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The federal term for this is "brandishing" and while that isn't specifically listed in Indiana state laws, intimidation is illegal.
After watching the video, I don't know that I'd say he was showing them the gun to be intimidating. Quite the opposite, it made him look cowary and small. I can understand why the students felt uncomfortable, but I don't know that a prosecutor could make the case for intimidation.
Yeah. Despite fucked up beliefs we was engaged in respectful dialogue which is better than most
Just showing a holstered weapon is not inherently "brandishing".
Right, brandishing implies intent to intimidate or threaten someone. That's why I said in the second paragraph it doesn't seem like he's trying to be intimidating. To be clearer, what I should have said is "the term in question is brandishing" and the answer is "no, he wasn't brandishing his weapon."
Yeah if that were the case, police with a pistol on their hip or anyone open carrying would be brandishing. A bunch of states have permitless open carry. I think you have to have the gun in your hand to be guilty of brandishing, although I'm sure laws vary from state to state.
Ehh, He unconcealed it on purpose. It's still not enough to be brandishing but he was doing it to make a point.
Nope.
In Indiana, this would fall under intimidation. Which is threats to modify or coerce behavior (without justification, I suppose,).
She said it herself in the video. “I feel unsafe… that makes me feel unsafe.” Clearly the gesture (which was hardly needed,) was viewed as threatening.
Depending on the state, brandishing may have more specific meanings, but generally, any attempt to call attention to the weapon (like exposing it on your hip,) is a use of force. More commonly, for example, putting your hand on the weapon.
In ~8 years of reviewing incidents for between 300 and 800 armed security guards; I’ve never seen any sort of “I’m armed!” - including displaying or putting a hand on it (without drawing) ever actually descalate. It was always either going to be drawn, anyhow, or never needed in the first.
It does, however, give the subject time to escalate themselves. So it always makes things worse.
The fact this guy never actually acknowledged that he had made his (presumed) constituents - aka highschool kids - feel unsafe, says either he’s too fucking unaware to carry a firearm, too fucking dumb to be a state legislator, or scaring her was exactly what he wanted.
Probably all three.
I got stopped by plainclothes cops one time and I wasn’t even sure if they were really cops, and one guy said “yeah, here’s my badge and this is my gun” and showed me. I was just oh, okay, but it came up in court, and the issue was it could be seen as intimidating (the cop lied and said it didn’t happen!).
All the cop had to do was show their badge and ID. No gun required to prove that they were a cop.
But the gun makes their dick hard.
Proving that any unhinged moron can get a gun and be elected by Conservatives.
That’s called brandishing, and it’s usually a crime.
Yeah and if there is no brandishing law in Indiana this could be viewed as possible assault. (Offen assault is the threat of violence, battery is the action of violence)
Real men don't need props.
That's why i never understood the angle of guns and big trucks are things deemed manly. I live on a super steep place, when i see dudes on bicycles, just huffing up there like a machine, i always think: what a bloke. When i see some ridiculous truck in my small town i just see a clown. Same with guns, it's okay you're scared of the worldbor think you'rs some sort of redneck aveenger.
I don't understand why you think only rednecks have firearms. The world has changed, a large majority of firearm owners are not rednecks. Trump helped that.
Sure, but I've met very few lefties who advertise it. Owning a gun isn't really a part of most people's personality if they aren't crazy people.
I like responsible gun ownership. You should be required to show competence with your firearm, both in usage an maintenance and storage, to own it though. You should have to go through a course (funded by taxes to ensure poorer people aren't left out) before your purchase, and probably prove you have a safe place to store it and knowledge on how and why to store it.
(Firearms are the most stolen item, and the idiots with unsecured firearms or in safes locked with "1776" have caused part of the illegal gun crises.)
I think many of the guys out there carrying in a big truck are simply cosplaying what they think a "real man" is. They want to be cowboys in their shiny F150 trucks with Carhartts and a pistol, but actually work a desk job and have no need for any of it.
... call the cops. that's intimidation right there.
Yeah. I thought if you were concealed carrying, any interaction with your gun that was visible from displaying, peaking, drawing all the way to pointing was considered a criminal threat.
indiana law, apparently they call it 'intimidation'. He opened his jacket and displayed it with the intention of modifying their behavior.
It depends on where you at, honestly. Showing off a concealed carry is just stupid anyway as the entire point is not to let people know you have a weapon.
Except the cops are on his side....
prolly. But they still at least have to respond. but a police report citing the incident looks pretty bad.
Wow, everyone must have been so impressed.
“emotional support firearms”
Jim Lucas is such a piece of shit. He only makes my piece of shit Indiana representative (Larry Buschon) look like less of a piece of shit in comparison.
I mean… if you’re going to carry, don’t talk about it. Carrying is basically something that only makes the one carrying feel safer.
to anyone who understand this behavior - what's the man trying to do here? Is there any charitable read? Having a hard time imagining it.
I didn't watch the video, but it sounds like it was in the context of discussing self defense. A student asked if he meant people should carry guns, so he showed that he was carrying one in an attempt to confirm that he practices what he preaches. He was probably also trying to normalize it. Pretty dumb, but obviously not intending to intimidate the kids.
If you watch the video, it clearly didn’t seem like any kind of intentional intimidation. Definitely a whoopsie since brandishing is illegal in most but not his state. But we should be charitable to compensate for our own biases and I think the title is a bit misleading about the context
I live in IN. Many times I wish I didn't.
It's a good thing THOSE kids didn't have Guns otherwise they would have Shot him in Self Defense! That's how it works right Conservatives?