bls1973 said:
" A memo sent out on 4/10/2010 by the DPS stated that cspd should not arrest a properly permitted individual for open carry in public, and that they should not be required tro show their permit ( This I have a probelm with, if an officer state or local asked me-- guess what I'm gonna show him or her my permit.. Anyone who does not when asked is an idiot and does not help the cause.. Just sayin.. )
If you choose to show your permit when it is NOT required by law, that is certainly your prerogative, but why do you have a problem with police officers being expected to follow the law?
The Connecticut permit is a "Permit to Carry." The permit says nothing about "concealed," and the underlying state statute says nothing about "concealed." Therefore, as some other state agency has now formalized, open carry is legal in Connecticut
for those who hold a Connecticut carry permit. It is not "Constitutional carry" (any kind of carry, for everyone), and since Connecticut does not recognize permits from any other state it does not allow for open (or any other kind of) carry by non-residents who do not hold a Connecticut permit.
The basic premise of Constitutional rights, affirmed by the Supreme Court in
Terry, is that a police officer may not stop you or detain you unless there is some reasonable suspicion
based on clearly articulable facts that a crime has been committed, is being committed, or is about to be committed. Given that open carry is expressly LEGAL for those who have a permit, simply seeing a person openly carrying a gun does not provide any "clearly articulable facts" on which an officer can form a reasonable suspicion that the person is committing a crime. Therefore, he has no right to ask for your permit.
The analogy would be cars and drivers' licenses. The law requires a license to operate a motor vehicle on a public street. Officer Friendly sees a man driving a car on Main Street. Does Officer Friendly have any right to stop the car and ask the operator for his driver's license, simply because the man was driving? Of course not. Not unless the man is driving in a manner that would be in violation of the motor vehicle operating regulations.
Why should it be any different for a person walking down Main Street wearing a sidearm?