anti-gun paranoia mkes invasion of privacy ok

[BlaqueKatt]

article here

guy orders lego gun and assembles it in his office-guy in next building takes pictures that clearly show the lego pieces(not sure what privacy laws are in Canada, but I'd think taking photos of someone you don't know while they're at work, would probably not be ok) and calls the SWAT team because "he's afraid of guns being close to him"

"I don't really like guns right beside me -- and then it turned out to be Lego," Dent chuckled.

But he added, "My girlfriend is moving in with her daughter and stuff, and it looks right into our loft where we sleep, so no, not cool."

(yes because some stranger you don't know who is only in the next building to work during the day is of course going to harm you, your girlfriend and her daughter, whom he doesn't even know exist, while you sleep )

Then when he finds out it was only a lego gun(again you can clearly see the pieces on the desk-I counted 21), he laughs about how much taxpayer money was wasted, never mind that the other person(who did nothing wrong) was held at gunpoint, handcuffed, searched, and slammed into a wall.....

Police had him put his hands on his head and walk backwards towards them. "They cuffed me, pulled me into the stairwell and threw me against the wall. They spread my legs and checked to make sure I didn't have a weapon on me," he said.

[jackfaire]

"We have to take all the gun calls seriously because we don't know what we're getting involved in," Vella said. "There's the potential for public risk as well as the risk to the officers' safety."

While no charges may have been brought I wonder if he can sue the other guy for invasion of privacy.

I mean seriously? What if the guy sees one of his neighbors taking what is obviously a gun case for a hunting rifle into his own apartment so he can have it ready for when him and his buddies go hunting.

This guy will call the police and they will what arrest a guy for planning a hunting trip? Either guns are illegal or they aren't.

Also the guy thinking this is a gun is a moron. Yes I see the grip and the lots of small pieces might potentially be part of a real gun but you can't see a freaking barrel.

So if it is a real gun it is the most useless one ever. As a gun barrel comes in one piece. If this guy is going to protect his family from guns he might want to learn a thing or two about them.

[Slytovhand]

?? I see something resembling a Glock.. and I certainly don't know enough about the modern gun movement to know what is out there and what's not...

I see a stack of little pieces on a table as well.. but then, I know what to look for! And, I've plenty of time on my hands, I also have a large enough photo to peruse! Which means, I'm not looking at the little screen that comes with most digital cameras...

I'm split on this - one is the 'gun' issue - in which the caller/photographer did right, - and the 'privacy' issue - in which I dunno...

What if it had've been a real gun? Would this thread exist? I think, in the end, the caller made the right call (haha!)... Because, if it was a real gun, and the guy was going to go postal, then - if he made the call he's a hero, if he doesn't make the call he'll cop so much grief (both from others, and from himself) for the rest of his life.

After all, from what I gather, the building wasn't being used for any form of security or law enforcement, and it is someone's workplace... so, I'd imagine in Canada, guns aren't that common in such a place that it's a blaze affair.

Either guns are illegal or they aren't.

This argument has a flaw in it - one the NRA keeps trying to point out in a different way. Guns aren't illegal - possession or use of them is. And.. who's to tell who is legally allowed to possess, and who isn't?

What if the guy sees one of his neighbors taking what is obviously a gun case for a hunting rifle into his own apartment so he can have it ready for when him and his buddies go hunting.

Context...

[jackfaire]

in which the caller/photographer did right, - and the 'privacy' issue - in which I dunno....

He called because he was worried for the safety of his girlfriend and her kid who weren't even there at the time.

Saying anything else was an after thought. If he had been concerned this guy was going to go postal he would have called the office manager of that building so oh I don't know they could quietly evacuate the building instead of hoping the police got there in time.

The guy did wrong period he didn't care that other people might die it didn't matter to him others have the right to own or carry a gun. He cared that there was no gun around him and his family.

In other words he wants the law set to where you can step within so much distance of HIM with a gun.

My point was that if this guy has such an issue with guns then he needs to know what is current in the gun world. He needs to know if that briefcase so and so is carrying could be a gun.

I mean seriously every single time someone glimpses something even resembling a gun the cops should be called?

[Slytovhand]

What the...????

If he had been concerned this guy was going to go postal he would have called the office manager of that building so oh I don't know they could quietly evacuate the building instead of hoping the police got there in time.

So, person thinks they see a gun and that the person holding it might go ballistic, and they should "call the office manager"??? By that, I take it you mean hunt around on the internet or look up the yellow pages, track down who is in charge of the building (presuming you can find the right name of the building), and try to have them quietly and discretely evacuate hundreds of people out of a building...????

All that, rather than hit an 000 equivalent, and get the cops there ASAP??

While it says that in the article, I seriously doubt his first thought upon seeing a 'gun' is "Oh dear, my girlfriend and kids could be in trouble"... at least, most people wouldn't. They think "Crap, that looks awefully suspicious, just in case, I'd better call the police to investigate" - or is this in doubt?? After all, we are reading an interview that would have been conducted some time after the actual situation... thus, we're not actually in his head at the time of the event.

But, I thought this thread was on the general idea, not one person's attitudes to gun laws... or am I mis-judging this one?

I mean seriously every single time someone glimpses something even resembling a gun the cops should be called?

Depending on the situation - yes!

I recall an incident some years ago... Star Wars geek dressing up as a Storm Trooper, had his Blaster Rifle grip sticking out of his bag. Police were called, and the Tactical Response group came to have a little chat. Trust me, it's going to be a lot better to be safe than sorry!

[jackfaire]

I am not saying instead of calling the cops I am saying in addition too and if he lives next door and is this much of a peeping tom then he knows what company the guy works for.

[Shangri-laschild]

If this had happened in America, I might see it differently but it didn't. Perceptions towards guns are much different in other countries as well as the laws about them. I could understand someone who hasn't been around guns not realizing that it was lego and that's what those pieces were. I'm also wondering what the laws in that city are. If someone had a real gun in that room, despite not hurting anyone, would it have been illegal? If so, then I can get the nervousness. I feel for the guy who was putting together the model, but also think that if it had been me in that situation, I would have closed the shade to avoid misunderstandings and problems.

[jackfaire]

It also depends on the right to privacy laws where he is.

For example in my office at my cubicle I have no expected right to privacy on any given day someone could be using my desk (if like today I am sick and not there) and have access to my stuff. Thus I don't keep personal things there (beyond decoration) .