Your weapon is drawn or your hand is on your weapon if...

[kentuck]

...you are fearful or you are in a place you do not feel secure. Even if you are in your home and you think you hear something suspicious, you do not put your weapon in your back holster.

If you following a suspicious person in the dark, would your gun be in the holster?

I don't think so. What is your opinion?

[Punkingal]

1. Yep..

You nailed it.

[premium]

2. My opinion is

that I don't have an opinion, I wasn't there that night and there's no evidence either way.

[loyalsister]

3. you have access to it

.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. kentuck

I can't answer the question.

I've never followed a suspicious person in the dark.


I wouldn't follow a suspicious person in the dark.

We DO have fire arms in our home.

But I would never leave the safety of my home and take my gun out in the streets to follow a suspicious person.


I pay my taxes. We have an excellent police force where I live and that's what I pay taxes for.


Many have degrees in criminal justice and they often come from training in the State Troopers or Newark / Elizabeth /Camden . . . they are dying to get a chance to come out to my community in 'horse country'.

It's just my perspective of course - but there is someone better qualified and trained than me to handle that situation.

That's why when I call 911 I sit tight and let the big women (we have two women who patrol our neighborhood most of the time now) handle it. It's their job. Not mine.

[Lizzie Poppet]

13. Same here. Never followed a suspicious person in the dark.

I'm not a cop...it's not my job.

I've avoided suspicious persons in the dark a time or two. Pistol stayed in the holster, the times I had one...as it wasn't needed.

[NightWatcher]

5. You're not a cop. Why are you following scary black teens?

Go back home and finish your pizza, jerk off to Dirty Harry, and go to bed.

[JustAnotherGen]

6. This is what I think is the fundamental

Distinction between people who want to give Zimmerman allllllll kinds of benefit of the doubt - and people who think he's a jackass. Seriously.

To me - it makes absolutely NO SENSE whatsoever to do what he did when he is not a member of the Police Force, the DEA, the CIA, the FBI etc. etc. . . . who did he think he was? Clarice Starling? For god's sake! Keep your ass right where it is and let the REAL cops handle the situation.

[byeya]

7. No, you don't put the firearm into the holster located in the small of your back.

I know that apparently many plain clothes officers have their holsters located there but to remove the gun and point it forward, at an early point of this process the barrel is pointing into your body and your arm is in an awkward position. Either a holster on your belt(either side) or a shoulder holster is safer for you and allows quicker access.

[justanaverageguy]

8. Yes, I think it would

Following someone that I think may be up to no good doesn't mean that I'm so afraid that I need to have my gun in hand.

[Lurks Often]

9. Legally you can't draw the gun just because someone is suspicious

there has to be some sort of threat, one that you would need to be able to substantiate to at least the police if not to a jury.

To put in more plainly, if the prosecution had been able to prove that Zimmerman had his gun out then he should be found guilty of at least manslaughter.

But you don't convict people on guesses and what we "think" happened.

[premium]

10. ^^^This^^^.

Drawing you weapon when their is no threat at the time is considered brandishing, which is a crime, and, like you said, if the state could've proven it, they damn well would've charged him.

[byeya]

11. In many states it's not considered brandishing if you hold the weapon by your side with

the barrel pointing to the ground and don't move it from this position.

[Decoy of Fenris]

14. Gun in holster for all of the above.

Basic gun training: Do not have either your finger on the trigger or your gun drawn/pointed unless you have every intention to fire it and/or kill.