“A handgun and a rifle were found in the back seat”
According the ATF a week ago that would have been a pistol. Now the ATF claims it is a short barrel rifle. So I’m not sure if that is a picture of the rifle or the handgun referred to in the article?
Is it legal? That is apparently up to the daily whims of the ATF so who knows. Based on their recent ruling the owner has less than 120 days now to register it as an SBR, convert it to a rifle or destroy it. Since the firearm is now likely in police custody I suspect the owner won’t have the opportunity to do any of those things and quite possibly will have some additional charges tacked on in the next couple months.
In some states it’s legal, in others it’s not. I didn’t find that firearm illegal in Utah, but the behavior of one or more of those two persons in those cars might have violated a few different laws, not only in how they used it, but in non firearm laws.
Per USCCA maps …
“it is illegal to draw or exhibit a dangerous weapon in the presence of two or more persons in an angry and threatening manner. A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if the person engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior.”
I think not enough can be said on “brandishing”, when it’s appropriate, when not, and even how it’s done. I think the laws differ by state. “Walking a tight rope/thin line”.
When on two feet, I think there is a spectrum, a scale. But when in a moving car, I have questions. Just IMHO.
Last summer a car was stopped on Omaha NE for speeding… nothing else… yet the police stated–in a news interview-- that he had a pistol and two rifles with 200 rounds of ammo----they called it an arsenal… I still laugh at the cowards when I think of it.