A man was legally carrying his weapon on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin last week. State street is a popular restaurant and nightlife area for the thousands of students and residents that live in the bustling college town. On ‘just another average night’, another man had other ideas about the weapon on the man’s hip.
Melvin Bogus (not kidding) was arrested for reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm by a felon when he decided to grab the man’s weapon from his holster and in turn point it at him in public!
“Why you wanna kill people” was overheard, as Bogus and the man started the interaction with a verbal altercation. It escalated to Bogus grabbing one of the man’s weapons and pointing at him.
The man in turned grabbed his other gun and a standoff ensued. No one was shot, police arrived, and Bogus was taken into custody.
Let’s start with the discussion about open carry here and talk about your responsibilities to not allow others to obtain your weapons. Weapon retention and awareness…..it is a serious consideration when you choose to carry your legal firearm this way. We can also start the discussion about the man and why he chose to aim a gun at man who had just taken one of his guns, and DOES NOT shoot him? Leave your opinion in the comments section or join the conversation over on the PDN Facebook page.
This has always been my concern ever since I got my first personal defense firearm. It almost compels you to move on to having to get a concealed carry permit especially if the firearm is for more than home defense. Open carry only opens you up as a target for 1) anti gun legislation from those who will cry intimation 2) the random knuckle head looking to score a firearm for criminal intent at your expense 3) unnecessary negative social interactions that could lead to harm to others or yourself or land you in jail as a once law abiding gun owner turned felon.
I don’t care what say, Open Carrying is and will always be an excellent deterrent first off, secondly, the gentleman whom’s pipe got snatched was prepared in the fact he’d had a second weapon on him, and he should have and could have shot and killed the person for snatching his piece off him, that’s the law; that’s all I have to say, thank you for listening.
I never understood why any private citizen would choose to carry openly. If you just want to be noticed, you probably shouldn't be carrying at all.
I agree when open carrying a holster that locks the weapon to it should be used. Bogus shows his lack of knowledge when accused the legal gun owner of being a murderer. He just repeated the anti guns statement.
Please stop referring to an inanimate object as a "weapon", its a tool, firearm, gun... A fork could be a weapon, a stick could be a weapon. Responsible gun owners have a duty to at least try to erase the stigmatism around firearms and their ownership, the less informed view the word "weapon" as inherently bad. Please try to do better next time. With that out of the way, the responsibility of open carry falls squarely upon the carrier. It is his/her job to 1) Remain vigilante and aware of his/her surroundings and ANY potential threat not only to his person but those around him/her. 2) It is the responsibility of the carrier to SECURE his/her firearm in a manner that would not allow easy removal of his/her firearm from his/her person. 3) While it may be legal open carry is often times not very utilitarian in most settings, this one I would call "not a good idea" for a myriad of reasons. Some folks get a high on the liberty which has been refused them for so very long, also some take their "permit" (more on that another time) as a license to be a cop or vigilante which is VERY dangerous. Thank the Lord nobody was injured! Anyway I put this on this person and his training,stupid is as stupid does and unfortunately it makes the rest of us look bad sometimes.
Just because you have the right to own a gun doesn't mean you should.