Thank heavens this even was happening in Massachusetts, a state that actually requires licensure for open- and concealed-carrying of weapons. There are states where the police would have been powerless to stop these chucklefucks until they had started firing on the convention center largely full of children…
After giving the benefit of the doubt that they did not truly intend to threaten or cause any violence until I see better evidence than what is presented, transporting these guns across state lines and joking about ‘killing the competition’ is still grounds for some level of legal trouble. Why bring them at all? Highwaymen are unlikely to be interested in stealing your Pokemon cards.
I don’t think this really had to do with “licensure of weapons” as you put it but rather what could be interpreted as a very bold threat of physical violence. Also the two chucklekfucks were from Iowa.
They weren’t arrested AT the event or even near it but at their hotel.
AFAIC - Two less idiot gun owners… Felony darwinism in action.
They’re charged with illegal possession of guns and ammo under Massachusetts law, not with conspiring to shoot or even to threaten to shoot people. Clearly, they’re idiots and most likely guilty of what they were charged with, but I think it’s a real stretch based on what was reported to say they intended to cause anyone harm. The article says, “In social media posts on Thursday, Norton and Stumbo had threatened to kill championship attendees, police said. Rachel McGuire, a spokeswoman for the Boston police, said she could not be specific about the threats, but ‘they were violent in nature.’” I’m open to additional evidence, but if they’re talking about an exchange that’s joking on its face (“killing the competition?” followed by “haha yes”), I don’t see the threat.
Their actions are intended to threaten.
You need better evidence than an implication that they’re going to “kill the competition?”
How explicit does a threat need to be before you take it seriously?
Gundude, I choose you! Use blast attack!
Isn’t that a rather common phrase of speech?
I don’t. They were carrying guns. What else do you do with a gun? Open beers? No. They were carrying devices used specifically to do harm.
Carrying something just because, double so in a car, and actually intending to use it, are two different things. Did they show up, brandishing and threatening, or did they just have Something Wrong in their car and made ambiguous comments on the internets?
The fact that the AR had barely enough ammo to fill one magazine - and only one magazine, and most if not all of the shotgun shells had #8 shot (for birds and clay pigeons) leads me to believe they probably weren’t actually going to hurt anyone. I don’t know why they took their guns to a non-gun event. Though maybe they were going shooting afterwards. Or maybe they are young jackasses. OPSEC. And you can’t make stupid jokes like that this day and age.
I love the scare terminology in the article. “two heavily armed”, “a cache of weapons in the car”. OMG - no. They had enough ammo for like 5 min of slow shooting the AR and 4 1/2 games of skeet/trap between the two of them.
If they hadn’t made the idiotic statement on face book this wouldn’t even be suspicious. (Remind me some time to tell you when I got pulled over on the way to a private meet and shoot.
“Norton and Stumbo are each being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and other firearm charges.” The only reason any of those charges came up is because Boston has some extremely draconian drug laws. 98% of the rest of the country they could have nailed them on the threat charges and that’s it.
ETA - also why is the computer and tablet and phones shown with the weapons? Sort of out of place, or do the police consider them as suspicious and dangerous?
This irritates me immensely about this day and age. One has to second-guess what all those thin-skinned cowards could perceive as “threat”.
Electronic warfare, perhaps? In the days of SCADA that’s like a sieve you could make much more damage with one laptop than with a truck of guns.
Yeah, and when you’re not actually carrying weapons, it’s just overly-aggressive cheerleading.
It was and should have been taken seriously. The police investigated and charged them with illegal possession of guns and ammo. The question is whether there was a threat that constitutes a crime. What was reported was “kill the competition … haha”. The “haha” suggests it’s a joke, but maybe in context it wasn’t. In this case, the context is (as far as I can tell) a single comment to a picture of guns. Repeated threatening statements, even if phrased as “jokes”, can be reasonably interpreted as serious threats, but this apparently was a one-off. And while a motive to kill doesn’t have to make logical sense, is there any reason to think someone would go to a competition they intended to enter and actually shoot their competitors? As far as we know, the comment wasn’t even directed at any of their competitors. Taken as a whole, I don’t think a judge would even find probable cause to charge them with anything based on the “threat”, which is probably why they weren’t.
[quote=“CaptainPedge, post:10, topic:64356”]
What else do you do with a gun? Open beers? No. [/quote]
I use mine exclusively to make holes in paper and to bust open little clay pigeons. Opening beers with them would be tricky.
What were they charged with, I suppose it doesn’t matter?
Were the weapons being carried illegally or were they in a legal unloaded locked in the trunk interstate transit.
Still a good call to stop them until it is clear what they are actually doing.
Question first and avoid shooting later?
License to carry? That is only for handguns.
It does go to show that talking stupid and backing it up with possessing means can get you arrested even when white, the world is now like an airport, no stupid jokes.
BTW I think that the investigation and hold was a very harm reduction solution.
All I know is if you make violent boasts you get one point. If you post pics of weapons while going to a non weapon event, you get a second point. And if finally you prove to be an idiot, you get a third and last point.
Jail? No. Gun license permanently revoked for making everyone else look bad and being a general nuisance? New York second.
But you can still say stupid jokes all you want. But doing it with an AR is beyond stupid. It isn’t even the same sport as stupid.
Yeah. You can have the guns, OR you can make stupid jokes about using them.
Once you have both, you’re forcing people to treat you as serious. If it then turns out you are, in fact, breaking the law, more fool you. Well done, you’re idiots.
