Posted on 02/29/2012 12:22:59 PM PST by marktwain
GRAND RAPIDS — Nicholas Looman says he carries a gun on a regular basis to exercise his rights as a licensed firearms holder.
He’s carried a pistol while grocery shopping, attending public events and while going about other parts of his daily routine. Looman believes he’s well-versed in the state’s right-to-carry laws.
So when he was stopped outside a voting precinct after casting his ballot in Tuesday’s primary election, Looman, 25, said he was frustrated, more than anything, with what he believes is a lack of understanding over what the laws are.
“I don’t want to be a problem. I don’t want to win a lawsuit, but I think there needs to be justice,” said Looman on Tuesday evening, hours after he was told to leave Aberdeen Elementary following a discussion with police. “I would like a public apology.”
Looman said he had already cast his ballot at the Grand Rapids elementary school and was headed out the door Tuesday when a school staff member stopped him and called his pistol into question. The weapon was holstered, in clear view, at his waist, Looman said.
State law prohibits carrying a concealed weapon on school property, Looman said, but his weapon was clearly visible. And he believes he had every right to bring it along to vote.
Looman said Grand Rapids Public Schools staff banned him from school property until further notice.
District Spokesman John Helmholdt said the state school code states that weapons of any kind are not allowed on school property.
He was told Looman came into the school through an entry designated for voters, then after voting, walked into the main portion of the school with a weapon clearly visible. He was stopped at that point by a school worker.
Helmholdt said visitors should know not to bring a weapon into a school.
“Our number one issue is school safety,” he said. “Common sense tells you don’t bring a gun into a school.”
But Looman says he believes his rights as a voter were violated on Tuesday when school staff and authorities confronted him at a polling location. He’s taking a stand in hopes authorities will take a closer look at what the laws are.
“It became a civil liberties infraction because it was a voting day, and that’s disappointing,” he said. “I just wanted to go home to have lunch.”
Now we can justify having our police forces and armed military folks carry ONLY concealed as we'd never want the bad guys to get the drop on them.
After all, if you LOOK weak and an easy mark, the bad guys would leave you alone and target the guy who looks like a threat...
Do I really need to add /sarcasm?
LOL. I see your point.
But my point is that as a private citizen, it’s a better idea to not tip your hand to the criminals or they will use it against you.
When I carry concealed I know that I have the element of surprise. If I carry open then they just have to get the drop on me by shooting me first. They could even say it’s justified and some liberal judge would probably let them off for “defending” themselves against me. I could see that happening.
I would rather have the deck stacked in my favor than give one inch of an edge to the guy who is wanting my money or my life.
You deal with it as you see fit. I’ll do the same.
It should be an individual choice. "Keep and bear arms".
I'd prefer to be able to do both as I see fit without having to worry about running afoul of some over zealous gendarme...
I agree.
Right now in Iowa, we are working on taking back our 2nd amendment rights.
In fact, the libs who hate guns ran from the job this morning due to the pro-gun votes coming to the floor.
They really are flee-baggers.
Yet the ban on guns at schools failed to stop that school shooting. Irony is amazing sometimes.
What is "state school code"?
In Texas it is illegal to carry a firearm into voting precinct regardless of whether one has a concealed carry permit. The only people allowed to carry firearms in a voting location are law enforcement.
In Texas it is illegal to carry a firearm into voting precinct regardless of whether one has a concealed carry permit. The only people allowed to carry firearms in a voting location are law enforcement.
One who carries openly is probably less likely to be confronted by a criminal than one who carries concealed, because many potential attackers will decide that it's silly to attack when they know they'll encounter armed resistance, when they could simply wait and attack (hopefully) unarmed people after the armed people leave. The person who carries openly may well be at a disadvantage if a criminal decides to attack anyway, but the odds of that occurring may be slight compared with the odds of deterring the attack.
Either course of action could be right or wrong, depending upon the situation.
What is wrong with guns in schools?
Works in Israel, Utah and parts of Texas.
This guy made his little part of America safer by being armed.
I will go you one further: Occasionally (but not always), ANY course of action could be right, wrong, or indifferent, depending on the situation, or not. Maybe. The results may be unpredictable, or entirely predictable. Or somewhere in between. Usually.
Un-freaking-believable. I think "Chip Hoyboer" is "unworthy of licensing" for his 1st Amendment Rights. Or his Fifth. Or his Fourth. Let's just go take all of good ol' Chip's stuff, and say, "Sorry dude, you weren't 'licensed for such a right."
There is going to be a civil war. Count on it.
Show me one instance of an OC person having their gun taken as you talk about. Simply. Does. Not. Happen.
Criminals look for easy marks, not for people who show they will defend themselves to the death and are prepared to do so.
FWIW, I OC.
I did it by walking up behind my sister in law, I grabbed her pistol (she uses a low slung cheap swat style holster) and I yanked it out of the holster and had possession of it.
If you’ve ever taken a weapons retention class they show you that this can happen and does. There are numerous times when cops are killed with their own weapons due to this, and they have better holsters than my SIL or Step Brother do.
If you don’t think that criminals will go after armed people then you’re not reading the news. They go after armed police all the time. My 3 nephews are police and they have dealt with this more than once. It’s not as rare as you make it sound.
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