Does anyone remember this recent article discussed in this thread?

Things are not always what they are reported to be. I had a quick look at the article, and that was only because everyone was going on about it. Some things stood out to me.

• The IW worker "accidentally wandered" onto this land so that trespassing straight away (whether accidental or not if you're on someone's land without permission it's trespassing.)
• How the gun owner approached the IW worker was not described. IOW was he out with the gun and the IW worker met him as he was coming home or heading out?
• The Gardaí seized the gun, but the IW worker would have had to call the Gardaí or go and report yer man to them. Meaning they arrived after the fact and are only acting because an "incident" with a firearm was reported.
• No arrests made. If it was so serious then they would have arrested the man or at least brought him in for questioning.
• "The gun was pulled". Sensationalist much? It's a fecking shotgun. Not something that can be hidden in your pocket. Plus it was legally held. What firearm owner, in his right mind, would do such a thing over water charges? Whether he agrees with it or not no one is that stupid.
• IT'S THE JOURNAL. Not exactly a firearm friendly "media"" outlet.

I'm not saying that the guy is innocent simply because he is a firearm owner, but i'm more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and support his position because i (as i assume a lot of us) have been on the receiving end of something similar simply because we have guns. Exaggerated reports of a "gun wielding maniac" on our own land or property.

My suggestion, won't speak for anyone else, is i'd sooner see accurate facts that have been proved than speculation from an anti-firearm source. Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt and i'll place my support behind a fellow shooter.

The way i see it is this. The IW worker was trespassing. The owner sees someone on his land that he doesn't know and did not make themselves known to the owner. With his gun in his possession, the reasons why are irrelevant as it's legally held and he is on his land, he approaches the man. The IW worker panics after seeing someone approaching with a gun. He most likely does not know anything about guns or whether one broken across the owners arm is any different to one that is closed and in a "ready" position. He calls the Gardaí, they arrive because a firearm is involved, the gun is taken, the owner is NOT arrested, and an investigation is launched.

Now if the firearm owner was acting in a threatening manner the possession of the gun at the time could be coincidental. Even if it's not, there is a trespasser on his land/property. I'm not advocating the use of a firearm for self defense as the discussion of such is prohibited and the act of such is illegal, but so far everything points to the land owner being 100% in the right, and IW worker being in the wrong. However the land/firearm owner gets it in the neck because he is a firearm owner. If he (land owner) is 100% in the wrong, and acted improperly then he will be dealt with by An Gardaí. However, and this is a big "but", look at the source, the language used to report the incident, and sensationalist wording. 99% of these cases end up being nothing.

As i said above i've experienced this first hand over the years. We're [firearm owners] classed as greater threat simply by owning them. How many times have you heard of people having their guns taken off them because of untrue rumors reported to AGS by people with an agenda. Before i'm accused of Garda bashing, i'm not. I appreciate the Gardaí have to take care in such circumstances, and i'd rather see 99 false instances where the gun was removed than 1 were it wasn't and something did happen. However it's disheartening to think that because we own guns, have kept our noses clean for years in order to be able to do so, that we are so vulnerable to attack by any person suffering from ignorance or stupidity.