( Update) Update on Vancouver, WA Man Cited for "Unlawful carrying of a Weapon"

[oneshooter]

Vancouver, WA — In a case being closely watched by open-carry gun advocates nationwide, the Vancouver City Attorney’s Office said Tuesday it plans to proceed with its case against a man who was ticketed March 19 for wearing an openly displayed pistol outside an Albertsons shopping center.
Kurk Kirby, 26, of Vancouver was carrying a total of 35 rounds — including those loaded in the holstered .45-caliber gun and in two magazine clips — when he was ticketed for the crime of unlawful display of a weapon.
A follow-up investigation into the incident initiated by the city attorney’s office led to the formal charges against Kirby, said Kevin McClure, a supervising prosecutor.

“We are going forward with the prosecution of the case,” McClure said.

Police say Kirby made no menacing statements or gestures to anyone while he was at the strip mall at 5000 E. Fourth Plain Blvd. He simply stood around near stores for 10 to 15 minutes before someone called 911, according to a Vancouver Police Department report.
The Vancouver police report says officers were called to the strip mall shortly after 4 p.m. March 19, because a store owner had watched Kirby standing around wearing his gun. The man told police he called 911 because he was concerned for his customers, including several small children.

Three officers approached the supermarket and saw Kirby outside, wearing a skin-tight T-shirt that didn’t cover the large holstered gun.

The report said the officers contacted him, and one took the gun and extra ammo magazines from him.


http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/mar/30/prosecutors-planning-charge-man-open-carry-handgun/


Not my state, so no comment.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[yodoobo]

1. Sounds like he wanted attention

and got it.

[SteveM]

19. Sounds like Vancouver's taxpayers are lightly burdened...

that will change.

[Political Heretic]

2. What if they just prevented a shooting spree....

[xchrom]

3. What if beggars had horses? Nt

[Euromutt]

8. Ever hear of a spree shooter who stood around for 10-15 minutes with his firearm in full view?

Neither have I. Every spree shooter to date has gone to some trouble to keep his weapon(s) out of sight until right before he started shooting.

[Political Heretic]

11. I really don't have details on too many spree shooters.

:shrug:

Just musing.

I really don't have a horse in this gun thing. The thread was on the "latest" page.

While I don't currently own a gun, I have previously and I'm looking to own a shotgun and a handgun again in the future.

On the other hand, I have zero problem with virtually every gun law on the books and wouldn't mind a few more.

So... meh.

[tburnsten]

13. Check out the FNP-9, they are fantastic

And just got an overhaul, a couple changes I personally don't care for, but nothing major. Overall a better pistol for it. More backstraps now too. They don't like specific gun discussions much here, so PM me if you want me to elaborate on why I like them so much.

[Political Heretic]

20. Actually, I even more interested in shotgun recommendations- I gotta run, but I may PM ya about both

[tburnsten]

22. Do it up, I'm not super familiar with shotguns

but I spend a lot of time reading shooting-oriented forums, so I've got a lot of user reviews tucked away in the back of my mind.

[fascisthunter]

4. Poor Guy...

first he's too scared to go grocery shopping without a gun, and then gets arrested...

[paulsby]

16. ah, the fear canard

so boring, so typical

[tburnsten]

5. Is open carry not legal in WA?

I was under the impression that it is, if it is, then I'm not sure how they plan on getting a conviction or avoiding a lawsuit when this is all said and done.

[Euromutt]

6. In principle, yes, it is

The law (adopted in the Black Panther days) prohibits carrying, displaying, etc. firearms and other dangerous weapons "in a manner <...> that either manifests an intent to intimidate another or that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons," (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.270) and existing case law generally supports the position that merely carrying a holstered handgun does not count as either. Most law enforcement agencies in Washington state have accepted that it is not illegal to simply go about in public with a holstered handgun.

But the case law is not very explicit, and the Vancouver city attorney's office apparently has something of a history not liking OC. I'm given to understand there's already a previous OC case which is still being decided.

[ManiacJoe]

9. There are a few open-carry groups

that are working with the police departments of the larger WA cities to get their training materials updated to correctly reflect that open carry is legal in WA. It is a slow process to get the street patrols to refresh their training.

[paulsby]

23. our agency did it long ago

fwiw, it's the public that REALLY needs to be educated.

i've discussed open carry on various details with people (in discussing firearms questions)

i would hazard an educated guess that less than 1/10 of adults in this state understand that we are open carry

[paulsby]

17. i am a cop in WA. it is legal, and they will lose the case

and i hope the guy sues and wins, although i can't imagine a huge judgment since thye just took his gun, no custodial arrest, etc.

the case law is LONG settled.

they will lose

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[msongs]

10. who does all the killing with guns? why gun owners of course lol nt

[X_Digger]

12. who does all the killing with cars? why car owners of course lol

Quick, ban cars@!1!

[rrneck]

14. I applaud your grasp of the obvious.

And your embrace of the oblivious.

[SteveM]

18. HA! Good one for this bright, warm Saturday A.M. nt

[Euromutt]

21. Welcome to Remedial Logic 101

In the words of the John Cleese, on The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Executive Version):

"All wood burns," states Sir Bedivere, "Therefore all that burns is wood." This is, of course, bullshit. Universal affirmatives can only be partially converted. For example, all of Alma Cogan is dead, but only part of the class of dead people is Alma Cogan.

Similarly, while it is a truism to state that all killing with firearms are carried out persons in the possession of a firearm, it does not follow that all persons in the possession of a firearm use those firearms to commit killings.

More specifically, empirical evidence indicates that the overwhelming majority of persons who possess firearms within the bounds of the law do not use them to commit homicides. Indeed, at the current homicide rate, it would take over 2,000 years for every current legal gun owner to commit one homicide. In practice, it would several times as long, since the overwhelming majority of firearm homicides are committed by individuals who were legally prohibited from owning a gun in the first place.

But why do I bother? You're not here to debate; you're just a troll who takes a dump in a thread and then leaves.

[jazzhound]

24. Thanks for the laugh

You reason like a 9 year old!!

[paulsby]

15. the cops in vancouver did wrong, and i say that as a WA state cop

i KNOW several vancouver cops, fwiw. i'm going to ask them about this case.

the only thing the vancouver cops did right is not custodially arrest the guy, but just cite him

it saves them a lot of civil liability.

they will lose in court. i have no doubt