Gun owners protest police action
General Public:.are. Lobotomized Sheep....@..999.2012..WBCHNC.News.ukuscan.ca The General Public:.are.. Lobotomized Sheep
Times-Tribune | Citizens converge on city hall to protest cops confiscating
guns.
Gun owners protest police action
CHARLES SCHILLINGER
The Times-Tribune
May 14, 2008
DICKSON CITY — A Friday evening police incident spilled over into a Borough
Council meeting Tuesday, with gun-rights advocates alleging harassment by
two police officers.
The regular monthly meeting erupted into a full-blown debate on the Second
Amendment, with more than 20 Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
members — many of whom were openly armed — arguing their right to carry a
weapon in public.
Police have yet to release a report of the incident in which a group of
customers at Old Country Buffet were questioned about openly carrying
handguns in public. At least one of those customers, Rich Banks, of Luzerne
County, was detained for refusing to cooperate with police in regard to his
concealed .38-caliber handgun, Police Chief William Stadnitski said. Mr.
Banks’ weapon remains confiscated, but the chief said he can pick it up at
any time.
Pennsylvanians are required to carry a permit for a concealed weapon;
however, there are exemptions, such as in the case of Mr. Banks, who Dickson
City police later found out had a federal gun-dealer license.
“We don’t feel there was any misconduct. We did what we had to for the
safety of the customers,” Chief Stadnitski said of his part-time officers,
Karen Gallagher and Anthony Mariano, who responded to the restaurant after
911 received complaints. The chief said no charges will be filed.
But some, like Andrew Koch, disagreed. Mr. Koch drove more than five hours
from Pittsburgh to speak out for Mr. Banks and the other gun owners who were
“embarrassed, oppressed, harassed and violated” by the police.
“These officers need to be disciplined, and criminal charges need to be
brought against them,” Mr. Koch said.
Firearm association members turned out from all over the state at Tuesday’s
meeting after postings on Internet sites, such as www.opencarry.org. The
co-founder of that site, Lancaster resident Mike Stollenwerk, drove from
Washington, D.C., to protest the police conduct.
“Normally when hiccups like this happen, they don’t go as far as gun
seizure. … Usually it gets cleared up much quicker,” he said.
Bill Grumbine, of Kutztown, carrying a Springfield XD-45 handgun, said he
brought his 15-year-old daughter, Emily, for a “real-life civics lesson.”
“The last thing we want to do is use our guns, just like the last thing you
want to do is use the air bag in your car,” he said. “But we believe in
being prepared, and we believe in exercising our rights.”
Several council members and Mayor Anthony Zaleski defended the police
officers.
“Our officers did not know what to expect. They could be walking into
situations similar to shootings at school campuses and other public events,”
said council President Barbara Mecca.
Contacted by The Times-Tribune, Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy
Jarbola declined to comment on this specific case, but said people have a
right to openly carry a weapon without having to show identification or a
permit.
“Police can ask, but if they don’t want to give it, they don’t have to,” he
said. “It’s going to be surprising to the public, but that’s the current
state of law.”