Salim WigginsPhilly.com reports
Now there's irony for ya. The guy who legally owned the gun and had a concealed carry permit for it turns out to be more of a threat than the guy who stole his.A handful of warrant cops were out doing their usual thing on May 19 — pounding on doors, chasing down fleeing fugitives — when they came upon two guys who appeared to be urinating in a weed-strewn lot at 18th and Cumberland streets in North Philly.Turns out the alleged tinkling twosome, Salim Wiggins and Raymond Stewart, were both off-duty Philadelphia Water Department employees.Oh, and they were packing heat.Police say Wiggins, 31, stammered, "My bad, officer," and took off running down nearby Cleveland Street. The cops caught up with him quickly. After a brief struggle, they cuffed Wiggins and found that he was carrying a Smith & Wesson Sigma .40-caliber that had been stolen in 2004, according to law-enforcement records.He was charged with receiving stolen property, possessing an instrument of crime, weapons violations and public urination.Stewart, 31, was carrying a .40-caliber Glock 27 that he legally purchased several years ago. He also had a valid permit to carry from Florida, despite the 11 prior arrests — but no convictions — on his record for charges including aggravated assault and drug possession.Stewart’s permit was obtained through the so-called Florida loophole, a policy that’s been driving local cops mad for years.
What do you think? Does this story illustrate the problem with out-of-state carry permits? Does it show the need for "may issue?"
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
No and no. Did you see that Stewart has no convictions? In this country, that means that he's innocent. You have heard of due process, right?
ReplyDeleteBut what the hell is this Florida loophole crap? How about all of us start calling the Bill of Rights a speech loophole? Or a religion loophole? Or a "cops have to get a warrant" loophole?
One who has no convictions means he has no convictions. it does not necessarily mean he's innocent. The incredible proliferation of hidden criminals among your gun-owning friends should tell you that.
DeleteGetting a concealed carry permit through the mail from a state you don't live in is a "loophole." It should be closed.
This is why we should just have a federal 50 state legal concealed carry permit. Cut the states out of this crap and give everyone the same rights and standards.
ReplyDelete