The Liberal Gun Club Forum

BELLEVUE, Wash., Dec. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri should apologize and walk back his unconscionable remarks about how legally-armed citizens would be "thrown down on the ground with a gun pointed at them" at a crime scene, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

"We are simply astonished at the abrasive attitude reflected by Sheriff Gualtieri's comments," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "The sheriff has opposed open carry legislation, which the Florida Police Chiefs Association supports, but threatening lawfully-armed private citizens with physical abuse because they might have the misfortune to end up in the middle of an armed robbery or some other felony crime is unconscionable."

"If this guy can't tell the difference between an armed law-abiding citizen and some criminal," he added, "maybe he ought to pursue a different career. We know of hundreds of lawmen and women who have encountered armed citizens at crime scenes, and this is the first time we've ever heard of a sheriff whose first thought is to throw someone to the ground at gunpoint."

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, as reported by the News Service of Florida, said open carry is fundamentally dangerous.

For instance, he said, if an officer arrives at the scene of a crime and sees someone with a weapon, “At a minimum, they’re going to be thrown down on the ground with a gun pointed at them — or worse.”

In addition, if good guy with a gun walks into, say, a bank during an armed robbery, Gualtieri added, “he’s going to take one in the chest because he’s a threat.”

BKinzey wrote:If one find themselves open carrying during a robbery I'd suggest they worry about the criminals at hand, not what the police will do later. When the police arrive, I'd suggest they raise their hands like everyone else and follow the police's instructions. If it's safe to do so they might consider disarming and stepping away from the weapon. Since the police may very well search everyone it probably would not be a good idea to conceal, certainly not if one needs a license to conceal and you don't have one.

Merkwuerdigliebe wrote:

BKinzey wrote:If one find themselves open carrying during a robbery I'd suggest they worry about the criminals at hand, not what the police will do later. When the police arrive, I'd suggest they raise their hands like everyone else and follow the police's instructions. If it's safe to do so they might consider disarming and stepping away from the weapon. Since the police may very well search everyone it probably would not be a good idea to conceal, certainly not if one needs a license to conceal and you don't have one.

Of course there are probably exceptions, but if you put it in your pocket I'd have a hard time believing they would gig you for that. Interesting question. Do we LEOs on the list that can offer an opinion?