Police making up gun law as they go along

A hunter in Denver, Colorado walked into the hotel where Nancy Pelosi was staying with a rifle case. Secret Service freaks, evacuates the hotel, the guy gets arrested on weapons charges and has been released on $10,000 bond. The stories on this are here, here and here. So far. David has more as well. As does Bitter.

First, I want to fisk elements of these articles. Emphasis in all cases is mine. From the WTOP News article:

Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said 29-year-old Joseph Calanchini of Pinedale, Wyo., faces a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon after police officers at the Grand Hyatt hotel noticed him carrying a rifle-type case while checking in. Calanchini did not have a concealed weapons permit, said Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety.

Wiley said authorities were not releasing information about whether the weapons were loaded because the case remained under investigation. Wiley said the charge is the same whether the weapons were loaded or unloaded.

Is a concealed weapon permit required in Colorado for the transport of any firearm in a case? If not, the charge should have never been brought. From the 9NEWS article:

He says he had just picked up his rifles from the Sportsman's Warehouse and had them in a locked gun case when he checked in at the Grand Hyatt. The clerk checking him in noticed the rifle case and called security.

Locked case. Answers the questions for the rifle(s).

Police say Calanchini had permits for the rifles, but did not have concealed permits to carry two pistols that were found in his luggage. Calanchini says he forgot they were in there.

Are permits required to own rifles in Wyoming? Otherwise, they are confusing a concealed permit with purchase paperwork. They are not the same thing. As to the pistols, unless Colorado state law and/or Denver local law required the owner to have a concealed permit for mere possession of the pistol off one's person, how have any laws been violated here?

Calanchini, who sells drilling tools across Colorado and Wyoming, says he is a frequent guest at the Grand Hyatt. But the Grand Hyatt General Manager says he was not a registered guest at the hotel. "We don't know why he was walking through our hotel," said General Manager Ed Bucholtz.

Because he was looking to check in and get a room probably, you nitwit! And lastly, from the Fox News article:

Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said 29-year-old Joseph Calanchini of Pinedale, Wyo., faces a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon after police officers at the Grand Hyatt hotel noticed him carrying a rifle-type case while checking in. Calanchini did not have a concealed weapons permit, said Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety.

Wiley said authorities were not releasing information about whether the weapons were loaded because the case remained under investigation. Wiley said the charge is the same whether the weapons were loaded or unloaded.

Sure, the police don't have to release any information that might weaken their case and show they overreacted but it is perfectly acceptable for the Colorado Department of Public Safety to dig into Mr. Calanchini's background and release the results of that investigation when it doesn't or may not favor him. Double standard at work here?

Authorities were investigating a report that Calanchini was in town on business and had had the weapons worked upon to prepare for the trip.

How is the fact he had a gun worked on prior to the trip have any bearing on this situation? I believe it is an attempt by the media to ascribe a sinister tendency in the readers mind of having the gun worked on just prior to coming to the hotel. Neutral and objective, my ass.

You good and mad yet? No? Fine, let's make you mad. This is a wake-up call. This is not a Democratic vs. Republican issue. This is an authority issue and no gun owner is safe from it. Hunters, sportsman, you think you are safe in your gun ownership and usage? Think again. What follows is my own opinion. I am hoping readers in Colorado can help me correct any bad assumptions on my bad.

How did this man violate any laws? From where I am sitting, if all his guns were unloaded and no ammunition in the same cases, then he adhered to the law. Federal transport law, specifically. And if no permits are required in Denver and Colorado as a whole for the possession of those arms, then he should have never been arrested. All of his actions would have been protected under FOPA'86.

The fact that he was arrested indicates authority gone mad and that should terrify you. Yes, I understand the Secret Service is institutionally paranoid and given recent events, probably reacted sharply at the prospect of an armed man in the hotel. But upon questioning, it should have gone no further than a stern warning to behave.

If my transport assumptions are correct, the Colorado and/or local police are way out of line charging this guy with a concealed weapons charge. Concealed generally means "carried upon one's person". Pistols in luggage and rifles in cases is not concealed carry and any attempt to stretch that meaning to encompass it is a pure abuse of authority.

I am certain the Pelosi or the Democrats in the vicinity had a hand in this. I am sure if this had been any other week, the nosy clerk would have likely said nothing. Or maybe not. Maybe they hated guns and was alarmed at being in their mere presence? Who knows? There is still no excuse for their over-reaction to a benign situation.

The truly frightening part is they are going to destroy this man's life to make an example out of him for daring to have legally owned firearms where it made someone uncomfortable or near a government official who might feel that it is wrong. Generally, $10,000 bond means they are going to carry through on the charges. Otherwise, those in power will lose face by having made a mistake and heaven forbid the police or prosecutors make mistakes! Then they'll get sued. Oh no, better to prosecute him on a technical violation than to admit they were wrong and overreacted. And because they have the power, they can. And will.

And do you think this will be remembered by Nancy Pelosi next year the next time the prospect of a gun control bill comes up? I do. Maybe she'll think something needs to be done about these reckless hunters and their high-powered weapons.

I love this country but I am flat-out terrified at the chasm I see growing between those with authority that is supposedly granted to them by the People and the rest of us unable to challenge it. We've lost our ability to challenge it. If the government juggernaut chooses to come down on you, you lose. It will grind you up, wear you down until you whimper for mercy and then they'll either release you or imprison you. Either way, you'll be broken in spirit and never rise up again. We don't need gulags in this country to break you. Crossing someone in authority who feels you're too uppity for your own good will do the job just fine.

All we can do now as law-abiding citizens and would-be citizens is hope we aren't the ones they choose to come down on and hope we can live our lives and pursue our interests in peace.

That isn't freedom, folks. It is merely slavery without the chains. If the best we can hope for is that the master won't beat us and we get another day without pain, we are no longer free.

This must stop! We must organize, write letters and do everything in our power to pressure our legislatures to reign in these abuses of authority. To return to a time where the primary duty of a police officer is to maintain the peace, not engage in law-enforcement to the exclusion of all others and place themselves above us because of their profession. We're rapidly losing respect for such authority. Those authorities have forgotten that respect is earned, not bestowed. It cannot be forced upon the citizen by baton, pepper spray, taser, gun or the threat of arrest. All that does is widen the chasm. And yet, respect or not, they will persist in these actions unless something is done.

"With regard to firearms, the citizen acts at his peril.". I thought we only had to fear and avoid New Jersey. It seems those words have infected the country as whole and we seem powerless to stop it.

We must stop it. Otherwise, all I am working for to become a citizen of this nation will be for naught. I left Canada and gained freedom. I did not come all this way only to have shackles placed upon me and be told by those unelected authoritarians that I must behave or else. It is not their place to decide such things on a personal level.

We have to stop this. It is becoming too frequent, too close to home. The most frightening part of this is: "What if the usual methods fail? If this status quo remains? What then?!?".

Original report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)