Legal guns in Salem

[John]

Salem:
Yesterday afternoon a neighbor (whom I don't know well) invited me to go shooting with himself and his freinds, and I decided to tag along.  Unloaded guns were legaly put into trunks.  As we prepared to leave, I got into a van.  Many Salem police arived - with guns trained on us in two-hand-holds - and ordered us from the vehicals to sit on the ground.  We did so.  We were of zero threat to anyone (and law abiding.)
The police holstered their guns.

They were responding to a call so needed to check us out.  All was cool with the guns.  We (police and detainees) had some conversation about gun rights (and my right to be takeing pictures of what was happening) as they continued their investigation.  NONE OF US (police included) WERE HAPPY ABOUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING!  Everyone tried and did a good job of remaining as respectful as we could.

Long-story-short; there was NO PROBLEM - except one fellow (iledgedly, and stupidly if true) had a small pot plant (about 9 or 12 inches) in a vehical and he was arrested.

I insisted that we pool our resorces and bail the fellow (whom I don't even know) out.  There is no reason that a man who has harmed no one should sit in jail for the whole weekend.  Others thought that it was of no use to even try.

In the end we all got together for a cookout a local park - it was too late to go shooting.

Someone (maybe an anti-gun liberal) had called about (totlaly legal) guns and inadvertantly caused/sent a person to go to jail for a tiny pot plant (something they maybe think is OK.)

Total cost?  One person: or all of us?  Gotta love this "snitch" society . . . Who is next?


P.S.  I helped some local cops recall my feind (Dave) who had been stopped here "a year-and-a-half or two" ago.  We remembered and RESPECTED the reference . . . we are all learning . . .

[mvpel]

Salem, New Hampshire, or Salem, Massachusetts?

[John]

Oh this was in N.H.

Had this happen in Salem, Ma. (where there is almost zero gun freedom) it would have been such a big deal that it would probably end up on the front page of the local paper; probably with the guns on display as a photo-op so that all the scared little readers could look and say, "Oh my God, guns!  Look at those scary guns."

I will be interesting to see what, if anything, the local paper here does with it.  Man busted with tiny pot plant? 

[mvpel]

This is so farking unbelievable, I can barely reply.

Would you please contact the GO-Phone, at 225-4664?  This needs to go out to a much broader audience if everything is as you say, if they actually had no other basis to suspect wrongdoing other than putting a few guns in the trunk to go down to the range.  It should be possible to get a copy of the 911 call that was made.

[grasshopper]

  Yup, illegal search also "unless" the plant was readily seeable through the window.   I'd consider this an assault by the person who called the police.  I'd go after them.  Guns were drawn and your lives were put in danger as well as the Police officers lives.  Those people need to be arrested and spend some time in jail thamselves. 
   Howz about a GUN COOKOUT sometime at his house.  Gun Cleaning Day!  Bring all your rifles/black ones!

   I carry my AK 47 in Manchester from my car to my bosses business, I take my time and let all the neighborhood get a GOOD LOOK at it with my .45 in a sholder holster.  The neighbors love it, no really, the scumb hates it but the neighbors think it is a cool thing for law biding gun owners to "show some force"!
  My gun looks better with the drum in it  .
   Let us know how this turns out.  I'd like to see some precidence set here for 3rd person harrassment/assault.

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[dEadERest]

. . . we are all learning . . .

I hear a song coming out of this . .  ;

[Romak]

Sounds like some morons saw you guys loading up your van and called the cops. He is right though those people should be arrested for filing a false police report and should be charged. We bought some land in Washington, NH for the sole purpose of shooting on weekends. Its over 100 acres and we have a 200 yard range about a half mile from the closest neighbor who just happens to be two homosexuals from Massachusetts. They only come up occasionally. We were shooting there for a good two hours, about ten of us having a grand old time when we heard someone yelling from the road. He was screaming for us to stop shooting. We were nearing the end of our ammo supply for the day so we left about a half hour later. On our way to the store we stopped by his house to see what the issue was an approached him calmly with by buddy taping it from the car just in case. He was insane saying we were shooting machine guns and a bullet whizzed by his head. Which would mean the bullet went through 3 feet of sand and made a u-turn back up the hill through 50 acres of trees and then made a left hand turn and traveled 1/2 mile then made a right hand turn and went down his driveway to where he was standing. He called the cops and since we were camping there they made it to us 5 hours later. There were three cops and they were very nice overall except one of them saying we could be charged with disorderly conduct. They left after about ten minutes and running all our cars through their computer which we heard on the scanner. Long story short they had a talk with those two and told them welcome to NH. I wish they say welcome to NH now go home before we arrest you for harassment.

[Spencer]

He was insane saying we were shooting machine guns and a bullet whizzed by his head. Which would mean the bullet went through 3 feet of sand and made a u-turn back up the hill through 50 acres of trees and then made a left hand turn and traveled 1/2 mile then made a right hand turn and went down his driveway to where he was standing.

Were you there in Dallas in 1963?  That sounds like one magic bullet.

[Dave Ridley]

what can we do to help, john?   

[John]

Thanks, Mike and Dave!

Mike, I have done the GOHN # . . . Dave, Thank you for the question!
When I see what the local (weekly) papers say, I'll know how much the local police made of this . . . After all, we know that most media is simply "media by government press relese." . . .

I will try to report at the GOHN meeting tonight in Concord. (See calandar?)

[John]

  I'd go after them.  Guns were drawn and your lives were put in danger as well as the Police officers lives.

I'm not going after anyone>  Mistakes were made.
We are all learning>

[grasshopper]

   Woow, not the cops, the chicken littles.

[mvpel]

The cops have gone through enough training and continuing education that they have no excuse to be "still learning."

[John]

I'm learning.   

[John]

We can/will make things better!

I hold no grudge  . . . I'm optomistic!