Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Should you have to tell a police officer you're carrying a gun? [View all]Glassunion
(10,201 posts)This is exactly why you should not have to notify.
99% of police officers are great. I should not have to put my freedom, dignity or safety into the hands of a 1% not so great police officer.
Perhaps I'm jaded, because of my experiences with the police. But put yourself in my shoes. Imagine being a black man who has to tell a police officer "oh by the way, I'm carrying a gun". Honestly think about how that scenario would play out.
I must keep in mind that I do not have the same experiences that the majority of other Americans have.
But...
I have been "stopped and frisked" without cause on more than one occasion.
I have been detained at sobriety checkpoints while completely sober.
Before I could afford to move my mother out of the shitty neighborhood she lived in, I would get pulled over at least 3 out of every 5 times I went to see her. The police would get upset when you called them by name because you knew it from so many experiences with them.
But again I ask that you play out the scenario in your mind where a black person has to notify an officer that they are licensed to carry a firearm and that they have a firearm on their person. Is that worth having to notify for everyone?