Do you get your property back?
Just a question: Why haven't you just carried a handgun concealed with a permit? WA is a "shall issue state", requiring the sherrif to issue you a permit if you have nothing in your criminal record disqualifying you from getting one. There isn't even a class or test of any kind, just fingerprinting and a background check.
It would be really hard to raise any alarm if no one sees you are armed.
DieselDan,
My belief is that the state should have no power to determine whether I, (a freeman), should be "permitted" to carry concealed or not.
I've asked many to convince me that the permit isn't an infringement upon my right to bear arms. They have failed everytime, (and rarely can they convince themselves it is right to have to ask permission to bear arms).
And that is what it is: permission, the word is "permit", which even requires payment to the state, then carrying some kind of paper, which only then the state acknowledges a citizen's unalienable right to bear arms.
I will leave the NRA, the SAF, and politicians to play compromise and politics. I would not be the man I am if I willingly compromised on something as important as the RKBA.
Further reading on getting a permit is here.
Robert,
My handgun was lost in the Spokane plea deal.
The Ellensburg case is a different matter, although property in the form of time, money, energy and travel were spent which may require a civil suit to recoup.
Thank you for responding.
You already know you have the right to carry a weapon. You have fought and won. If you want to continue to carry openly, and endure any further harassment that is unfortunately going to go with it, then that is your decision to make as a free man. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.
The way I see it, if you submit voluntarily to a fingerprinting (not an intrusion, an intrusion implies it is done without your will), pay the small fee (it equals a few bucks every year), and then receive an official state document that helps prevent you from being harassed for carrying a weapon, then your life may in fact be a little easier and/or less costly in the long run. You can be legal according to the state law regarding concealed carry, whether the law is right or wrong, and then take part in changing the law, and/or work to try to change people's attitudes, but until the state law is changed, it is the law. Whether you or anyone else likes it or not.
Other than proving you know the laws of WA, and for personal self defense, I cannot see why you would willingly submit yourself to possible harassment when you could comply with the law, right or wrong, and not be the subject of the kind of police harassment you were the subject of. It's one thing to stand up and fight for your rights, it's another to stand up and challenge the police and prosecutors. They don't like that, as you know.
I am afraid that the next encounter you may have with a police officer may have a much more grave outcome for you and your family. You will soon have a reputation that may precede you wherever you go. This may be OK for you, but is this OK with your family?
I completely understand, and applaud your fight for what you believe is right. After reading some of the things that you and others have talked about regarding gun rights, I have joined both the NRA and the SAF (yeah, I know, they didn't help you, but have you tried to figure out why? This may be important to us in the future!), and I will vote pro-firearms unless the candidate is a total nut job, but happens to also be pro-gun. I am also looking into the modern libertarian political party, even though they don't get the respect they deserve.
Above all, safe travels, I wish peace on you and your family, and best of luck in the future.
Dan,
I understand what you are saying, and myself have a WA CCW.
Where I think FishOrMan is coming from though, and I agree 100%, is, "If I give them an inch, they will take a mile." Those are my words, not his, and I could be totally wrong.
They are true words however. If we submit to CCW, what happens when they want gun permits for CCW? I don't see that happening, I think the gun control tide is receding, but still, where do you draw the line?
It is important to stand up for your beliefs, but to get help, you have to be more than just firmly grounded in your beliefs. You have to change other people's minds. Lot's of them. Until that happens, people will be alarmed at the open carry of a firearm, FishOrMan will continue to be harrassed by the police, and may even get injured or killed by some twitchy green cop that takes any movement he makes to be a threat to his life. I predict he may easily spend more time in jail, faced with false charges, becuase cops and prosecutors don't like people that are flaunting themselves to the point of embarasing the local justice system.
Does FishOrMan want to be a martyr, or does he want to be a cause for change? You usually can't be both. Either one can be very expensive, but one is permanent.
Commenting by HaloScan
