People at Pro-gun rally just let the cops arrest a pieceful supporter of 2nd amend

http://www.infowars.com/man-arrested-at-nashville-tn-gun-rally-for-carrying-an-ar15/

Looks like all is lost in TN .... they just let the cops arrest an innocent man....

Why do you want your gun rights? To watch obviously.

Not sure what you mean by "let them", what exactly did you want the other people at the rally to do?

The problem is the way the law is written in TN. It is a crime to possess a firearm in TN period. There are certain defenses to this, one being that his AR-15 was unloaded, but they are just that, defenses.

Most of the time LEOs use discretion and may not arrest someone who they obviously knows has a good defense, but they are within the law if they do arrest them thereby making the person use the defense in court.

This arrest could be a way to get the law changed, which is what needs to be done and not a shootout between LEOs and citizens on Legislative Plaza.

Does not sound so innocent. Is there a law prohibiting loaded rifles in public? This is what he was cited for, rounds in the mag.

Also, as we see right here on OCDO, plenty of people consider cops heroes in blue selflessly protecting the public, etc., etc. Just because they support the 2nd Amendment doesn't mean they appreciate the full spectrum of rights in depth. I'll bet that at any given 2A rally, less than 20% know their 4A rights during a police encounter, and of those who do know, many would not exercise them, prefering instead to "cooperate."

MSG Laigaie said:

Does not sound so innocent. Is there a law prohibiting loaded rifles in public? This is what he was cited for, rounds in the mag.

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According to the statute, rounds in the chamber are illegal with a handgun permit. If he didn't have a handgun carry permit, then there couldn't be any ammo in the gun or on his person. It is important that if you are going to carry ANY gun in TN you are familiar with TN law, specifically TCA 39-17-1307 and TCA 39-17-1308 (defenses to unlawful carry). While many disagree with the laws here they have been in place for quite some time and unsuccesfully challenged for the most part.

On a site note, a misdmeanor citation is the same as an arrest. The misdemeanor citations that we use in TN lets us release the arrestee and allow him to turn himself in within 14 days. He will have to appear in court to answer to the charge just as if he was taken to booking at the time of the arrest.

I'm not sure what the OP is looking for as far as a response. Going fist to cuffs with the arresting officers would have been the last thing to try.

MSG Laigaie said:

Does not sound so innocent. Is there a law prohibiting loaded rifles in public? This is what he was cited for, rounds in the mag.

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If that is the case then he was clearly violating the law. In TN even if he had the loaded magazine in his back pocket, the rifle would have still been considered loaded because the ammunition was within his immediate vicinity.

Now if you have a HCP you can have a loaded long gun in your private vehicle, so long as a round is not in the chamber, but not walking down the street.

Again, I think the problem here is the law and in this case not so much the ones that were enforcing it.

Interesting about the differences between handgun and long gun carry etc. every state seems to have their own take on firearms law to a certain degree. Guess if I ever attend a pro 2a rally down there I'll just tote the handgun(s) and leave the long gun secured elsewhere. No sense walking around with a long, bulky, not particularly efficient club on my shoulder is there?

Brian D. said:

.......Guess if I ever attend a pro 2a rally down there I'll just tote the handgun(s) and leave the long gun secured elsewhere. No sense walking around with a long, bulky, not particularly efficient club on my shoulder is there?

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This is truth. We are trying to win "hearts and minds" on this issue. It is my own opinion (your mileage may vary) that carrying a long gun at a 2A rally is counter productive to the Cause. We do not want to scare people away. You may do as you please with your own weapons, but I want to "normalize" the OC of a handgun.