We can thank Barack Obama, Dianne Feinstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Piers Morgan, and most of the virulently anti-gun MSM for creating an environment where an active duty soldier can be harassed and arrested for the mere act of taking a hike with his son carrying his legally owned firearm. Why should a law-abiding conceal carry permit holder out for a walk with his son be seen as a threat to anybody? In Obama’s America, even Texas isn’t safe from the gun grabbers.
Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review Online interviewed Army Master Sergeant. C. J. Grisham, a serving American soldier and veteran of the the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, whose video, taken by his son has gone viral on YouTube.
“We live out in the country in Texas, near Temple,” he told me. “My son and I were on a ten-mile hike so that he could earn his hiking merit badge – it’s the last badge he needs to become an Eagle Scout.” But half way into the hike, Grisham said, “a police officer pulled up.” Initially, he was “cordial” and he “asked what we were doing.” Grisham told him. “Then he looked at my rifle. I carry a rifle any time I walk around because there are feral hogs and cougars and things like that.”
From here, things took a turn for the worse.
“‘Where you going with that rifle?’ he asked me. I said, ‘does it matter? Am I breaking any laws?’” Then, he says, the officer “grabbed the rifle without telling me – but it was attached to me. My immediate reaction as a combat veteran was to grab it back and then take a step back. I asked him what he was doing. So he pulled his gun on me. Then I thought about my son, so I put my hands off my gun and he told me to move over to the car. Luckily my son had the video camera to document the hike for his merit badge. I told him to turn it on.”
The video starts at the moment:
Cooke found it “particularly chilling” that the officer told Grisham that he (the officer) is “allowed to” carry a weapon, but that Grisham is not — despite Grisham’s having a permit.
“We’re exempt from the law” is not a phrase you want to hear from law enforcement in a constitutional republic.
Grisham told Cooke this sort of thing happens to soldiers a lot.
I have a pretrial hearing on May 29. The police are dragging their feet, not releasing the video. They’re waiting as long as they can — playing hard to get. . . . The reason I’m aggressive on this is that, in the military, if this happens, they initiate a flag that halts your career. You can’t take leave, you can’t be promoted, can’t receive awards or decorations. I am supposed to move to new base in July. I can’t do that. I’ve been on active duty for 18 and a half years and it’s got my career on a hold.”
Nice Deb 
Reblogged this on My Political Blog.
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Your rights were most certainly infringed upon. Your son was subjected to violent handling of your body, which traumatized him. I heard him crying when they put you in the police car! Sue their asses, Soldier! What the Temple policeman did to you is on video for the world to view. It is not here say, or an eye-witness story; this was police brutality on an active soldier legally carrying his firearms (with permits), walking with his son on a hike in Temple, Texas, in the daylight, with no evil intent. I am ashamed of my state today. Never did I dream a Texas citizen would ever be treated in such a hostile manner. This is shameful; the policeman who did this should be fired, as he infringed upon the rights of a United States citizen and active soldier. I stand with you and millions of other will also when they see and hear this video. God bless you, and thank you for serving your country. I as a Texas citizen, apologize to you on behalf of my state. Please take into account that this was one man and he does not represent Texas or the USA, He acted out of fear when there was no threat whatsoever.
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If the officer had felt threatened, he would not have grabbed the gun first but pulled his own weapon; therefore, one can safely assume the gun-grab was his objective, not making sure the neighborhood was safe from a rabid gun-toter who was about to shoot the place up.
It’s too bad studying the Constitution and the English language is not required for every person living in the United States, maybe a one-week class every two years, maybe two weeks for law enforcement personnel every year, and maybe six months a year every year for elected officials. Maybe then people would understand complex phrases like “…shall not be infringed…”
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I would sue the entire city of Temple.
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You should have just given him your weapon. you wouldn’t be in this situation if you would justed relaxed. Its all your fault but you will be like every other person in this countrry and blame someone else for your stupid mistake. You will not win any lawsuit. And honestly, when was the last time you passed your height and weight standards there E-8??
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@ last Anon- When is the last time you were an active-duty soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan and an officer attempts to suddenly grab your rifle from you? It’s understandable that people might be alarmed at the sight of an AR-15 style hunting rifle, but the officer is clearly not being professional. I wouldn’t want an officer “protecting” me if their first move is to try and GRAB an AR-15 that is clipped to a person’s chest. IF he had felt threatened, then as a professional police officer, he should’ve had his hand ready on his weapon and asked the soldier to disarm himself. I DO NOT WANT an idiot officer protecting me that thinks the best option for public safety is to walk up and try to physically take a rifle from somebody. If you DO want officers like that, then you’re brain-dead……. If the man WAS a threat, then the officer and any other spectator would’ve been shot by the suspect for even attempting to suddenly grab a loaded weapon without verbal communication.
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@ anonymous, Apr 18, 2013/11:56 pm – I think the worst mistake here, in addition to the unprofessional conduct approach by the policemen, is clearly your judgmental attitude. I believe it only proves how coward you are to bash out others under the guise of being anonymous. And the audacity to use the word honesty just to demean based on a totally unrelated comment? Can you possibly put yourself in his shoe just for a moment? Never mind that your boy is also with you. Man up and get a life!!!
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