the school/anyone in it; there wouldn't have been anyone around who was armed to try and stop him until the police arrived thanks to our absolute "no guns at school" policy.

There were probably people they that had guns. If you have an HCP you can carry while picking up or dropping off your kids. Just because they aren’t openly displayed doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

I drive right through two school zones every day…. Armed.