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Man toted AR-15 in Abington to 'gauge the political climate,' police chief says [PA]
Philly.com ^ | 5/1/2018 | Erin McCarthy & Joseph A. Gambardello

Posted on 05/02/2018 8:21:41 AM PDT by dirtboy

Police first encountered the man walking the streets of Abington with an AR-15 rifle slung across his back around 8:30 p.m. Friday.

In talking with officers that night, he gave only his first name and explained that he “wanted to educate the public about his right to carry this weapon,” Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy said. “He also wanted to gauge the political climate of Abington Township.”

When that same man resurfaced Monday afternoon, carrying the same type of semiautomatic weapon through the North Hills, Ardsley, Glenside, and Abington Shopping Center sections of the township, residents became alarmed. Sightings prompted at least a dozen 911 calls, Molloy said, and ignited online debate about the balance of citizens’ Second Amendment rights and public safety. Pennsylvania is one of 45 states that allows citizens to openly carry firearms in public places.

In an open letter to residents, Molloy called the man’s action a “passive-aggressive tactic” aimed at drawing law enforcement officers into a debate over the Second Amendment. During multiple conversations with officers, the man with the AR-15 appeared to be recording the encounters on his cellphone, Molloy said. On YouTube, open-carry advocates across the country have posted thousands of videos documenting their interactions with police.

“We believe we know who he is,” Molloy said. “We believe he does not pose a threat given our contact with him.”

(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: ar15; banglist; pennsylvania; rkba; secondamendment
I lived in Abington Township prior to moving to Texas. All kinds of Hate Has No Home Here signs sprouted like mushrooms after Trump's election. All kinds of local snowflakes don't understand state law regarding open carry. The cops obviously are gnashing their teeth that they can't do anything to stop him - and that is the point being made. It is a right, no matter how many liberals infect a township.
1 posted on 05/02/2018 8:21:41 AM PDT by dirtboy
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To: dirtboy

“Sightings ...ignited online debate about the balance of citizens’ Second Amendment rights and public safety.”

What’s to debate? Everyone was safe.


2 posted on 05/02/2018 8:23:33 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

They felt unsafe. And feelings are the primary driver for snowflakes.


3 posted on 05/02/2018 8:27:47 AM PDT by dirtboy
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To: BenLurkin

Without the Second Amendment, all of the others are meaningless.


4 posted on 05/02/2018 8:36:34 AM PDT by Howie66 ("Tone down the tagline please." - Admin Moderator)
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To: dirtboy

I recently visited. Correct about those stupid signs.


5 posted on 05/02/2018 8:38:32 AM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear
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To: dirtboy

"...hate has no home here..."


I howl with laughter each time those virtue-signaling signs are observed (mostly) on homes costing $2M and up.
Try pedaling your bicycle nearby on a sweltering July day, go up their driveway, and ask to use their garden hose to fill waterbottles.
See what kind of distrustful response one receives despite being a typical, educated, decent, pleasant, law-abiding (yet thirsty) American citizen.


6 posted on 05/02/2018 8:55:41 AM PDT by Blue Jays ( Rock hard ~ Ride free)
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To: dirtboy
“We believe we know who he is,” Molloy said. “We believe he does not pose a threat given our contact with him.”

Pretty loaded statement reading between the lines and utter BS. The definition of INFRINGED has never changed.

Philly burbs is totally libtard blue.

7 posted on 05/02/2018 10:19:27 AM PDT by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.-S.Adams)
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To: dirtboy

Fair, unbiased article. I was surprised.


8 posted on 05/02/2018 10:30:32 AM PDT by faucetman (Just the facts, ma'am, Just the facts)
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To: dirtboy

Here in Fort Worth the locals would see him and ask him where he was headed to hog hunt.


9 posted on 05/02/2018 10:35:18 AM PDT by DainBramage
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To: DainBramage

We’d check out his piece’s mods and inquire as to the loads he uses...

But in a non-rural locality, he’s trigger triggering the poof-triggered fems, millennialis and What’s to debate? Everyone was safe.

This is certainly a cop test — Gonna side wth COTUS/2A or emo fem PC crowd? I think a national cop test is kind of happening now, pushed by these activities.


10 posted on 05/02/2018 11:08:55 AM PDT by polymuser (Its terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged today. - Chesterton)
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To: polymuser

Cop Test...

Interesting.
But Barney Fife could “Snap!”


11 posted on 05/02/2018 11:22:14 AM PDT by Big Red Badger (UNSCANABLE in an IDIOCRACY!)
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To: dirtboy

I applaud that man. Patriots should be doing that all over the country.


12 posted on 05/02/2018 1:02:03 PM PDT by Windflier (Pitchforks and torches ripen on the vine. Left too long, they become black rifles.)
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To: dirtboy

Open carry here in Arizona is usually not an issue.


13 posted on 05/02/2018 3:10:58 PM PDT by Nateman (If the left is not screaming, you are doing it wrong.)
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To: Windflier

“I applaud that man. Patriots should be doing that all over the country.”

Agreed.

L


14 posted on 05/02/2018 3:12:41 PM PDT by Lurker (President Trump isn't our last chance. President Trump is THEIR last chance.)
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