imported post
I just e-mailed this to the Public Affairs officer of the local police department. Will post their response when I receive it. Whatever they say, I thought it would be worthwhile for them to devote some thought to this before the fact. I put it in the Ohio section as it only pertains to this one department.
-ljp
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I work in the gun department of the pawn shop downtown, and I have had customers express concerns over the possibility of a hurricane Katrina-like situation arising where, in the wake of some natural disaster, say, the police take the measure of forcibly removing people from their homes, and even confiscating weapons in the ostensible interest of public safety. These emergencies are situations where police are compromised in their ability to respond normally, and where there is an increased propensity to lawlessness - in short, times when people might most need to have firearms to protect themselves.
My question is whether the Hamilton Municipal Police have any established policy with regard to disaster response, vis firearms rights.
I have also been asked by patrons to inquire as to whether the local police have any policy regarding the "open carry" of a firearm (without regard to carry permit status). This is not itself illegal as the law stands - the "inducing panic" and "disorderly conduct" laws do not prohibit this by itself, absent additional attendant criminality. Apart from the question of whether one would with to encourage this behavior or not, is there any departmental policy concerning the handling of reports of armed people not otherwise committing crimes?
Thanks for your time.
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Well, I already got a response by phone and the guy said that they did have a policy with regard to disasters - without elaborating what the policy was or where I could see a copy of it. He further said that anyone open carrying was taking their chances and that it was up to the individual responding officer's discretion as to whether they might be arrested for "inducing panic" or "disorderly conduct." He emphasized that it would depend on the circumstances and the reasonableness of the explanation they got, but I was left with the impression that anyone carrying who did not supply a reason to their satisfaction would likely get arrested. Not an entirely satisfactory exchange, but the guy did express interest in seeing the shop, so I hope to be able to continue this conversation later.
I just e-mailed this to the Public Affairs officer of the local police department. Will post their response when I receive it. Whatever they say, I thought it would be worthwhile for them to devote some thought to this before the fact. I put it in the Ohio section as it only pertains to this one department.
-ljp
----
I work in the gun department of the pawn shop downtown, and I have had customers express concerns over the possibility of a hurricane Katrina-like situation arising where, in the wake of some natural disaster, say, the police take the measure of forcibly removing people from their homes, and even confiscating weapons in the ostensible interest of public safety. These emergencies are situations where police are compromised in their ability to respond normally, and where there is an increased propensity to lawlessness - in short, times when people might most need to have firearms to protect themselves.
My question is whether the Hamilton Municipal Police have any established policy with regard to disaster response, vis firearms rights.
I have also been asked by patrons to inquire as to whether the local police have any policy regarding the "open carry" of a firearm (without regard to carry permit status). This is not itself illegal as the law stands - the "inducing panic" and "disorderly conduct" laws do not prohibit this by itself, absent additional attendant criminality. Apart from the question of whether one would with to encourage this behavior or not, is there any departmental policy concerning the handling of reports of armed people not otherwise committing crimes?
Thanks for your time.
----
Well, I already got a response by phone and the guy said that they did have a policy with regard to disasters - without elaborating what the policy was or where I could see a copy of it. He further said that anyone open carrying was taking their chances and that it was up to the individual responding officer's discretion as to whether they might be arrested for "inducing panic" or "disorderly conduct." He emphasized that it would depend on the circumstances and the reasonableness of the explanation they got, but I was left with the impression that anyone carrying who did not supply a reason to their satisfaction would likely get arrested. Not an entirely satisfactory exchange, but the guy did express interest in seeing the shop, so I hope to be able to continue this conversation later.