Open Carry Case Settled
A while back, I noted the case of Mark Edward Marchiafava:
Mark Edward Marchiafava did not break the law in Gonzales, La. on January 28, 2006. But nonetheless, he was handcuffed, arrested, and his firearm, which he was legally carrying in the open on his side that day, was confiscated and not returned.
His property was returned shortly after. Mr. Marchiafava emails me that the attorneys for the police involved opted to settle out of court. He notes that the grand jury absolutely refused to allow any testimony or evidence that indicated criminal wrongdoing on the part of the police.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 am
THANKS to you and the other websites/blogs who helped report/expose this criminal behavior of the Gonzales police. The initial story which was carried across the net DID get results, word DID circulate, despite the local media’s typical “business as usual” attitude. Again, thank you.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:51 pm
The police are just like us….only not.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I love the comments in that LibertyZone post…
“You can’t possibly wonder why law enforcement has lost the respect of the average law-abiding citizen that they use to enjoy in almost universal totality. If you do wonder anyway, I suggest the answer will be staring you in the face the next time you shave.”
Quality.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
OK, its his right as its not illegal, what exactally did he gain or hope to gain by openly wearing a gun in an unfriendly town? Is he attempting to change the culture of the town or just likes being arrested? Plans on retiring on the proceeds of the suit? Is a CWP not an option? Most people in the US no longer, (never did) like to see open carry of guns, like 90% or better. How does this advance out cause in the minds of the public except negative. When they see this happening they see a nut. Not a hero…I don’t get it except for a in your face fringe….no?
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
The culture of Gonzales, La. has changed. Decades ago when I lived there if law enforcement had tried that high-handed shit every damn one of them would have had to flee to avoid the wrath of the locals.
Last time I was there, I didn’t recognize it. It had become “mainstreamed” with a lot of population influx of the sort who have become our modern pussified man.
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
As for a lawsuit, if Mr. Marchiafava can find a hungry junkyard dog lawyer I hope he proceeds and increases the bond debt to unsustainable levels on the citizens of Gonzales for not only allowing this but refusing to correct it.
Concealed carry might make people more comfortable around gun owners, but it is the comfort of ignorance. How the Hell are they to realize we are not a threat and fear of an armed citizen is just silly if they do not know they are armed? Further, how can they or you support punishment for not breaking the law?
In La. (all of the U.S. really) a citizen has the right to carry a weapon. But La. has gone farther than the constitution by expressly codifying that right in its statutes. There is nothing that guarantees no one can be uncomfortable in the presence of legal activity. Hopefully, the constitution will eventually be respected in all venues in the U.S., but it won’t happen as long as we act as though rights are a shameful thing to exercise.
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:43 pm
THANK YOU, striaghtarrow. As for Sulaco, I was visiting my daughter, just happened to stop and buy a pair of socks. I didn’t realize Gonzales was an “unfriendly town.” As straightarrow so accurately mentioned, Gonzales ain’t the same. No, I am not trying to change anybody or anything, nor do I like to get arrested or retiring on the proceeds of any lawsuit. I WAS BUYING SOCKS. Unlike most “men” today, I refuse to whimper and bow and beg permission to carry via a CCP. I really don’t care what most people think/do/say. While I don’t consider myself to be any sort of hero or on the same plateau as Jefferson, Adams or the like, I do find it interesting even they were considered “nuts” by the general population of their time. Amazing how some things never change, ain’t it?
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:58 pm
open carry isnt illegal, so why should it matter where you carry?
sorry Sulaco but its legal, its not unusual in some parts of the country, and its not a bad idea. the more that people are afraid to open carry and they choose to cover it up, the easier it becomes for the Marxists anti-gunners to pass one more law.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Sorry guys PR matters and turning off 90+ % of the population at large like “just buying socks” with an open carry gun is in your face and IMHO will change nothing good for us gun owners in most cases like this one. Do I wish we could open carry like in some Heinlen or L. Neal Smith novel? Sure. But the REAL world steps back and then works against us at the pols when its pushed to the point they fell unsafe. Work on CWP and when THAT is generally accepted you might push your “cause” on open carry. In this climate tactics to shock and appal the prols will hurt us badly and you should know it. I am wary of those that can’t see anything but thier own desires and exclude all other issues, thats the other sides major problem. Or is it?
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Simply put Sulaco, you are wrong. Worse foy yous side of the issue is you eloquently made my point. PR does matter, but not if you don’t say it, or do it, or exhibit it to the general audience.
Have you ever heard of a successful PR campaign that was silent and invisible? Because I sure as Hell never have.
Polemics do not make your point. “with an open carry gun is in your face …” Where and when was anybody’s face approached by the sidearm in question?
Just why do you think engaging in a legal and totally accetable and constitutionally protected activity which is also in line with the statutes of the state is a “tactic to shock and appall”? Are you suggesting we can win this fight by acquiescing to the irrational fears and hatreds of the gun grabbers?
And lastly, I would repeat your own words; “I am wary of those that can’t see anything but thier own desires and exclude all other issues, thats the other sides major problem. “
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Please forgive my misspellings, I know how to spell, I don’t know how to type worth a damn.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
The man does not have a CCW I believe by his post and so he open carries. Nothing wrong in that. The police have to be pushed back when they abuse the law by arresting people without any legal sanction.
I am glad for his sake he got his gun back. I hope if he pursues a civil action he will get win and gets lots of money. That type of result do teach tyrannical towns, and police that they no longer rule without the law to back them up.
VCDL has been exceptional in promoting open carry and educating courts, towns, counties and the police forces that residents will exercise their rights and will will fight back aginst attempts to deny those riights.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
RAH, I DID pursue civil action, no attorney would take it to trial, I had to accept the fact an out of court settlement was all I could accomplish. NO depositions, NO getting them to testify under oath, NO publicity of a trial, NO CRIMINAL actions were initiated against these rogue cops, just a check. I’d rather have a conviction in CRIMINAL court, which is where criminals belong, uniform or not.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Agree to dis-agree I guess. “Wrong” is a moral and subjective evaluation of one persons opinion, not objective reality.
July 24th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Let me put it bluntly. As humans, we are endowed with certain rights from the Almightly. Please don’t confuse these with privileges, which are subject to withdrawal. Rights are non-negotiable. That’s reality. If you study history, you’ll see example after example after example of what happens when one group of folks continually violate the rights of others. We are just about there in this country today. Question: not if, but when that Great Day of Reckoning occurs, who’s side are you going to be on? The side of the people who want their rights back or the side hellbent on preventing them from having their rights restored?
July 25th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Semantically null statement.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:15 am
If every state had “open carry”, and a large % of citzens chose to do so, violent crime would plummet nationwide. There is nothing criminals fear more than an armed potential victim.
Sulaco has it all wrong. Open carry “turns on” believers in liberty. The only denizens it turns off, are those who have jetisoned human liberty into the trash can of history.