lkd wrote:Man, there's about a million ways that you're going to end up face down on the pavement with handcuffs (and likely being hit with both criminal and civil suits) and pretty much, oh, zero ways it will end without you being portrayed in the media as a gun-wielding nutjob. I can assure you that whatever your goal is, it will be perverted by the police, media, and civilians around you. The only way you're going to achieve what you want is to have a lawyer and PR person on each side of you.
Your passion is misplaced.
What civil suits? Someone claiming emotional damages from seeing me with a gun?
And please, people, read the thread first. I
will be contacting the police beforehand, and I will make sure they understand what I am doing.
If I follow the advice in these threads, I will look more like the man in the video posted earlier than a nutjob. He was portrayed as a well-educated, well-spoken supporter of gun rights. He wasn't in any way threatening, and he held a great conversation/debate with a lady that was opposed to his actions.
To recap, since nobody cares to read the thread and see what has already been decided:
I will be speaking with a lawyer tomorrow to make sure what I am doing is legal.
I will be talking to the police department so they understand my intentions and to make sure they don't misunderstand the laws and arrest me.
I will wear a suit and tie.
I will wear the shotgun over my shoulder on a sling so it can't be shown that I was trying to alarm anyone.
I will have pepper spray with me just in case. No matter what happens I will not be using the weapon, even if someone points a pistol in my face, because...
I won't have any ammunition on me or in the weapon.
I will be in contact with the College Republicans to find others that can and will come with me (strength in numbers).
I will be prepared with sound bites that are difficult/impossible to edit and misinterpret, making it difficult to portray me as a nutjob.
Most importantly, I will stay within the laws at all times, so I am in the clear should I be arrested.
And if I am arrested, I have representation from the university supplied for my defense.
It will be difficult for the police to defend shooting me or using any force at all, since they will know beforehand that the weapon will be unloaded. I would be more than happy to hand it to any LEO during my walk for him to check that it's clear.
I'm probably forgetting some points, but that should cover the major ones.