Politics - OOOPS!

[Tycer]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iHaY ... wD92P14CO0

Man arrested with weapons at Pelosi hotel
10 hours ago
DENVER (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefly evacuated from her downtown Denver hotel on Saturday when a man carrying two hunting rifles and two pistols tried to check in to the hotel.
Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said 29-year-old Joseph Calanchini of Pinedale, Wyo., faces a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon after police officers at the Grand Hyatt hotel noticed him carrying a rifle-type case while checking in. Calanchini did not have a concealed weapons permit, said Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
Wiley said authorities were not releasing information about whether the weapons were loaded because the case remained under investigation. Wiley said the charge is the same whether the weapons were loaded or unloaded.
Pelosi and other guests briefly evacuated the hotel but were never in danger, Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said.
Calanchini told KUSA-TV it was bad timing.
"I didn't even know the DNC was in town. I don't watch the news," Calanchini told the station from jail before he was released on $10,000 bond. "If I had known, I would have done things differently. It was a simple mistake."
Calanchini told KUSA he had the weapons because he was getting ready for a hunting trip Aug. 28.
Authorities were investigating a report that Calanchini was in town on business and had had the weapons worked upon to prepare for the trip.
"The speaker was never in any danger and she appreciates the quick and professional response of the police," said Daly.

[Doc Hudson]

Yet another innocent gunower ruined for life if he gets convicted.

[Hobie]

Lets see, how did he break the law? Carrying cased firearms into a hotel, made no attempt to conceal same????? And for this innocent error he might never hunt again...

[gunslinger598]

I don't watch the news or read a paper either.

Colorado is an open carry state. Was the fact the were cased what may have changed them to being concealed?

I suspect this is gonna cost him big even if he manages to get the charges dismissed. More than one law officer in the state of Colorado has said to me: ' Even if they aren't convicted legal expenses will sure cost them"

[Mich Hunter]

Since when do you have to have a CCW to carry a long arm in a case to a hotel room???? Its funny that the Colorado CCW is for handguns only unlike other states where it will cover large knives and such. Says it right on the card. Did the guy have the case stuck in his ants or something?? Colorado is an open carry state, but Denver is their own little country. These are the same people that want to legalize an ounce of marijuna during the DNC. We call the place "Little Kalifornia" due to their politics that seemed to have crossed state lines long ago. If the article is complete, he didn't break any laws. Sounds like the Secret Service over reacted quite a biLooks like we will be seeing another pending law suit for gun rights in he near future.

[kimwcook]

Sounds like the SS needs to give the guy his firearms back with a big apology, in public, as he was arrested in public.

[C. Cash]

Amen to all said. They owe this guy an apology.

[homefront]

I don't understand what he did wrong.
If the weapons were carried in cases, and he was wrong for doing so, how the heck else was he supposed to check in - with the rifles slung over his shoulders?
Like everything Pelosi or dem related, this make s absolutely no sense.
How about we ban politicians from areas where transporting cased firearms is legal?

[Duff L Bagg]

The DNC comes to town the week before hunting season opens and expects the world to change for them?
How many hunters are going to be flying into Denver this week and want to stay a night or two in town before heading out to camp? Is the SS going to arrest and charge every hunter that wants a hotel room in the Denver area this week? Sounds like the SS needs to have "belly windows" installed because their is very little chance of them pulling their heads out.

[brucew44guns]

Old Pelosi could help her image a little if she was on record now, going to the jail and trying to get this man released and the charges dropped. She would be faking it, but it would be a help to them anyhow. Poor guy, what a bad deal for him.

[Griff]

Sounds like the SS needs to give the guy his firearms back with a big apology, in public, as he was arrested in public.

Hmm... Freudian slip there?

[octagon]

I guess Dems are not in season yet.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

I would guess that it's the two pistols that he's in trouble for carrying concealed. Not that he had an bad intent, it's just the Colorado probably treats them differently than the rifles. Although, anyone who lives in downtown Denver or anyone there for the DNC would freak anyway ... lawfully carried or not.

[piller]

And some folks wonder why that there are people who have learned a distrust of Law Enforcement. I am certain that this man will not trust Law Enforcement ever again. Those few who do things like this ruin it for the majority who are good people, but it seems some professions are harder to get the bad apples removed from than others.

[Andrew]

I don't even know what to say. It's just idiotic to say the least.

[AJMD429]

And some folks wonder why that there are people who have learned a distrust of Law Enforcement. I am certain that this man will not trust Law Enforcement ever again. Those few who do things like this ruin it for the majority who are good people, but it seems some professions are harder to get the bad apples removed from than others.

Yes - the Republican's knee-jerk "but it's the law" mindset has cost them many an election. They don't realize that there may be lots of STUPID things and lots of IMMORAL things, but not all of them need to be ILLEGAL things.

Sure, I have friends I respect who are LEO's, but for the life of me, I can't imagine having a job where I would have to uphold immoral, unconstitutional, laws, and feel 'good' about it. It would be like if the government required me to perform abortions. Maybe it's good that some individuals CAN do it, but I couldn't be a LEO and enforce gun laws or drug laws or prostitution laws - if there's no direct 'victim' then in my book there's no crime. To believe otherwise is to place the views of some distant panel of 'experts' or legislators as holy writ. Can't do that.

[ole pizen slinger]

I don't know if things have changed in Denver,Co. or not. In 1999 I was planning to rock chuck hunt in Idaho. During the process of preparing for the hunt, I did a little research as to what I might encounter in passing through the different states I would cross in getting to my destination. One of the problems that surfaced was "Denver, Co.". Seems that the City of Denver was allowing their police to stop vehicles that appeared to be owned/occupied by hunters at random. If guns were found in the vehicle, the occupant was taken to jail and all property was confiscated without due process. After hearing of this activity, I called the Denver District Attorney's Office and questioned them as to the veracity of the rumors I had heard. I was told that the Denver police were being allowed to stop motorists and at the officer's discretion the motorist could be placed in jail and the vehicle and its contents seized. As a result of what I learned, I completely bypassed the State of Colorado altogether. I had the District Attorney's Office send me a letter stating the above facts concerning their enforcement of whatever laws were involved. Don't know if I still have the letter or not. This much I know, I won't go near Denver, Co. with firearms in the vehicle. Democratic National Convention or otherwise.
Ole Pizen Slinger

[Ysabel Kid]

The DNC comes to town the week before hunting season opens and expects the world to change for them?

In a word - yes. In fact, the DNC wants all gun owners to "change for them" - part of the "change" Obama is trying to shove... er... down our throats. The change for all of us will be giving up our guns... or else...

[Tycer]

Hopefully he was a plant. Bring the issue to the forefront and let's hear the DNC opine.

[Griff]

Sounds like the SS needs to give the guy his firearms back with a big apology, in public, as he was arrested in public.

Hmm... Freudian slip there?

What we can expect from a Dem for a President, along with a Democrat controlled Congress.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

No charges filed apparently. Here's the link.

[TedH]

Good to see there were no charges filed, but why in the heck do the cops still have his firearms?

[oldmax]

I do not believe the police 'over reacted',
This was a purposeful act .
This man was probably cleared within a few minutes of being stopped.

[Tycer]

I do not believe the police 'over reacted',
This was a purposeful act .
This man was probably cleared within a few minutes of being stopped.

If this article is correct, he was held in Denver jail on $10,000 bond after being interrogated by the SS. His car and guns impounded.

http://www.9news.com/news/local/article ... &catid=346

[Hobie]

Sounds like the SS needs to give the guy his firearms back with a big apology, in public, as he was arrested in public.

Hmm... Freudian slip there?

SS=Secret Service, perhaps a clever juxtaposition?