SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
From Boston.com:
Authorities stopped two men from entering the Pokemon World Championships in Boston after learning of violent threats against people attending the event, police said. They later found an array of weapons and arrested the pair on firearms charges, they said.
Security employees at the Hynes Convention Center, where the event was held Friday and Saturday, notified the Boston Regional Intelligence Center on Thursday of the threats.
The two men, 18-year-old Kevin Norton and 27-year-old James Stumbo, both of Iowa, were stopped when they tried to enter the event. Detectives, who had been informed that the men had driven from Iowa and had several firearms in their vehicle, asked the pair for licenses for any weapons, and the men could not produce them, police said. Authorities impounded the vehicle and released the suspects while they obtained a search warrant, police said.
On Friday, after obtaining a warrant, detectives searched the vehicle and "recovered one 12-gauge Remington shotgun, one DPM5 Model AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition, and a hunting knife," according to police.
Boston Globe link from submission [5 article/month paywall].
(Score: 2) by Kromagv0 on Monday August 24 2015, @04:54PM
one 12-gauge Remington shotgun, one DPM5 Model AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition, and a hunting knife
Where I live 2 guys with that would just be called unprepared for deer hunting.
Joking aside I hadn't heard of threats of violence against Pokemon players/events. The worst I had ever heard of a couple of years ago of a guy getting pissed at a judge and flipping a table. Since I don't know MA firearm laws does one need a license to possess a long gun or handgun as in my state, Minnesota, you don't.
T-Shirts and bumper stickers [zazzle.com] to offend someone
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Monday August 24 2015, @05:18PM
You'd have to be a complete moron to cross state lines with weapons in your vehicle. Even if they are licensed in your home jurisdiction, they may not be legal in another town or state. Either these two were attempting to do something or they were chowder heads. If you plan to take your weapons with you on a trip (guns, knives, bows, etc.) make sure your destination and everywhere inbetween allows you to be in possession of those weapons. Otherwise you will be arrested and charged with weapons possession.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 24 2015, @05:45PM
Constitutional carry.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @05:46PM
No, federal law allows a person to drive through any state with firearms secured in their vehicle as long as theyare legal to posess in the origin and destination states. I this case, I don't think MA would allow these non residents to possess them so they are probably in violation of MA laws.
(Score: 2) by Username on Monday August 24 2015, @06:20PM
Rights do not require a federal law or any kind of law for that matter. Laws can only deny rights, not grant them.
It’s like saying, "No federal law allows a person to drive through any state with homosexuals in their vehicle, as long as homosexuality is legal in origin and destination states."
(Score: 1) by modecx on Tuesday August 25 2015, @05:30AM
Respectfully, that's a terrible analogy, and it's nothing like that at all. The law in question is otherwise known as the "Firearms Owners Protection Act", and was created to partially preempt (rather, provide a narrow affirmative defense against) more restrictive state and local laws concerning travelers.
Is it ideal? Hell no. Is it utterly ridiculous that we even need such a thing in the first place? Hell yes. The maxim regarding good intentions not withstanding, at least the intentions behind that section of law weren't evil, which is more than can be said about many of the things that make it out of congress.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Monday August 24 2015, @10:05PM
I heard the exact opposite, from a person in law enforcement no less.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 26 2015, @04:20AM
And police are certainly known for their honesty and knowledge of the laws...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @05:19PM
Is it such a joke? I hope this doesn't devolve into another US gun control debate, not after those arrests in France of people with fully automatic weapons. A single AR-15 and a shotgun are pedestrian by comparison of fully automatic weapons of war in a country with very strong gun control.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Monday August 24 2015, @06:39PM
A single AR-15 and a shotgun are pedestrian by comparison of fully automatic weapons of war in a country with very strong gun control.
Gee, in other arguments on this topic we would have heard about how the hunting knife they brought along was just as deadly.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday August 24 2015, @05:20PM
http://www.vice.com/read/what-we-know-about-the-two-men-arrested-for-bringing-guns-to-a-pokemon-tournament-824 [vice.com]
It doesn't seem there is enough to charge them with much more than "unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition". If they hadn't made any social media threats, it seems they would have been in a much better position to carry out a massacre. Good thing most criminals are dumb.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 24 2015, @05:49PM
I'd like to stress your point about making threats. These dummies didn't break any "gun laws" that I have any respect for. But, communicating threats is a crime. That crime becomes even greater when there is credible reason to believe that the threats might be carried out.
All things considered, there is a good case for assault with a deadly weapon, and criminal intent.
The weapon charges? Phhht - nonsense. Unconstitutional laws are unconstitutional.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @06:46PM
> These dummies didn't break any "gun laws" that I have any respect for.
And your respect is key to the legal process.
Do you ever listen to yourself? You are a comedian. Jerry Seinfeld, watch out!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Monday August 24 2015, @05:52PM
appear in Facebook photos on their respective pages posing with firearms—the former in front of a giant cannon, the latter shooting a handgun.
This is always portrayed in the media as illegal criminal behavior in leftie areas, although it most certainly is not.
I'm thinking it'll be actually made illegal soon enough. Just a little more propaganda...
Locally its a dress code violation at the local schools to wear tee shirts with weapons on them. There was a lot of pissing and moaning about minecraft tee shirts because its very hard to find one without a diamond sword or pickaxe or an enchanted bow. I honestly don't remember how that one turned out but it made it all they way to the school board.
The school semi-aggressively monitors facebook etc for bullying, well, at least in theory, or thats the BS they tell the parents, and I suspect posing with firearms will soon be seen as a school district weapons violation leading to expulsion. Sucks to be a deer hunter, I guess.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bradley13 on Monday August 24 2015, @06:10PM
A couple of Facebook pics, a bad joke, and - well, the last part is that they are just too stupid to live. Massachusetts has zero tolerance for firearms, to the point that your actual legal rights are ignored.
There was a blogger who lived in Mass. Shortly after Rep. Giffords was shot, he made a joke that this would be a good thing for the whole Congress. Massachusetts cops showed up at his door and confiscated all of his firearms [dailykos.com]. They never charged him with anything, maybe because making bad jokes isn't a crime.
IIRC, he never was able to reclaim his property. Far worse is the fact that he closed down his blog. Government intimidation serves to squash freedom of speech. It doesn't matter what you think of the speech in question, shutting it down by governmental action is a bad thing.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @06:48PM
> This is always portrayed in the media as illegal criminal behavior in leftie areas, although it most certainly is not.
If you have to attribute to the over-top the actions of a couple of extremists to the norm then you've failed politics 101.