vt357 wrote:
Well if the LEO had reasonable suspicion to believe that you were carrying while underage then he could stop you ask for you ID. The same could be said if he had reasonable suspicion that you were a felon carrying a gun then he could stop you. But just having a hunch that you are underage or might be a felon is not probable cause for a stop. The responsibility is on the LEO to show that we ARE NOT of legal age to carry - not the other way around. Innocent until proven guilty kind of thing. IANAL.
If you do not look 18 or older... it is not a "hunch" but reasonable suspicionyou may be in the progress of committing a crime. Same thing would go for having a pack of smokes or alcohol.
A hunch would be.... "I think that underage kid is hiding agun in his back pack because he is a known gang member."
Just because you do not know the age for sure does not mean you cannot stop someone. Most of the time it is rather obvious that someone is "likely" old enough to have the items above.
So where exactly would we draw the line anyway? You see a kid who is OBVIOUSLY 12 and he has a hand gun. I have NO PROOF he is 12 so I cannot stop him and ask?
Long and short.... if you have reason to believe a crime is being committed... you have the ability to check it out.
Innocence and guilt are terms used in court after you ave been charged with a crime. On the street... the police simply check to see if there is or is not a violation and send you to court for the final decision.