Bearing Arms - Gun-Sniffing K9's: The Future of Gun Violence Prevention...

I dunno... I get how/why the article says they want to use the dogs to search for guns, but I'm concerned with potential for abuses. Specifically, will these dogs be used to discourage law abiding citizens from carrying concealed, especially where they are licensed to do so? Will they have a bunch of these dogs in crowds just searching for people who are carrying concealed, in an effort to harass them (i.e., stop, detain and interrogate anyone carrying concealed, demand their CWFL, etc.)?

I think Amtrak uses dogs like this already.

I remember riding the Staten Island ferry and when I landed in lower Manhattan there were police dogs at the gate.  They were sniffing everyone's back packs.  I'm curious as to if one dog is trained for bombs and one for drugs.  

Dogs are either explosive or narcotic. Not both. My dept has both. Mostly explosive dogs. Explosive dogs will hit on firearms and ammo due to the gunpowder residue. Had to shutdown part of downtown Jersey City once because a dog hit on an unattended van. Turns out the van had some spent 22 casings from a hilti gun. Real butt pucker moment at first

1 hour ago, BlueLineFish said:

Dogs are either explosive or narcotic. Not both. My dept has both. Mostly explosive dogs. Explosive dogs will hit on firearms and ammo due to the gunpowder residue. Had to shutdown part of downtown Jersey City once because a dog hit on an unattended van. Turns out the van had some spent 22 casings from a hilti gun. Real butt pucker moment at first

This is why someone who uses their range bag as a carryon might be delayed at the airport.  Doesn't need to be any casings as the dog alerts on the residue. I have seen drug dogs alert on areas where drugs have been. CBP (agriculture) also uses dogs to find food products and other animals concealed in luggage or shipments.

Worrying about using dogs to harass people legally carrying firearms is pretty tin foil hat IMO.

6 hours ago, GRIZ said:

This is why someone who uses their range bag as a carryon might be delayed at the airport.  Doesn't need to be any casings as the dog alerts on the residue. I have seen drug dogs alert on areas where drugs have been. CBP (agriculture) also uses dogs to find food products and other animals concealed in luggage or shipments.

Worrying about using dogs to harass people legally carrying firearms is pretty tin foil hat IMO.

This happened to a friend. Oddly made it through customs leaving the US. Got hung up coming home from France

7 hours ago, GRIZ said:

Worrying about using dogs to harass people legally carrying firearms is pretty tin foil hat IMO.

Well, you're certainly entitled to your opinion. 

I come at it from a different perspective.  I think if/when  NJ implements "shall issue" concealed carry, or you choose to move to a state that does it, you might feel differently,  Even here in FL, there are forces that still don't want people to carry and are doing whatever they can to thwart it. Hence, the reason why we still don't have OC (although our local equivalent of NJ2AS just filed with SCOTUS for Cert in a FL open carry case - See here.). That, and some of the people who've been arrested for "accidental display" of their concealed weapon, when they should never have been. I would not put it past some of the LEAs  here to try some of those "tin foil hat" approaches.  

YMMV.