So there I am, in the living room with my wife when I hear what sounds like a gun being racked back repeatedly. I go into another room to look and sure enough a man holding what appears to be a pistol, aimed toward our road, pulling the slide back repeatedly. I am like "what the Fuçk?!?, it looked as if it was a pistol, it could have been a BB gun but it definitely, I believed it was a firearm. The man then went inside his home. I had no idea what he was doing or trying to do, so I called 911 and reported it to them. I believe I did the right thing, firearm or BB gun that looked like a firearm, pointing it at a main road is a huge no no. Did I do the right thing, it was pointed directly at the road, should I have done anything differently. Your thoughts my friends...

Sounds like something like that deserved official investigation --or at least a checking-out.  You never know the mental state of someone who does something like that, regardless of age.  At least there'll be a record of the contact, even if it was perfectly legal (which I doubt) or the person was a minor, or it was "just a BB gun or water pistol," or whatever.

There should be a "trouble push-pin" in the PD's map for that address.  Anything happens, that will be the first (and most likely) place for them to look to find the source of the trouble.

I tell you true, in older times, I would have ignored it and just chalked it up as the guy being an asshole, but nowadays, it's a different world with all those nuts running around loose.  He could have been "acting out" a future event of some kind.  I do have a propane-powered Airsoft Colt MKIV that sounds (and looks) like a real gun when you rack it, but I'm damned if I'd display it casually, red-tipped muzzle or no red-tipped muzzle.  (It's also pretty loud.)

My vote is you did the right thing.

Terry, 230RN

i think that's the right thing.  even if open carry were legal, someone actually drawing and doing anything to manipulate his weapon deserves investigation. 

either he's in the wrong (drawing for no good reason, or malicious reasons), or something caused him to draw which needs to be looked into.

I have to go the opposite way on this.  There is no law that says it's illegal to be on your own property holding a firearm.  There is no law saying you can't point a firearm at a roadway.

Unless he discharged the weapon, left his property, you heard cries for help, or you saw him threatening someone, you have no reason to call the Cops. 

For all you know, he had just cleaned the pistol and was working the action to distribute the lubrication.  It really doesn't matter.

We've become conditioned to not trust anyone with a gun in his hand for any reason other than buying, registering, or practicing with one at a range.

If you know of any laws he broke, showing us what they are would be appreciated.  But calling the Cops on someone who is on their own property and racking what sounds like from your description to be an empty gun was inappropriate.

Just my opinion based on the story provided.

its not that i dont trust a person with a gun.

It's that i dont trust someone who's actively aiming it with no discernible reason, especially not from a safety perspective. 

if you're going to make the argument that he just finished cleaning his weapon (on the front lawn presumably, since this was in view of his neighbor), then at the very least, pointing his gun at the street is still very irresponsible if there isnt an active threat. so either he needs a lesson in actual gun safety, or someone needs to figure out what threat he was seeing that caused him to do so. 

and for the record, its never specified if he WAS on his property or not.  im assuming he was, but if he wasnt, well then there's your law broken.  and if he was on his property, then someone needs to teach him how to safely handle his firearms. 

its not that i dont trust a person with a gun.

It's that i dont trust someone who's actively aiming it with no discernible reason, especially not from a safety perspective. 

if you're going to make the argument that he just finished cleaning his weapon (on the front lawn presumably, since this was in view of his neighbor), then at the very least, pointing his gun at the street is still very irresponsible if there isnt an active threat. so either he needs a lesson in actual gun safety, or someone needs to figure out what threat he was seeing that caused him to do so. 

and for the record, its never specified if he WAS on his property or not.  im assuming he was, but if he wasnt, well then there's your law broken.  and if he was on his property, then someone needs to teach him how to safely handle his firearms.

Right.  So if we assume no actual laws were broken, then do you still believe calling the Cops is appropriate? 

"911. What is your emergency?"

"Yeah, I need the police to go teach my neighbor how to safely handle his firearm so he's not pointing it at the road in front of my house.  He's really making me nervous!"

If it were my neighbor, I'd walk over and knock on his door.  The neighborly thing to do would be to explain how i could see the firearm, and he should be more careful about displaying it where others might see it.  Then I'd ask if he goes to the range much, and how often the RSO needed to yell at him for lack of muzzle discipline! 

Right.  So if we assume no actual laws were broken, then do you still believe calling the Cops is appropriate? 

"911. What is your emergency?"

"Yeah, I need the police to go teach my neighbor how to safely handle his firearm so he's not pointing it at the road in front of my house.  He's really making me nervous!"

If it were my neighbor, I'd walk over and knock on his door.  The neighborly thing to do would be to explain how i could see the firearm, and he should be more careful about displaying it where others might see it.  Then I'd ask if he goes to the range much, and how often the RSO needed to yell at him for lack of muzzle discipline! 

I belive in "mind your own business" if no laws were broken . hell, i open carry daily and don't believe anyone should even look at me funny not alone covering it.

In your case, I think you did the right thing.
1. He went back inside his house so he is your neighbor.
2. But you don't this neighbor well enough to evaluate his actions.
3. I know you have a family to protect.
4. A visit from a cop will put this idiot on notice that it's not polite or safe to do s...t like that. Like that kid that got shot for waving around an airgun at the park.
Somebody needs to talk to him. That's what we pay the police for.
5. I know you are moving soon, so you don't have to worry about making friends with this idiot.
....
Going forward, I suggest you spend some time to get to know your neighbors wherever you are.
Then you could ask them about that weird neighbor.

For myself, I occasionally walk around my yard with an airgun, shooting at stuff that needs to git shot.
Like ugly invasive lizards, bulbul birds, and crapping cats. But then, my neighbors do it too.

I belive in "mind your own business" if no laws were broken . hell, i open carry daily and don't believe anyone should even look at me funny not alone covering it.

...
I think there is a difference between open carrying and brandishing. This dude was brandishing.
What if your kids are on the street riding a bike or skateboard?

Hello everyone,

It was not his property, homes very close together. I also believe a law was broken, according to a HPD officer I spoke to a year ago (about the legality of a oc gun called JPX jet) even merely displaying what even looks like a handgun is a crime. According to that officer anyway, the officer said that a JPX is not a firearm but showing it or anything else that looks like a firearm (water gun, BB gun) is illegal. Also, the folks that live there are not the most stable, yelling at all times of day, and this old woman that death stares at my wife and I whenever she sees us, my wife and I are kind and respectful to everyone and my wife is 9montjs pregnant, just this old woman followed us on the adjacent side of the property staring at us like we did something to her, not the most sane folks...
As far as minding my own business I agree, a holstered weapon is perfectly fine, aiming a weapon or what looks like to be a weapon aimed at a street everyone around her travels cocking a firearm, it became my business, I believe. Especially with random nut jobs shooting up folks and the media jumping on it like flies on crap.
Thanks for the responses guys. If there was anything that I could have done differently please let me know, it never seen a person aim a firearm at traffic before :O

I don't know the actual laws, especially when looking them up for something in black and white.  So what is considered as "displaying"/"showing" a firearm and how is that illegal?  A friend of mine who is a cop on Maui says it's legal to open carry on your property, has this changed?

< (Note location.)

one2boost  said,

I don't know the actual laws, especially when looking them up for something in black and white.

Well, around here, the words "from, upon, or across" a public road is illegal, at least as far as actually firing a shot is concerned.  YMMV.

While no shots were fired, and while I agree that firearms carry should be "normalized," the actions described by the OP seem noteworthy and unusual --especially considering the additional data added later.

At least noteworthy enough to post about it.

As monster796 (the OP) said, "Especially with random nut jobs shooting up folks and the media jumping on it like flies on crap."

That's exactly where I was coming from when I remarked about in days of old I'd have ignored it.  Then it was like this: 

Now it's more like this: 

It is a different world nowadays, even here in Colorado. 

I'd call it "preventative maintenance."

Terry, 230RN

Hello everyone,

It was not his property, homes very close together. I also believe a law was broken, according to a HPD officer I spoke to a year ago (about the legality of a oc gun called JPX jet) even merely displaying what even looks like a handgun is a crime. According to that officer anyway, the officer said that a JPX is not a firearm but showing it or anything else that looks like a firearm (water gun, BB gun) is illegal. Also, the folks that live there are not the most stable, yelling at all times of day, and this old woman that death stares at my wife and I whenever she sees us, my wife and I are kind and respectful to everyone and my wife is 9montjs pregnant, just this old woman followed us on the adjacent side of the property staring at us like we did something to her, not the most sane folks...
As far as minding my own business I agree, a holstered weapon is perfectly fine, aiming a weapon or what looks like to be a weapon aimed at a street everyone around her travels cocking a firearm, it became my business, I believe. Especially with random nut jobs shooting up folks and the media jumping on it like flies on crap.
Thanks for the responses guys. If there was anything that I could have done differently please let me know, it never seen a person aim a firearm at traffic before :O

police officers are usually not the best source of legal advice.
next time they tell you something is illegal ask them for the HRS so you can look it up yourself. from my experience I've been told things are illegal but when asked what's the HRS they don't know or say to "just trust me". take it for what it's worth but that's been my experience.

If in fact he was not on his property (owned or rented), then he can't have a firearm in his hand.  That would be the law he was breaking and should be the basis for reporting him.

Pointing the gun in an unsafe direction is not illegal unless he discharges the weapon.  If it makes you nervous, as it would most people who know the gun safety rules and practice them, that unfortunately doesn't rise to the level of breaking the law.

As far as the crazies in the news, you have just done exactly what the media and anti-gunners want you to do:   You had an emotional reaction to the sight of someone with a firearm! 

There are over 3 million firearms owned by private citizens in the US.  Given that active shooting incidents range between 6 and 16 per year (depending on when you start tallying), the ratio of the high-end of active shooters to the low-end of legal gun owners iw 16/3M = .0533%.

There is one-twentieth of one percent chance that a legal gun owner will go on a shooting spree.  So, given those odds, I don't think we should always assume the negative when seeing someone with a gun.  You have a much higher likelihood that the car you are about to walk in front of in a crosswalk will be operated by an impaired driver who won't stop at the red light.

If it were my neighbor, I'd walk over and knock on his door.  The neighborly thing to do would be to explain how i could see the firearm, and he should be more careful about displaying it where others might see it.

Right, the guy could be a pissed off nut job coming from a place where "the folks that live there are not the most stable, yelling at all times of day," who has a gun which he has already publicly and illegally brandished off his property while  miss-appropriately handling it and you want me to walk over, knock on his door and basically call him an idiot ? 

.

This is precisely why I posted about the necessity of open carry to preserve the right to keep and bear arms. Just as talents are lost when not exercised the same applies to a people rights when not exercised.
When the right to bear arms is not exercised in an open capacity, we inadvertently create alarm when such open exposure occurs as others become alarmed when it happens in front of them. This exactly why open carry is the responsibility of all people who expect to retain their right to keep and bear arms for themselves and their children.

A man racking his hand gun in the front yard might be making sure his firearm is clear and no round is chambered or trying to clear a jammed round. Rather than having a bullet eject in a house from a chamber which could strike an object in the house and fire openly, it is safer to eject a possible round outdoors on a lawn or some other safe ejection area. Live rounds can be detonated when thrown through the air if they strike a hard object in the correct orientation (rare but not unheard of). Also, aiming it at the street may have been nothing more than citing down the chamber to see if it was clear. I wouldn't have been alarmed nor would I consider the person an idiot and weather or not they were a relative of the home occupants or friend would not have been my business, not unless there was a firearm discharge.

I would consider the phone call to police to be a direct product of inadequate exposure to firearms and further proof as to how the right to keep and bear arms has become an intolerant act even by those who claim to back the second amendment. You're giving the gun grabbers all the ammo they need by not openly practicing the right to keep and bear arms, it's just a matter of a generation or two more and the right will be repealed by a new constitutional amendment.

     

Right, the guy could be a pissed off nut job coming from a place where "the folks that live there are not the most stable, yelling at all times of day," who has a gun which he has already publicly and illegally brandished off his property while  miss-appropriately handling it and you want me to walk over, knock on his door and basically call him an idiot ? 

Most of what you listed in your description was added to this thread after I posted the comment you quoted,  So, your comment is off base.  Please read my later comments..

But, I guess you'll do whatever it takes to entertain yourself!   

This is precisely why I posted about the necessity of open carry to preserve the right to keep and bear arms. Just as talents are lost when not exercised the same applies to a people rights when not exercised.
When the right to bear arms is not exercised in an open capacity, we inadvertently create alarm when such open exposure occurs as others become alarmed when it happens in front of them. This exactly why open carry is the responsibility of all people who expect to retain their right to keep and bear arms for themselves and their children.

A man racking his hand gun in the front yard might be making sure his firearm is clear and no round is chambered or trying to clear a jammed round. Rather than having a bullet eject in a house from a chamber which could strike an object in the house and fire openly, it is safer to eject a possible round outdoors on a lawn or some other safe ejection area. Live rounds can be detonated when thrown through the air if they strike a hard object in the correct orientation (rare but not unheard of). Also, aiming it at the street may have been nothing more than citing down the chamber to see if it was clear. I wouldn't have been alarmed nor would I consider the person an idiot and weather or not they were a relative of the home occupants or friend would not have been my business, not unless there was a firearm discharge.

I would consider the phone call to police to be a direct product of inadequate exposure to firearms and further proof as to how the right to keep and bear arms has become an intolerant act even by those who claim to back the second amendment. You're giving the gun grabbers all the ammo they need by not openly practicing the right to keep and bear arms, it's just a matter of a generation or two more and the right will be repealed by a new constitutional amendment.

     

He is not on his property, the association owns every inch except for your back area. He was not in this area and the gun was pointed at a street where a car passes every 10 seconds, open carry is great and I am the most pro gun person ever, pointing a firearm at a road is not acceptable at all, let me say it again, he was aiming the gun at the frequently tracked road as if trying to cock it from a shooting position.

He is not on his property, the association owns every inch except for your back area. He was not in this area and the gun was pointed at a street where a car passes every 10 seconds, open carry is great and I am the most pro gun person ever, pointing a firearm at a road is not acceptable at all, let me say it again, he was aiming the gun at the frequently tracked road as if trying to cock it from a shooting position.

The fact you found his actions to be concerning is enough to prove that undue alarm over firearms exist even in those who claim to honor the second amendment. Irrelevant to the laws of the State of Hawaii, what does the supreme law of land state in the second amendment? Who owns the association? What are its bylaws? What is the place where someone can have a firearm in the State of Hawaii, were the words inside home used or some other legal word that represents a place where a person is residing?