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"That is the basic definition of a "protest": to prod the authorities" NO. Totally false. Carrying a gun, and trying to arbitrary stop cops from doing their j

"That is the basic definition of a "protest": to prod the authorities" NO. Totally false. Carrying a gun, and trying to arbitrary stop cops from doing their jobs is not 'protest' - by any stretch. In fact, I'd suggest that he could be charged with a small crime in many reasonable countries. For example, in many places, it's not legal to alert others of a speed trap at a certain spot. (Radio programs have been stopped from doing this). "It is a basic right in any free society." Possibly legal, but completely inappropriate the point that I, and most regular people will have little sympathy for this guy if he ends up having to go to court only to get the charges thrown out (though I don't think he should be charged with anything). So many people fail to grasp the difference between the law, and reasonable behaviour. Running around with guns hassling cops is not reasonable by any stretch - and people shouldn't do it. If he was holding a sign, in front of the Police building, without weapons, trying to call attention to a specific issue that would be fine. But this guy is just trying to cause problems, and stop police from doing their very important jobs. There are a lot of ways to constructively protest without carrying weapons and prodding cops.

dsp1234 10y ago
Carrying a gun, and trying to arbitrary stop cops from doing their jobs is not 'protest' - by any stretch. Except that's not what happened. His friend was holding up a sign that said there was a checkpoint ahead, and to keep silent. He was filming the police from the side of the road. Neither of those is interfering in any way with police activities (and are protected speech). He was carrying a non-concealed gun, for which he had a permit, and which is not illegal. And we 100% know this was legal, as all of the charges were dropped by the prosecutor. The police aren't 'Appropriate Enforcement', or 'Unlaw Enforcement'. They are Law Enforcement. The enforce the law, and can do so with lethal force. The law says that it's perfectly OK to stand on the side of the road, holding signs warning people of upcoming checkpoints, and recording police while they enforce a checkpoint.
1024core 10y ago
> Carrying a gun You keep bringing up the gun. He was legally allowed to carry a gun. Connecticut is an "open carry" state.
jakelazaroff 10y ago
> So many people fail to grasp the difference between the law, and reasonable behaviour. The difference is that our justice system should only be concerned with enforcing the law. Even if one concedes (I don't) that his behavior was "unreasonable", that's not sufficient for the police to involve themselves.

dsp1234 10y ago

Carrying a gun, and trying to arbitrary stop cops from doing their jobs is not 'protest' - by any stretch. Except that's not what happened. His friend was holding up a sign that said there was a checkpoint ahead, and to keep silent. He was filming the police from the side of the road. Neither of those is interfering in any way with police activities (and are protected speech). He was carrying a non-concealed gun, for which he had a permit, and which is not illegal. And we 100% know this was legal, as all of the charges were dropped by the prosecutor. The police aren't 'Appropriate Enforcement', or 'Unlaw Enforcement'. They are Law Enforcement. The enforce the law, and can do so with lethal force. The law says that it's perfectly OK to stand on the side of the road, holding signs warning people of upcoming checkpoints, and recording police while they enforce a checkpoint.

1024core 10y ago

> Carrying a gun You keep bringing up the gun. He was legally allowed to carry a gun. Connecticut is an "open carry" state.

jakelazaroff 10y ago

> So many people fail to grasp the difference between the law, and reasonable behaviour. The difference is that our justice system should only be concerned with enforcing the law. Even if one concedes (I don't) that his behavior was "unreasonable", that's not sufficient for the police to involve themselves.