There’s a thin line between having your gun seen and brandishing it. The distinction is usually in the eye of the beholder – and, as James “Junior” Swift has found out, the local prosecutor. “Swift was facing the charge (unlawful weapon use) after being involved in an altercation last November when he was accused of reaching into his car and putting his gun in his waistband following an argument about moving his car at a gas station.” Setting aside for a moment the wisdom of Mexican carry . . .
Swift had a license to carry a concealed weapon. At issue was whether he deliberately displayed the weapon in a angry or threatening manner, a legal requirement for the charge.
He could have simply reached into the car and tried to, um, “holster” it on the down low, but was inadvertently seen while doing it. Then again, he may have made an open display of grabbing his gun and tucking it in his Levi’s to let all parties involved know he was arming himself. My money’s on the latter.
In any case, semissourian.com says the prosecutor just decided he didn’t have enough evidence to try Swift and dropped the charge.
“This is a victory for second amendment rights,” said Allen Moss, Swift’s lawyer. “It’s a victory for those that support conceal-carry law. This gentleman put his freedom and reputation on the line to stand up for his rights, and we think that’s admirable.”
Yeah, Junior sounds like a regular Rosa Parks. Whatever happened, we’ve written about cases where the mere presence of a gun has allowed the user to avoid bigger, nastier confrontations. Despite the bleating of the blood-in-the-streets crowd, guns are every bit as likely to derail a bad situation as escalate one, letting a potential attacker know the would-be victim has the means to defend himself (or herself). Which brings the question, have you ever “shown” your gun to someone that needed to see it?