A drop gun is a spare weapon that you carry with you that can be "dropped" beside the body of the person you just shot. When the police come, it appears to have been a justifiable homocide (self defense).

Police officers have (fairly or unfairly, I don't know) been accused of using this tactic. Shoot a man who doesn't have a gun, and you can have disciplinary actions, civil lawsuits, criminal court proceedings, and even riots. Not fun. If an officer thinks someone has a gun, shoots him, and kills him but then finds no weapon, the incident investigation goes rather more smoothly if one merely "drops" a gun near the dead man's hand.

strictly in jest, my friend.

When we begin to stray into the political realm so much, I have to wax a bit comical, otherwise, I might post something that'd get me kicked off the forum.

What if's like finding someone growing weed on my land would cause me to call the police and let them know what's going on. Maybe there's a chance they think I am in on it, but if I knew about it and didn't make the call, how much the worse for me then?

Anyways, I am not so macho that I can't admit to running like a scared little girl for the bunker a time or two. The "S" on my chest got torn off a long time ago.

That, to me, cuts to the core of what this is all about.

I was just backpacking the High Sierra Trail in Sequoia National park the past five days, and this situation was high on our conversation list. Such a beautiful and largely unspoiled area - truly a national treasure - and such a shame to have it chipped away from us by criminals who think nothing of trashing the landscape and harming anyone who gets in their way.

One of the other backpackers knows a Forest Service manager in the area, and claimed his friend said that he personally believes 90% of the drainages in that area are planted. Don't know if it's true, but alarming if so.