Brandishing?

[Jailkeeper]

Ok, hopefully I spelled "Brandishing" correctly!

I believe "brandishing" a firearm means I am holding it in my hand, is that correct? And is it illegal in PA?

Have heard stories (and they may be just stories) that people have been arrested in PA for wearing a NAA mini-revolver in a belt buckle because they were brandishing a firearm.

I am thoroughly confused (as always). If brandishing a firearm is not legal then technically I have broken the law if I pull my pistol out of its holster in the middle of an altercation or to prevent an altercation, is that correct?

I am NOT trying to start a long debate gentlemen, hell I love visiting this site every evening. I am just trying to understand the law better...

[britisharmy]

From merriam-websters online dictionary
Main Entry: 1bran·dish
Pronunciation: \ˈbran-dish\
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English braundisshen, from Anglo-French brandiss-, stem of brandir, from brant, braund sword, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English brand
Date: 14th century
1 : to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly
2 : to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner
#2 is a bit of a grey area if you ask me.

[NineseveN]

There is no law or charge of "Brandishing" in Pennsylvania, however, if you pull your firearm out without justification, you're going to be guilty of Simple Assault and Terroristic Threats at the least.

If this is a question of whether or not you can be guilty of a crime if someone sees a gun you are carrying (shirt rides up or you're carrying it openly on your belt - like the stories you mentioned), the answer no. Pennsylvania is an Open Carry state, merely having your gun visible is not a crime.

If you pull your gun during an altercation, you better be sure you're justified, otherwise, while you won't be charged with brandishing, the charges I wrote of earlier will apply...and your situation may include charges further beyond those.

[headcase]

There is no brandishing law in Pa. If you pull your pistol at any time, in public, you had better have had a strong legal reason to do so or you will very likely be arrested for terroristic threats, assault, reckless endangerment, and anything else the responding officer can cram onto his incident report.


ETA~ You kill me NineseveN, lol.

[shermdo]

I am not sure that I have done this link correctly. Suggest you use the search function on this site. Search on the word "brandishing" or how ever it was that you spelled it in your post. In short there is no such law in PA statue.

http://www.pafoa.org/forum/general-2...ng-page-5.html

[Jailkeeper]

Thank you folks. From your posts I assume it would be legal to purchase a belt buckle for a NAA mini-revolver and actually wear it?

Guess I am a little ignorant of the facts... My second home is in NC where I believe there are laws against brandishing a firearm.

I CC almost every day, and when I travel to NC I CC. Hey, I'm in and out of Maryland in 3 minutes flat!

[Brown-Bear]

No law regarding brandishing in the commonwealth, but I believe it is assault when used in a manner to intimidate.

Dave

[Statkowski]

From your posts I assume it would be legal to purchase a belt buckle for a NAA mini-revolver and actually wear it?

And, on the belt to which the buckle is attached you can wear a full-sized revolver in a hoster on your hip.

Open carry is legal in Pennsylvania. Of course, if you do so in Philadelphia you'll need an LTCF, but is Philadelphia still Pennsylvania?

[DaveM55]

I hope cross post quoting someone else's post isn't against the rules.

A couple more thoughts:

Pointing a gun at someone is legally distinguishable from drawing and displaying without aiming it at someone. Aiming a loaded gun at a person, without justification, is automatically "reckless endangerment", while drawing a gun and pointing it straight down at the ground is not.

Displaying a gun, muzzle-down, with the implicit message that you are prepared to shoot the other person, is a crime (assault, terroristic threats, whatever), in the absence of justification. But pointing it at them is an ADDITIONAL crime. And shooting at them is ANOTHER crime. And hitting them is ANOTHER crime. So if you don't aim it, shoot it, or hit them, you have not committed those crimes. You only need to justify the crimes you commit, not the ones that you don't commit.

"Justification" means that the harm you cause with your criminal act is less than the wrongful harm that you seek to prevent. So shooting someone is only justified by your goal of preventing the wrongful killing of yourself or another, or the severe unprovoked injuring of yourself or another. But scaring someone can be justified with a much lower standard; if you scare the perp so that he doesn't punch you in the face, it's arguable that the harm you prevented (being punched in the face wrongfully) would have been worse than the harm you caused (scaring a thug who was about to punch you in the face.) Bleeding is worse than pissing yourself.

That's the argument that I would make in defense of an innocent person who brandished a firearm to prevent some sort of non-lethal harm. It's not the current thinking of a lot of cops; for example, if somebody in a 5-ton vehicle is tailgating you as you motorcycle your way home, swerving around, trying to force you off the road, and you display a firearm so that they cease their efforts to kill you, the police will likely arrest you. The person with the gun is the "road rager". Apparently, getting killed in a crash is just good clean fun, but guns are bad. But compare the kinetic energy of a truck at 70 MPH to the modest energy of a .45 slug at 1100 FPS, or just look at the annual road deaths compared to gun homicides, and see which is deadlier.

Bottom line, "using" is not the same as "displaying the ability to use". The rules on the use of deadly force are not the same as the rules on threatening the use of deadly force. Otherwise, simply drawing your pistol would be chargeable as "murder".

[mrwildroot]

Thank you folks. From your posts I assume it would be legal to purchase a belt buckle for a NAA mini-revolver and actually wear it?

Guess I am a little ignorant of the facts... My second home is in NC where I believe there are laws against brandishing a firearm.

I CC almost every day, and when I travel to NC I CC. Hey, I'm in and out of Maryland in 3 minutes flat!

Your PA LTCF is reciprocal with NC.
There are a few differences about where you are legally allowed to carry, either open or concealed.
You ARE required to notify LEO if you are carrying, esp while in the car.
Your NAA buckle should be good to go with your LTCF.

mrwildroot

PS: 3 mins? you're speeding...takes at least 6 mins!
;-)