“Simply put, a police officer needs reasonable suspicion of a crime before he can detain someone, and merely possessing a handgun is not reasonable suspicion of a crime,” says Ed Stone, president of the gun rights group georgiacarry.org and co-counsel for Mead. “In this case, the encounter went beyond merely detaining Zachary Mead for having a handgun; the deputy in this case actually seized the handgun and took it with him.”I guess that all depends on the meaning of the word "reasonable."
And "suspicion."
The definition of "reasonable" varies depending on the Title and Statute being applied. Most define it along the lines of (paraphrased), "what a normal, sane person would think". Since the arresting officer didn't conduct a study, have it peer-reviewed and then published in a scientific journal, the de facto meaning is actually, "unlimited" or "undefined".
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter. One interpretation is a blank check for mob rule, the other a blank check for government authority. I don't think malice is involved. I think it's just a desire for legislative expediency in conjunction with apathy toward individual liberties.