Pennsylvania Court Rules ‘Gun Like Hand Gestures’ Are Criminal

By Tom Knighton

Once upon a time, I played basketball. I wasn’t a good basketball player, but because of school rules, I was still on the varsity team my senior year. I was the last guy off the bench, but we were a pretty good team so I got to play a fair bit.

One game, I got to play more than usual because we were crushing the other team horribly. I got the ball and sank my shot and the crowd erupted. They liked seeing the school geek score. Then I nailed another basket and started getting cocky. I made my fingers into the shape of a gun and did the whole “six-gun” thing with them.

It was stupid and arrogant, especially from a kid who sucked at the sport, but I was young and stupid.

If I did that today, at least in some parts of Pennsylvania, I apparently could be charged with a crime.

A Pennsylvania court ruled Tuesday that making a “gunlike hand gesture” is a crime after a man made the hand motion during an argument with his neighbor — an act which reportedly made several nearby residents nervous and prompted a call to police.

Stephen Kirchner, …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms