Sounds like a he said, she said incident. I myself have always worried about the possibility of some road raging drama queen getting pissed at something I did on the highway and reporting me flashing a gun when I did no such thing. Because the police will then pull you over, and will find a gun. Senator Mensch said:
He said he felt state police jumped to conclusions and weren’t interested in his side of the story. Mensch said that he didn’t want to talk about the details of the case before a hearing. However, after the two had contact with one another at a gas station, Mensch said he drove away, and the other driver stayed at the gas station.
Keep in mind this is how they are treating a sitting State Senator. Imagine how they’d treat you? There is no charge of brandishing a firearm in Pennsylvania. I believe it can be simple assault, but in this case they are charging disorderly conduct. VPC seems to have already found him guilty, but I’m going to bet Mensch is found not guilty by an actual judge.
“I myself have always worried about the possibility of some road raging drama queen getting pissed at something I did on the highway and reporting me flashing a gun when I did no such thing. ”
This is why I don’t OC. I don’t need anyone to know the shape of my gun, the color of my gun or the color/location of my holster. There are too many people out there who are willing to make false claims without fear of prosecution for lying.
I sometimes feel that might happen with the abundance of NRA logo’s on my truck. But I only have 3 prominent ones.
This is a very real fear. And something that could be very disruptive to people’s lives if it catches on. I am just glad a sitting senator is getting this treatment. He has the power to change the laws allowing this crap to occur.
Although in this case, look at what the senator said…
When asked if he flashed the weapon or brandished it, Mensch said, “No, it was not displayed that he would have seen it, I don’t think so.”
Which says it was out. A big ‘Ol fail truck just backed up on this guys story.
Leave it in the holster, leave it in the holster, leave it in the holster!
Even if it’s being OC’d their description will likely not be accurate and their story will have to include a “draw” element that non-gun folks (who are lying) probably won’t be able to describe well.
Also, how in the hell does he have contact -twice- with the guy?
I can see having to get gas, if low, but other than that if you pull in somewhere, and a priorly belligerant guy follows you in, you pull back out and call the cops.
This guy needs to take LFI 1. If you can’t avoid a confrontation and need to display a weapon you need to be the first to get 911 on the line.
On the gripping hand, since it will be in a holster and unseen anyway, maybe getting some distinctive color or engraving that can’t be missed put on the side of the slide would help give you a “courtroom surprise” advantage.
“You say you saw the gun clearly?” “Yes, it was silver.” “Silver?” “Silver.” “just silver?” “Yes, just silver.”
“If it please the court, may I present my client’s weapon, a -dull grey- pistol with a large, pink “Hello Kitty” engraved and anodized on the side.” =)
Never, ever call the cops for “help”. They will only arrest you anyway.
The best thing to do is to avoid getting involved in a road rage incident in the first place. If it’s unavoidable, there is no justifiable reason to draw your weapon while in a moving car. If the other guy is making it too dangerous for you to continue driving, pull over and THEN get ready to defend yourself from a seated position, should he attack you.