# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/101 "2015-06-24T10:37:45Z")
I own a couple of guns, a handgun and a shotgun. If I carried the shotgun into my local \*gun store \*, say it needed work done, and loaded/racked the gun inside the _gun store_ I’d be told to get the fuck out at best. I would not be surprised if the owner pulled her gun on me while hitting the silent alarm. But WalMart? WTF? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/102 "2015-06-24T13:58:02Z")
doorhinge (and others who are arguing in the ‘no harm, no foul’ portion of this debate), one query: If **you** had been in that store _with your children_ (or depending on your age, your siblings, niece/nephew(s), etc., and observed a man enter the store with a shotgun and then load and rack it in your vicinity… What would you have thought? What would you have done? I truly am curious as to your response. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/103 "2015-06-24T13:59:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I own a couple of guns, a handgun and a shotgun. If I carried the shotgun into my local \*gun store \*, say it needed work done, and loaded/racked the gun inside the _gun store_ I’d be told to get the fuck out at best. I would not be surprised if the owner pulled her gun on me while hitting the silent alarm. > > But WalMart? WTF? You’re a pretty biased source, and you’re leaving lots out of this story, **kayaker**. What gauge shotgun? Does the store sell that gauge? Is that the store where you bought it? We’re missing lots of important information. ---
**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 24, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/104 "2015-06-24T14:10:53Z")
> [@bup](#): > > You’re a pretty biased source, and you’re leaving lots out of this story, **kayaker**. > > What gauge shotgun? Does the store sell that gauge? Is that the store where you bought it? We’re missing lots of important information. Was the stock synthetic or natural walnut? This is _critical_, people! ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/105 "2015-06-24T14:39:01Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I own a couple of guns, a handgun and a shotgun. If I carried the shotgun into my local \*gun store \*, say it needed work done, and loaded/racked the gun inside the _gun store_ I’d be told to get the fuck out at best. I would not be surprised if the owner pulled her gun on me while hitting the silent alarm. > > But WalMart? WTF? If this particular Walmart sells guns, doesn’t that make it a _gun store_? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/106 "2015-06-24T14:42:33Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > If this particular Walmart sells guns, doesn’t that make it a _gun store_? No. It’s a WalMart that sells guns. I do not know anyone who has purchased a gun from a WalMart. I know several people who have bought guns from gun stores, where guns, ammo, gun cases, scopes, hunting coats, targets, and fishing rods are sold. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/107 "2015-06-24T14:48:05Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > But that’s not the way it works. If the police waited until they “knew all the facts” they would never actually be able to do anything. > > I don’t actually think that anyone was in any real danger. I think the intent was too cause controversy, gain attention and scare people. But we only know that because no one was actually shot. At the point that police hear “suspicious activity + public location + firearms involved” they are morally and legally required to intervene. > > Furthermore, even if scaring people is not technically illegal, it should be. Given all the mass shooting in recent years, doing things that scare people with guns is an incredibly malicious thing to do. (post shortened) I don’t believe the the Chief did anything wrong. Neither did the responding officers. It appears that satisfactory police procedures are in place to handle the various calls that the PD receive from the public. When the PD recieved calls from the public concerning actions at the Walmart, it was decided to dispatch SWAT. Why was that decision made? When the media asked if the Chief thought that the police had overreacted, he said, “Absolutly not”, and I agree with him. _02:41 - We have seen open carry. Nothing that has garnered this kind of reaction. And you have to understand, this a reaction by you all, the public. We were drawn into it in response. But again, As Cary was asking, do you think this was an overreaction, absolutly not._ > **[Miss. police: Open carry laws kept us from arresting shotgun-toting man who...](https://www.rawstory.com/2015/06/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-walmart-shoppers/)** > > The police chief of  Gulfport, Mississippi, expressed his frustration with his state's open carry laws after a man strolling through a Walmart Sunday night menaced shoppers by loading and racking shells into his shotgun, causing police to... In order to better understand why SWAT was dispatched, I believe that it’s important to hear the 9-1-1 calls that were received by the PD. Since there were no arrests, I consider it unlikely that the recordings will be released. As to your other post, police respond because they are notified of a possible crime, or dangerous situation. As I said earlier, the police did nothing wrong in this case. I do question the sincerity of some of the callers who reported the incident. Were they trying to create a nationally televised incident? Was this the first time they had ever seen a shotgun outside of a violent video game or TV show? You state that you THINK the intent (of the open carry) was too cause controversy, gain attention and scare people. But then claim that “WE” only KNOW that because no one was actually shot. Based on the evidence available to date, “WE” don’t KNOW anything of the kind. The rest of your post has nothing to do with the events that occured at the Walmart. ---
**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 24, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/108 "2015-06-24T14:51:15Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > If this particular Walmart sells guns, doesn’t that make it a _gun store_? If you buy whiskey at the local supermarket, does that make it a liquor store? ---
**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 24, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/109 "2015-06-24T14:54:47Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > If this particular Walmart sells guns, doesn’t that make it a _gun store_? If you buy a condom in Safeway, does that make it a sex shop? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/110 "2015-06-24T15:00:22Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > No. It’s a WalMart that sells guns. I do not know anyone who has purchased a gun from a WalMart. I know several people who have bought guns from gun stores, where guns, ammo, gun cases, scopes, hunting coats, targets, and fishing rods are sold. Guns, ammo, gun cases, scopes, hunting coats, targets, and fishing rods are sold at both of the Walmarts in Gulfport, MS. I guess that makes them a gun store. Are you close to either store? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/111 "2015-06-24T15:01:50Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > If you buy whiskey at the local supermarket, does that make it a liquor store? Yes. ---
**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 24, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/112 "2015-06-24T15:04:56Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Yes. Is it legal for underage customers to enter the store? ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/113 "2015-06-24T15:06:05Z")
Doesn’t Mississippi have any laws concerning menacing? Brandishing a pocket knife here could get you arrested. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/114 "2015-06-24T15:09:30Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Guns, ammo, gun cases, scopes, hunting coats, targets, and fishing rods are sold at both of the Walmarts in Gulfport, MS. I guess that makes them a gun store. Are you close to either store? The WalMart near me sells DVDs. They are a video store. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/115 "2015-06-24T15:12:21Z")
They sell stamps, so they’re post offices too. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/116 "2015-06-24T15:14:04Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > doorhinge (and others who are arguing in the ‘no harm, no foul’ portion of this debate), one query: If **you** had been in that store _with your children_ (or depending on your age, your siblings, niece/nephew(s), etc., and observed a man enter the store with a shotgun and then load and rack it in your vicinity… > > What would you have thought? What would you have done? > > I truly am curious as to your response. If it were a 20ga, my daughter would have asked if she could see it. She’s looking for a good 20ga. This incident didn’t occur in a Chicago, or a NYC, where people piss in their pants when they see a firearm. It occurred in an area where people are used to seeing firearms in the hands of hunters, target shooters, store owners, business persons, farmers, ranchers, and self-defense advocates. According to the media reports, the Walmart was the 3rd store these open-carry shot gunners had entered that day. What was different about the Walmart? Was it how some members of the public had described the incident to 9-1-1? ---
**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 24, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/117 "2015-06-24T15:14:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > They sell stamps, so they’re post offices too. They have bathrooms and kitchens and garages-they must also be private residences! ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/118 "2015-06-24T15:15:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The WalMart near me sells DVDs. They are a video store. I agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/119 "2015-06-24T15:18:38Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > If this particular Walmart sells guns, doesn’t that make it a _gun store_? I think the point that he was trying to make was that if one walked into a store that sold only guns and had knowledgeable staff used to guns and gun owners and if one did what those clowns did in the Walmart, then one would get the bum’s rush out of there and/or have the police summoned. I’m assuming that the proper etiquette if one was bringing in a gun into a store to see what parts might fit it would be to carry the gun in a bag or something and not make like you’re about to shoot. ---
**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 24, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-police-open-carry-laws-kept-us-from-arresting-shotgun-toting-man-who-terrorized-shoppers/723257/120 "2015-06-24T15:19:06Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > This incident didn’t occur in a Chicago, or a NYC, where people piss in their pants when they see a firearm. It occurred in an area where people are used to seeing firearms in the hands of hunters, target shooters, store owners, business persons, farmers, ranchers, and self-defense advocates. Someone’s never been to Gulfport. [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=5) [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=7)