|
From reading the stories and court documents it does not appear to me the Lawyer had much of a case. He was detained for 10 minutes and had to retrieve his gun from the police station later. I do not know how bad the permits are in Mass but in VA you could counterfeit one in about 5 minutes, although the police can verify them pretty quick. The officer has a right to check for concealed weapons if he spots a weapon as he did in this case. The style of how he confronted the lawyer may have been a bit off, but he didn't throw the guy to the ground and handcuff him either. The Mass law sets up some issues that better laws would help. You are not allowed to carry a handgun without a permit and then only concealed. The police can not stop someone for a bulge in their pocket and search them, but in this case the officer or bystanders did see a gun. In VA a person with a temporarily revealed concealed handgun might have the same issue, open carry is legal and you can not be stopped for OC, or even questioned since it is not illegal. Concealed carry without a permit would be. I do not know if such a case has come up in VA, OC ones have and the cities involved are many thousands of dollars poorer as a result.
|