A funny thing happened on the way to the court house...

BobKoontz · Mar 12, 2006

Went to Mexico in Feb, complete with my used and abused CRKT M16.

I stuck that kiife right in my shower bag at LAX and removed it from said bag

upon my arrival in Puerto Villarta.

My brother-in-law the cop did the same, no muss, no fuss and we had our
knives right where they needed to be, in the right front pocket.

That was easy!

Andre · Mar 13, 2006

The security is not a bad thing....

In '96 i went to a South African magistrates court as a witness. Me and other law abiding citizens take care to leave all our tools/accessories/whatnot behind. But what happened that day? In another courtroom, gang members gained access with firearms and there was a shootout. The building was evacuated as dozens of cops descended on the place. You can bet they jacked up security after that!!! Next time there were metal detectors and guards at every door.

Makes me think of life post Sep 11. Back in the old days you could take your PE folders on board planes with no worries. Now iIt's a whole other story. I bet most of you feel as "naked" as me when you fly with no blade

ghostrider · Mar 13, 2006

Andre said:
The security is not a bad thing....

In '96 i went to a South African magistrates court as a witness. Me and other law abiding citizens take care to leave all our tools/accessories/whatnot behind. But what happened that day? In another courtroom, gang members gained access with firearms and there was a shootout. The building was evacuated as dozens of cops descended on the place. You can bet they jacked up security after that!!! Next time there were metal detectors and guards at every door.

...

Another example of what happens when law abiding citizens are disarmed in the name of security.

USSR · Mar 13, 2006

I'm going on a cruise to Alaska this summer, and I am wondering how the good folks on the ship would react to me carrying a knife. I was considering something relatively small (Tasman SALT is small, right?). Does anyone have experience with knives on cruise ships? Anything is welcome. Thanks
Oh, by the way, Zenheretic...Badger-badger-badger...

zenheretic · Mar 14, 2006

ghostrider said:
Another example of what happens when law abiding citizens are disarmed in the name of security.

Couldn't have said it better myself...funny how whenever someone runs amok the teeth gnashers cry for more weapon control, but what I see is a shame that everyone wasn't armed to protect themselves and others.

USSR said:
Oh, by the way, Zenheretic...Badger-badger-badger...

I affectionately refer to my avatar as a Retarded Badger...

peacefuljeffrey · Mar 14, 2006

victory said:
In PA the courthouses are required to store the prohibited items for you. they have lock boxes behind the security desk. I've been asked "where's the war?" before.

What if that item were a legally carried firearm?

Recently, I was headed to pay for my car registration, and when I arrived, I beheld a big sign on the clerk office window that talked about all the prohibited stuff, and I could see a metal detector just inside the doorway (from outside). I suddenly remembered someplace else I had to be. :jerkit: :grumpy:

I had been there the year prior, and there had been no such ridiculousness.

So I mailed in the payment instead.

How long will it be before supermarkets won't let us in with things that are legal for us to carry otherwise?

-Jeffrey

peacefuljeffrey · Mar 14, 2006

Halfneck said:
These are logical rules in a place where criminals are tried & sentenced.
...
Is it a interferance of your rights? In a way, yes, but it is to ensure the safety of several other people's rights. As long as things are handled in a professional & polite manner, I am OK with it. The only real inconveniance is I don't have a pocketknife on me in a courthouse and I can retrieve it when I leave. Nothing but a minor speedbump in my day.

Where is the line drawn, then? You say that it's okay to be forced to be disarmed to "ensure the safety of several other people's rights" -- but why could that argument not be made about people you walk past on a street? In the library? In the market?

The answer, of course, is that it could.

People in a courthouse are no more deserving of the "right" to be protected from you by having you disarmed than people on the street deserve that "protection." When protection for one person means the stripping of defensive protection from another person, it has been taken too far.

Think about it: the call to prohibit you from being allowed to carry a defensive handgun could sound just like this argument you make for disarming you in a courthouse. "We want him to not have available to him the means of doing others harm." Why the delineation between inside the courthouse, and at large in public?

-Jeffrey

Letter-perfect · Mar 14, 2006

ghostrider, Zenheretic, and peacefuljeffrey,

Amen! In the name of "security," all common sense and logical reasoning have left the building.

I recently went to my last rock concert. Haven't been to one in years as I no longer enjoy being in a crowd--this was 20,000+. Granted, it's a smaller venue than many of their concerts. Granted, most of the audience was a bit more mature (okay, okay, so we long-time U2 fans are old...). But I suspected that they would be looking in bags and such now, so I left my purse (and the #&*## binoculars) in the car. Sure enough, they were, and I walked right on through without holding up the line. But when I asked if I could go back out to get my binoculars (dead-last row seats), I was told it was a security risk. Huh? What?

Nevertheless, Cricket and I enjoyed the show, and I kept him close during the walk to and from the arena in downtown Charlotte.

victory · Mar 14, 2006

peacefuljeffrey said:
What if that item were a legally carried firearm?

Recently, I was headed to pay for my car registration, and when I arrived, I beheld a big sign on the clerk office window that talked about all the prohibited stuff, and I could see a metal detector just inside the doorway (from outside). I suddenly remembered someplace else I had to be. :jerkit: :grumpy:

I had been there the year prior, and there had been no such ridiculousness.

So I mailed in the payment instead.

How long will it be before supermarkets won't let us in with things that are legal for us to carry otherwise?

-Jeffrey

In pa you show them your permit and they will unload and secure your firearm. In PA all courthouses must provide a place to secure your gun.

dialex · Mar 14, 2006

Thanks for the stories.

Halfneck · Mar 14, 2006

I live in a small town, work as a nurse, and have a CCW permit because of threats I got from patients that tested + for meth when sent by the Dept of Family Services. I fully believe in the right to bear arms. I own a S&W 14, a S&W 37, a Colt Python, a customized Beretta 92FS Elite, a Sig Trailside, and a Makarov. In rifles I own a customized Thompson Center Contender, a CZ 527, and a custom Ruger 10/22 magnum. I am all for every legal citizen of the U.S.A. learning how to handle guns. Maybe with familiarity then some of these people would stop blaming the guns and focus on the criminals.

At the same time I have trust in my local police to handle things inside a Couthouse or other Govt. buildings. By going into a Courthouse armed I bring a weapon that the Police working there are unaware of on a person they may not recognize as a law-abiding citizen. In doing so there is a weapon that a criminal could have access to (unlikely to get it from me but Murphy's Law you know) or if I draw my pistol in reaction to a incident I could be mistaken by the responding police.

Sure I would like to be able to carry my pistol or a knife wherever I go. The reality is that thanks to Criminals, and legal Citizens that have done Stupid things, this won't happen.