# Miss. police: Open carry laws kept us from arresting shotgun-toting man who terrorized shoppers. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 23, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257 "2015-06-23T16:41:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/21 "2015-06-23T19:20:12Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Racking shells into a shotgun, in a Walmart that sells firearms, seems like a good way to test the shotgun. > > Maybe there’s more to this story than has been reported, so far. Yes, I’m sure when additional details come out we’ll found out that the Wal-Mart employees who locked themselves in a safe room and called the cops simply misinterpreted the poor blokes who were testing their shotguns at the sporting goods counter. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/22 "2015-06-23T19:22:09Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Questions usually end with question marks. You can make up any definitions you feel best meets your agenda. > > Open carry is open carry. If you want to talk about open carry, hunting, target shooting, and homes are included. YMMV. > > According to the article in the OP, the Police Chief would have arrested one, or both, if they had actually violated any laws. He wanted to arrest them because his officers had been dispatched to the scene. > > Racking shells into a shotgun, in a Walmart that sells firearms, seems like a good way to test the shotgun. > > Maybe there’s more to this story than has been reported, so far. You’re missing the point of debate. It’s not, “what do you think the law in Mississippi says?” but rather “is unlimited open carry bad law?” ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/23 "2015-06-23T19:24:12Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Questions usually end with question marks. You can make up any definitions you feel best meets your agenda. > > Open carry is open carry. If you want to talk about open carry, hunting, target shooting, and homes are included. YMMV. > > According to the article in the OP, the Police Chief would have arrested one, or both, if they had actually violated any laws. He wanted to arrest them because his officers had been dispatched to the scene. > > Racking shells into a shotgun, in a Walmart that sells firearms, seems like a good way to test the shotgun. > > Maybe there’s more to this story than has been reported, so far. Ok, so your interpretation of the OP is that this man was preparing to, or actually engaged in, hunting, target shooting, or being at home, while inside a Walmart. Or perhaps he was testing out the shotgun that he brought into the store by loading shells into it while he walked around the store. Seriously, this is how you read the OP? Because those points are about as clear-headed as someone responding, “But there are no gun control laws… ON THE MOON!!!” Or one could conceivably argue that there is no firm evidence other than eyewitnesses that the object the man was holding was actually a shotgun: it could have been a long, narrow, rather heavy cake, of the sort that Ace of Cakes could make. And he wasn’t putting shells into it, they were bottles of prescription pills, possibly of a very powerful type that I’m not currently taking that would help me understand what relevance hunting, target shooting, or being at home have to do with being in a Walmart. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/24 "2015-06-23T19:26:36Z")
If Walmart grew a pair and banned open carry in all of their stores, the movement would die a quick death. Where else are the open carry nutjobs going to shop among their own kind? If Winn-Dixie and Publix followed suit they’d all starve to death, and good riddance! ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/25 "2015-06-23T19:35:10Z")
Imagine if you saw a guy walking around racking a firearm. Seconds later, he starts gunning everyone down. A few hours later, Anderson Cooper is interviewing you about the shooting. He asks you what your first thought was when you saw the guy walking around the store like that. Which of the following best describes what you tell Anderson? 1. “The reason I am alive, Anderson, is because my mama didn’t raise no fool. As soon as I saw that guy, I made tracks out of the store.” 2. “I put my hand on my holstered gun so I could be ready to take him out. But then I thought, ‘What are the chances?’ And I relaxed…right before he started shooting at me. You better bet that next time, I won’t hesitate to shoot someone like that.” 3. “I didn’t think anything, Anderson. God-fearing Americans rack their guns any time, any place. I figured he was a God-fearing American. I thought wrong, but I have no regrets.” ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/26 "2015-06-23T19:38:12Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Ok, so your interpretation of the OP is that this man was preparing to, or actually engaged in, hunting, target shooting, or being at home, while inside a Walmart. Or perhaps he was testing out the shotgun that he brought into the store by loading shells into it while he walked around the store. > > Seriously, this is how you read the OP? Because those points are about as clear-headed as someone responding, “But there are no gun control laws… ON THE MOON!!!” Or one could conceivably argue that there is no firm evidence other than eyewitnesses that the object the man was holding was actually a shotgun: it could have been a long, narrow, rather heavy cake, of the sort that Ace of Cakes could make. And he wasn’t putting shells into it, they were bottles of prescription pills, possibly of a very powerful type that I’m not currently taking that would help me understand what relevance hunting, target shooting, or being at home have to do with being in a Walmart. Seriously, did the police arrest anyone? According to the article, they did not. I would like to know exactly what happened in the Walmart. You may not. You seem to accept Tom Boggioni’s, who wrote the Rawstory article, version as gospel. It seems that Boggioni’s version is a little short of facts. Not that facts are of any importance to an anti-firearms story. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/27 "2015-06-23T19:41:25Z")
> [@bup](#): > > You’re missing the point of debate. It’s not, “what do you think the law in Mississippi says?” but rather “is unlimited open carry bad law?” According to whom? You? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/28 "2015-06-23T19:45:45Z")
And people like you will defend any dopey gun-owner who decides to be a dick of the first order because … GUNS!, I guess. You think this was a particularly good idea? Just because they couldn’t be arrested for it? I can’t be arrested for walking into a biker bar and announcing that anyone who rides a Harley is a pussy, but do you think that’s a good idea too? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/29 "2015-06-23T19:47:09Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Racking shells into a shotgun, in a Walmart that sells firearms, seems like a good way to test the shotgun. So, I’m pretty ignorant about the mechanics of buying guns in general, and at Walmart in particular. Are there generally just handfuls of shells lying around that a person can pick up and stick into any convenient firearm sitting on a shelf? I’d expect them to be in some sort of box, at the very least. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/30 "2015-06-23T19:55:04Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So, I’m pretty ignorant about the mechanics of buying guns in general, and at Walmart in particular. Are there generally just handfuls of shells lying around that a person can pick up and stick into any convenient firearm sitting on a shelf? I’d expect them to be in some sort of box, at the very least. Ammunition is kept under lock and key and so are the guns ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/31 "2015-06-23T19:56:22Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Racking shells into a shotgun, in a Walmart that sells firearms, \*\*seems like a good way to test the shotgun. > \*\* > Maybe there’s more to this story than has been reported, so far. So is pulling the trigger. :rolleyes: You never load a gun in a store. A shooting range is the proper place to load a weapon for testing. There was a video some time ago of a police officer who was handed a pistol in a gun shop and tested the trigger. Shot off his finger and hit a kid. ETA I was wrong about the kid. The bullet went in that direction. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/32 "2015-06-23T20:03:26Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > …I can’t be arrested for walking into a biker bar and announcing that anyone who rides a Harley is a pussy, but do you think that’s a good idea too? (post shortened) I think that would be a great idea. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/33 "2015-06-23T20:07:03Z")
Why didn’t they just shoot him? Worked for John Crawford III. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/34 "2015-06-23T20:07:56Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Racking shells into a shotgun, in a Walmart that sells firearms, seems like a good way to test the shotgun. No, it’s not. It’s a terrible and dangerous practice. I have never seen or heard of any FFL that will allow this unless their shop also has a live fire range. Even then it would only be at the range portion which is controlled. I would think this qualifies as brandishing but there is probably things not yet known. I’m staunchly pro gun and this event is just dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/35 "2015-06-23T20:08:41Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > (post shortened) > > I think that would be a great idea. 😃 You must ride a Harley. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/36 "2015-06-23T20:09:48Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So, I’m pretty ignorant about the mechanics of buying guns in general, and at Walmart in particular. Are there generally just handfuls of shells lying around that a person can pick up and stick into any convenient firearm sitting on a shelf? I’d expect them to be in some sort of box, at the very least. Wasn’t that covered in the linked article? No? I guess there’s a lot of info missing from that article. Did this guy just buy the firearm? Did he just buy ammo for the firearm? Did he just walk in off the street and start cycling rounds thru a shotgun? Was it actually a shotgun? Does the media ever get their stories wrong? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/37 "2015-06-23T20:11:48Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > You must ride a Harley. No, no, no. You _push_ a Harley. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/38 "2015-06-23T20:12:15Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > You must ride a Harley. You’re still here? I thought you were looking for biker bars. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/39 "2015-06-23T20:12:35Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Wasn’t that covered in the linked article? No? I guess there’s a lot of info missing from that article. > > Did this guy just buy the firearm? Did he just buy ammo for the firearm? Did he just walk in off the street and start cycling rounds thru a shotgun? Was it actually a shotgun? Does the media ever get their stories wrong? Who are you, my rabbi? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/40 "2015-06-23T20:13:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Who are you, my rabbi? I thought it was duck season? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257.md?page=3)