Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day: Walter Diolosa

The liberal left got all up in arms when Wayne LaPierre announced that “the guys with the guns make the rules.” For anyone who understands the hidden dynamics behind all systems of government, the NRA Veep’s declaration of firearms dependence is no biggie. Educated people know that even the most gun-free American idyll is protected by the [unseen] force held by the state through its police force and the courts. And you can bet your bippie they enforce that force with guns. Yes, but— America’s founding fathers established a system of government wherein citizens are allowed to maintain sufficient force (a.k.a. firepower) to counteract the government’s will—should push come to shove (cough Katrina cough). Of course, there are rules to this game for both “sides.” Cops can’t become a law unto themselves. Much. Nor can armed citizens. At all. Which brings us to today’s IGOTD, Walter Diolosa.

I feel sorry for Walter Diolosa. I bet the Disney employee has small kids. I bet motorists have sped through Diolosa’s neighborhood, right by his front yard where his sprogs were playing. What’re the odds he called the cops and asked them to do something about the speeders, and nothing was done? For sure he got angry. Orlandosentinel.com tells us what happened next . . .

Osceola County deputies arrested a man accused of trying to stop a speeder in his neighborhood by flashing a gun and claiming to be a police officer.

Walter Diolosa, 35, was arrested Saturday after the confrontation on Wilderness Trail in Kissimmee. He faces charges of impersonating a law enforcement officer and carrying a concealed firearm.

According to an arrest report, Taisha Cintron told deputies her brother-in-law was speeding in the neighborhood.

She said Diolosa came to her driveway and told them to stop speeding. She told the deputy that Diolosa said, “I’m a cop and you guys can’t be speeding, next time I’m gone [sic] write you a ticket,” the arrest report said.

While Diolosa spoke, Cintron told deputies, he pulled up his shirt and flashed a black gun in his waistband, the report said.

Oh dear. That’s not good. Impersonating an officer earns you the immediate enmity of The Boys in Blue, who have the power to make your life miserable (even if they don’t shoot you).  And here’s the 411 on Florida law re: flashing you gun (a.k.a. brandishing):

790.10  Improper exhibition of dangerous weapons or firearms.–If any person having or carrying any dirk, sword, sword cane, firearm, electric weapon or device, or other weapon shall, in the presence of one or more persons, exhibit the same in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner, not in necessary self-defense, the person so offending shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

Now, there IS a gray area which Mr. Diolosa could have exploited (in theory). According to Florida statute 790.053, “A person may openly carry, for purposes of lawful self-defense.” So if Diolosa had worn his gun on a holster for self-protection in general, to defend himself against a reckless and potentially violent speeder who had almost killed his children in specific, well, nothing really. The second Wally said he was a cop he was done. But it would be a better story to tell a jury.

It’s extremely important for us non-Walter Mittys to understand that showing our weapon to someone who isn’t trying to kill us at that moment can have dramatic legal consequences. Actually, never mind that. The tactical implications are Not Good writ large. Not to put too fine a point on it, there are places in this great country (right outside my window for example) where even a glimpse of a gun could lead to the SWAT team’s arrival. Those guys drink WAY too much coffee, if you know what I mean.

Of course, telling someone you have a gun is another matter. In fact, the words “Back off, I’ve got a gun!” can eliminate an imminent threat. Alternatively, they can stimulate a potential assailant to draw his gun and shoot you before you got a chance to show him this weapon of yours. Which would really suck.

No matter how you slice it, firearms ARE power. They’re like a piano poised on the edge of a flight of stairs: kinetic energy ready to rock and roll all over someone’s ass. My advise: don’t even touch the thing unless you plan to play. And remember that if and when you play, you’re be playing for keeps.