Louisiana open carry activist settles with police department

[WhiteFeather]

This one came from gun week, thought many of your would enjoy this one.

Moderators If someone else already posted zap this

Louisiana open carry activist settles with police department
by Dave Workman, Senior Editor

Louisiana open carry activist Mark Edward Marchiafava has settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in his legal feud with the Gonzales, LA, police department.

The settlement stemmed from a lawsuit Marchiafava filed after he was arrested, handcuffed and disarmed while openly carrying a handgun at a Tanger Factory Outlet on Jan. 28, 2006. Marchiafava, who does not have a concealed carry license in Louisiana, prefers to pack his handgun in the open, and he is stubborn about it.

Baton Rouge attorney John Delgado represented Marchiafava, and he told Gun Week that 'It's perfectly legal in Louisiana to carry an unconcealed firearm on your person. This is an open carry state."

He acknowledged, however, that police might confront someone who does open carry.

"Hell," he said, "you can be hassled for anything You can be hassled for jaywalking."

The attorney noted that most law enforcement officers in Louisiana know that open carry is legal, but Marchiafava's encounter with Gonzales lawmen left a bitter taste in his mouth. Gun Week reported this case more than two years ago.

Marchiafava said at the time that when he was confronted by police officers outside a store, he tried to explain to them that there was no law against open carry. A police officer abruptly told him, "Tell it to the judge."

Subsequently, when he was being transported to the police station, where he spent the next couple of hours, the officer told him, "I don't care what the laws or the Supreme Court say. We are not going to have people running around, wearing guns, with women and children everywhere."

Marchiafava has posted this story on the internet, and he has turned his case into a crusade. His case became something of a cause celeb among gun rights activists. He occasionally takes pokes at gun rights organizations including the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation for not helping out with his case.

He now spends part of his time in Mississippi, where his wife is employed. He told Gun Week that the Gonzales police "have a check for me" and that he was planning to drive down and get it. And he will be open carrying when he does. The New GUN WEEK, August 15, 2008

[headcase]

OUTFUCKINGSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!!

[BerksCountyDave]

We'll be reading about our resident gorilla next I'll bet

[mjfletcher]

+100

Can we get Mr. Marchiafava to join here so I can rep him?

[Damage control]

Originally Posted by headcase

OUTFUCKINGSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!!

I second that!

DC

[Robert Kayland]

Subsequently, when he was being transported to the police station, where he spent the next couple of hours, the officer told him, "I don't care what the laws or the Supreme Court say. We are not going to have people running around, wearing guns, with women and children everywhere."

I can't help but feel inordinate satisfaction at knowing this officer was forced to eat those words. They should put the officer's name and picture in the article under that quote... right next to a picture of the other guy holding his settlement check and flashing a big ol' fashioned Cheshire grin.

When the police break the law, there is no law... only a fight for survival.

[pex]

I hope we find out what that sum is, and any other effects to the police department, sometime soon. If the sum and/or effects are paltry, it isn't going to help the People get the point.

[Michele]

This is great news. I'm sending him some cyber rep!

Originally Posted by WhiteFeather

Subsequently, when he was being transported to the police station, where he spent the next couple of hours, the officer told him, "I don't care what the laws or the Supreme Court say. We are not going to have people running around, wearing guns, with women and children everywhere."

[w1cked]

Originally Posted by Michele

This is great news. I'm sending him some cyber rep!

Wonder why they are called law enforcement officers...

[Shawn.L]

thats fricken sweet !

as for this quote:

He occasionally takes pokes at gun rights organizations including the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation for not helping out with his case.

which is why grass roots orginaization through the internet is so damn important, and why what we have here needs support and nurishment. The NRA will not come to your rescue, but you can bet your ass the active crew at the PAFOA will bring the fuckin calvary !