When was the last time anyone ever heard of a crook (Bad Guy = Prohibited Person) carrying openly?
Crooks, by their nature, will carry concealed in order to surprise their victim(s). Crooks, by their nature, will carry concealed to hide their act from any police that may know them (whether they are actually prohibited or not).
We are not talking about an encounter in/with a vehicle or in some shady place. This encounter took place in a public space via a walking, but openly carrying man.
Taking the facts, as expressed in the OP, as true; There can be no ARS for a stop and check.
In General;
- What makes something unlawful, is that there is a statute passed by the legislature that prohibits that something.
- If whatever you want to do is not prohibited by law, it is then lawful.
- Lawful prohibitions of certain acts are further modified by the Courts.
- Case law prevails over whatever you think the statute actually says.
- Concealed Carry is generally an exception to the statute prohibiting the act of carrying while concealed.
- Some few States have enacted statutes that prohibit all carry.
- These same States may have exceptions to the prohibitions on carrying firearms within the public sphere.
In general, if you live in a State where open carry is lawful, it is because your State has enacted no law to prohibit that activity. If there is no law prohibiting the act, then in and of itself, the act cannot be a reason for suspicion.
It is, in general, only where the act is an exception to the law that prohibits the act, where articulable reasonable suspicion can attach.
The last point I would like to make. Most people, including many of our police don't know the gun laws of their own State. They see something; It looks bad (because the practice isn't common); They think someone is breaking the law; they report it... Or in this case, detain the individual.
That's the reality of what we see in many areas, throughout the U.S.
What I like to do, is to make it a teaching moment. No, not at the scene, but later at the station with the officer and the Chief/Supervisor/Sgt.
What I don't do is to get bent out of shape, because reality intrudes its ugly head.
