Fucking cops...

[Uzi]

Methinks that AD has played too much laser tag if that is his reaction on being lased.

[QUOTE=Danalan]
It’s a cliche, but guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
[/QUOTE]

Add drunken people carrying guns to that equation. Think it is likely that more people would be killed?

[QUOTE=SSG Schwartz]
You also have a time in the US when there have been shootings in high schools, college campuses, courtrooms, and even, for Christ’s Sake, Churches.
[/QUOTE]

What better place to get shot? Don’t you go to church to be closer to god? Isn’t it kind of guaranteeing that you get into heaven?

[QUOTE=Scumpup]
I carry concealed primarily as a courtesy to pants-wetters like yourselves. It must be a sad, pitiful life to be so irrationally afraid of an inaminate object. 'Cause here’s the crux of the matter: if I wanted somebody dead, it isn’t the gun that makes it possible. It’s whether I want it enough.
[/QUOTE]

You pose in front of a mirror with your pistol, don’t you? Come on, we’re friends all here, you can admit it. Of course, you don’t have to admit that you dropped it in the toilet when you tried fast drawing it from the waistband of your underoos. But we know you did.

[QUOTE=FallenAngel]
I holstered my pistol, stormed up to the apartment, knocked on the door and explained politely but clearly to the mother, after all she wasn’t the one who played the stupid prank so there was no cause to yell at her, why it was such a bad idea for her kid to do that kind of thing. She got right on board, hauled the kid out, made him apologize and gave me the pointer. I still have it and use it in presentations to this day.
[/QUOTE]

So, essentially you stole a kids toy at gunpoint…

[Danalan]

@DanBlather

Ya’ think?
Moron.

Fuck you, too, asshat.

[Loach]

Both cops were carrying, off-duty policemen are required to carry at all times, IIRC.

Not true. It depends on the department. And most if not all have regulations about drinking and carrying.

“Under Pennsylvania law, “physical menace” requires some physical act by the perpetrator intended to cause “fear of imminent serious bodily injury” in the victim. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Reynolds, 835 A.2d 720, 726 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2003) (pointing gun constituted “menacing or frightening activity” that placed victims “in fear of imminent serious bodily injury” under § 2701(a)(3))”

What you are missing is that “serious bodily injury” has a very specific legal definition. Pennsylvania "defines serious bodily injury as bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. 18 Pa.C.S.A. 2301 " This does not rise to that level.

[Measure_for_Measure]

I was once walking down the dark streets of a major metropolitan city when I saw the flicker of one of those laser pointers near my body. There was nobody in sight.

I wasn’t expecting that and I froze, though admittedly I didn’t hit the ground.

I maintain that you don’t have to have PTSD in order to be spooked by a laser pointer (whatever it is attached to) in unexpected surroundings. When Airman Doors crouched below the table, it was during a moment’s confusion, so I think he should be cut some slack for that. (And, yes, I over-reacted. So what?)

His considered decision to carry a firearm around with him is a different sort of choice, though I see that he isn’t alone in that regard.

[Nava]

@Scumpup

What really makes this thread special, though, is the number of pants-wetters soiling themselves because Doors had a gun on his person while he was in a bar. Guess what, pants-wetters? Lots of folks, like yours truly, carry guns everywhere. Bars. Malls. Dry cleaners. Restaurants. Everywhere.

Any time a big wig Spanish politician is in a bar or restaurant, there is one or two dudes (sometimes, dudettes) carrying in the same locale. They’re called bodyguards, deafmen (if there’s more than one they wear earpieces), armanimen (the suits are slightly oversized)… you know, the folks whose job consists of keeping folks whose favourite ammo is 9mm Parabellum from poking holes in said politicians?

I’m no bodyguard and have no firearms training other than “since you don’t know how they work, don’t touch.” But add me to the pile of “people who don’t have a fight-or-flight reflex”… I was late in line and only got the fight reflex.

[catsix]

Punintentional said:
As i said earlier, on one hand you have stupid cop, on the other you have GUY WHO IS DRINKING AT A BAR WITH HIS GUN AND OVERREACTS!

A pair of stupid cops, at least one of whom was fully armed, also in that same bar.

You want to take issue with Doors being in a bar with a gun? Please don’t forget that there was someone else in that bar who was armed.

silenus said:
Sorry. That doesn’t fly. I know too many cops.

What, you mean it’s not mature, responsible, and a sign of training to play with a weapon in a bar? If it’s not OK for Doors to have his pistol in a bar, then cops who are not there on official business shouldn’t have theirs either. Or it is OK for the cops who are there not in their capacity as cops to have pistols and tasers, and by extension it is OK for Doors also.

Contrapuntal said:
You’re on duty in a bar when an off duty buddy asks to borrow your taser so he can goof on some guys in there. What do you do? Use your own words. Spelling counts. Any answer other than Hell No! will be disqualified.

Why would I be in a bar hanging out with a friend while on duty?

Fantome said:
You’re on duty in a bar when an off duty buddy asks to borrow your taser so he can goof on some guys in there. What do you do? Use your own words. Spelling counts. Any answer other than Hell No! will be disqualified.

The key word there is ‘believe’. If you are in a situation where you have reasonable fear that your life is in danger, you are justified in using lethal force to defend yourself.

[MsRobyn]

Speaking as the lovely and talented Mrs. Doors:

[ul]
[li]I’m damn glad he “overreacted” by hitting the deck. It’s far better to look stupid than it is to end up tasered by Sparky the Wonder Cop or shot by Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel who feels the need to defend himself by pulling his gun out of his pants. Believe me, there are things I’d rather be doing with my time than to have a visit from the guy who’s got the proceeds from Airman’s life insurance.[/li][li]Airman is pretty level-headed when it comes to firearms and carrying. He spends a fair amount of time at the range practicing, and he keeps his guns in good working order. He’s also up on the latest state and federal law and doesn’t carry if it’s not appropriate for him to do so.[/li][li]I don’t know, nor do I care, what Opal’s feelings on firearms are.[/li][/ul]

And here’s a special fuck-you to Diogenes: I have a history of PTSD stemming from an incident that took place 14 years ago (this week, in fact). I don’t wish it on anyone, but if you had to deal with panic attacks, flashbacks, fucked-up dreams, suicidal behavior, mood swings, and all the other goodies that go along with it, you wouldn’t make light of it. Fortunately, I’ve got several years’ distance and with the help of a good therapist, I’ve managed to make it through in one piece, more or less.

Robin

[Contrapuntal]

@catsix

Why would I be in a bar hanging out with a friend while on duty?

Don’t know. It just happens to describe the situation in the OP, that’s all.

[Scumpup]

@Uzi

You pose in front of a mirror with your pistol, don’t you? Come on, we’re friends all here, you can admit it. Of course, you don’t have to admit that you dropped it in the toilet when you tried fast drawing it from the waistband of your underoos. But we know you did.

I sure don’t, skippy. I don’t treat weapons as toys or fantasy props. I’ve had a carry permit for 25 years, which you should understand to mean that I’ve carried a handgun nearly every day for all those years. I’ve also been in the military and served as a deputy sheriff, so I’ve also carried weapons in the service of the government.
In all that time, I have never once accidentally displayed a weapon that I was carrying concealed. When not in uniform, I have never once had any difficulties with LE. I have never once drawn a gun because I was angry or to bolster my position in an argument. The times I have pointed a weapon at another human being were explicitly to defend myself or another from the threat of imminent harm. Thankfully, in each case it was not necessary to actually shoot the miscreant; though I was fully prepared to do so.
You’re a fucking moron if you think having a gun makes a person a killer. The military has long realized that people generally do not want to shoot other people, and part of training for a combat MOS is designed to overcome that inhibition. In police firearms training, the goal is to have a cop who won’t get killed because he was standing there with a look of disbelief on his face when he should have been shooting. Note that we are talking about people here. A gun is just a tool. To shoot, or otherwise harm, another person you have to want to do it. If you think otherwise, you’re even stupider than I thought.
Now go put on a pair of dry pants and let the grown-ups talk.

[Sapo]

@Scumpup

Now go put on a pair of dry pants and let the grown-ups talk.

Excellent advice. Give it a try.

[askeptic]

@Scumpup

Now go put on a pair of dry pants and let the grown-ups talk.

Like I said before, I am a gun owning vet who served in Iraq and have a concealed carry permit but it’s people like you that make me think a complete ban on fire arms in the US might not be such a bad idea…

[Scumpup]

@askeptic

Like I said before, I am a gun owning vet who served in Iraq and have a concealed carry permit but it’s people like you that make me think a complete ban on fire arms in the US might not be such a bad idea…

In a world where I care what you think, this would matter.

[askeptic]

@Scumpup

In a world where I care what you think, this would matter.

Admit it you’re really twelve years old aren’t you?

[Dinsdale]

@Airman_Doors_USAF

Yes, I probably did overreact. That I was vindicated later does not mitigate that.
…
I accept the criticism with good grace.

Good form, sir!

[guizot]

@Danalan

I could argue that people who are packing know that they hold trump in any disagreement, and are thus less likely to become enraged. However, quite a few people assume that weapons are an evil unto themselves – that somehow merely carrying a weapon predisposes one to use it.

I’m not going to try and change your opinion about guns. But I note a lot of unwarranted prejudice against them in this thread, and I believe that is a product of ignorance and delusion.

It’s a cliche, but guns don’t kill people, people kill people.

I don’t have any particular opinion about guns–just people who think they need to carry one around when they really don’t. People like Phil Spector.If you’re a gangbanger, I can understand why you’d want to carry a firearm. But if you live in a mansion and have a chauffeur and go to places like the House of Blues and get drunk and take a women home and then provide her with a weapon to commit suicide (if indeed that’s what actually happened), then that’s kinda irresponsible, IMHO. The OP didn’t use his weapon, and showed due restraint, considering that he felt threatened. But I wouldn’t go to places voluntarily if I believed I needed a firearm to protect myself there.

I kind of wonder what kind of bar this was where if a laser light appears you automatically assume that some sniper is trying to take you out. Who would go to a bar and want to kill a stranger with a laser guided weapon? That’s a bar I’d avoid.

[Contrapuntal]

@guizot

I don’t have any particular opinion about guns–just people who think they need to carry one around when they really don’t. People like Phil Spector.

Can you show me where in that story it says that Spector was carrying around a gun?

[guizot]

@Contrapuntal

Can you show me where in that story it says that Spector was carrying around a gun?

Not on that night specifically, but John Lennon has said that he took a weapon to the recording studios. It could be a lie, though. My point is that if you live in a secure mansion in an area with very little crime, why do you need a firearm? I suppose if you just get a kick out of using one, that’s fine, but I’ve never found it to be entertaining. In this case, I can’t see why he would take a woman home for a tryst and pull out a pistol.

[Diogenes_the_Cynic]

@MsRobyn

And here’s a special fuck-you to Diogenes: I have a history of PTSD stemming from an incident that took place 14 years ago (this week, in fact). I don’t wish it on anyone, but if you had to deal with panic attacks, flashbacks, fucked-up dreams, suicidal behavior, mood swings, and all the other goodies that go along with it, you wouldn’t make light of it.

What the fuck are you talking about? When did I make light of PTSD? Show me the exact quote or fucking apologize.

[Jack_Batty]

@Contrapuntal

Can you show me where in that story it says that Spector was carrying around a gun?

Well, I can’t be sure, but I think it was right before he shot that chick in the face.

[Scumpup]

@askeptic

Admit it you’re really twelve years old aren’t you?

If this is the best you can do, why don’t you just go away? You’re neither amusing nor even effectively insulting. Come back when you have something less banal to post.