Wednesday, July 3, 2013
One of the most interesting things in Mayor Chokwe Lumumba's administration of Jackson will be how he manages the Jackson Police Department. Forty years ago, as a young man and member of the Republic of New Afrika, Lumumba was engaged in armed resistance against what was then a racist and oppressive police force. Lumumba went on to build a practice as a defense attorney for criminal defendants accused of running afoul of the law.
In the immediate offing, a big test for Lumumba and other municipal commanders-in-chief around Mississippi looms as state courts figure out what to do about the new open-carry gun law. The law has touched off a firestorm of fear and confusion among both private citizens and law enforcement officials.
A recent opinion from Attorney General Jim Hood in support of the law makes it clear that private business owners have the right to prohibit guns on their property. Hood also said that open carry would not be allowed in such sensitive areas as schools, stadiums, airports and events. Sheriffs also have the discretion to bar guns from courthouses. Which pretty much just leaves city streets and sidewalks as the most logical places where we are likely to see Mississippians packing heat in plain sight.
That's disconcerting, if not downright terrifying, not just because the law could put more armed people in contact with one another, but also because it could put more people in contact with the police.
Hood's opinion contains an appendix on so-called "Terry stops" in which police can stop, question and frisk citizens. The term originated from a 1968 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Terry v. Ohio, where the court held that police could briefly detain someone whom they reasonably suspect may be involved in criminal activity. Such suspicion falls short of the police burden for making an immediate arrest. The AG's opinion states that carrying a non-concealed weapon is not enough to create reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
The same opinion states: "However, there could be circumstances in which in which the carrying of such a weapon could be a factor which, when taken together with other factors, could give rise to a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
What does that mean? That's a question that the courts will have to sort out. In the meantime, a Hinds County judge's restraining order temporarily halted the open-carry law from taking effect, but a challenge from Hood seeks to lift that order immediately.
Whatever happens with the implementation of the law, we hope that the Jackson Police Department under Lumumba's leadership will be judicious in enforcing the law in a way that does not feed Mississippi's already necessarily overcrowded.
Comments
sabiriusin601 10 years, 10 months ago
great read, i get it, but my concern is not so much that there's an "increase in suspected criminal activity" but more an "increase in violent/criminal response". you carrying a gun it's because you're fearing something. wrong environmental trigger, you're going to kill someone for no reason...THAT'S my fear of this law.
bubbat 10 years, 10 months ago
Lumumba nor the city council of Jackson can't do a damn thing, the Constitution of Miss says no one but the legislature can make any laws concerning firearms. MS Code 45-9-51 and 45-9-53. " no county or municipality may adopt any ordinance that restricts or requires the possession, transportation, sale, transfer or ownership of firearms or ammunition or their components"
I don't understand why everyone is getting all bent out of shape over this?
joshthrash 10 years, 10 months ago
sabiriusin601- There are 28 other "open carry" states in the US. None have the blood in the streets from killing each other for no reason that it seems you as well as many others have a fear of. Thousands of people in Mississippi carry a gun on their person every single day. The only difference is you can't see it because it's concealed and generally the ones doing so are permit holders to lawfully carry said weapon. Right now nobody truly realizes how common it is for people to carry because they can't see the ones that already are. This law WILL NOT create more violence. 28 other states have already proven that. As a final note just think about this; are you more afraid of the criminal that you don't know is illegally carrying a concealed weapon or the normal guy that's carrying openly for his and his family's own protection?
justjess 10 years, 9 months ago
@sabiriusin601
"......wrong environmental trigger, you're going to kill someone for no reason...THAT'S my fear of this law."
I agree; however, I do understand where A.G. Hood is coming from; His job is to interpret and uphold the law. If we are going to bring this madness to a halt, we must first change the law. I don't think that anything short of this will keep "Open Carry" from becomming our reality.
Also, I'm not impressed with the restrictions because we are most vulnerable on the streets and sidewalks in these communities: these are the areas that are impossible to escape flying bullets!
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