Tom_in_CA
Gold Member
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2007
- Messages
- 13,803
- Reaction score
- 10,339
- Golden Thread
- 2
- Location
- Salinas, CA
- 🥇 Banner finds
- 2
- Detector(s) used
- Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
reply
charlie, by all means, just because something is "public", doesn't mean anyone can do anything, at any time, etc... (as your examples are intended to show, I suppose?)
However, are you not seeing the short-comings of your illustrations? : Sure, the pool ALREADY cost $ to swim in, while walking on the sidewalk DOES NOT. And there are rules about not hopping into squad cars, while there ARE NOT rules forbidding access to sidewalks. So I am at a loss to see much similarity to the OP's situation here.
If you mean to imply that somehow metal detecting is a different category than merely walking, or standing on a sidewalk, then sure, I'll go with that. If someone makes the automatic equivalence that "metal detecting is damaging or evil", then yes, to simply have public free access would not necessarily mean "thus you can detect". But I do not make that "automatic equivlance" that would be required to come to that conclusion. I do not see metal detecting as "inherently evil or wrong". I see it as innocuous and harmless. As innocuous and harmless as walking down that same sidewalk while playing the banjo.
AT LEAST IN THIS SITUATION anyhow (maybe not with turfed grass, which does have admitted connotations). In this situation it's bare dirt. Thus I would not say that a "reasonable" person can expect damage, or that "you can't be there", etc....
I have hunted scores of sidewalk tearouts (did so good in one, that they had a newspaper article about it.... lots of seateds, barbers, tokens, etc...). And I never asked anyone "can I?" One time I had a state worker gripe (an inspector doing a final 5pm check of the work progress for the day). I merely waited 5 min. for him to finish his rounds, and resumed hunting.
charlie, by all means, just because something is "public", doesn't mean anyone can do anything, at any time, etc... (as your examples are intended to show, I suppose?)
However, are you not seeing the short-comings of your illustrations? : Sure, the pool ALREADY cost $ to swim in, while walking on the sidewalk DOES NOT. And there are rules about not hopping into squad cars, while there ARE NOT rules forbidding access to sidewalks. So I am at a loss to see much similarity to the OP's situation here.
If you mean to imply that somehow metal detecting is a different category than merely walking, or standing on a sidewalk, then sure, I'll go with that. If someone makes the automatic equivalence that "metal detecting is damaging or evil", then yes, to simply have public free access would not necessarily mean "thus you can detect". But I do not make that "automatic equivlance" that would be required to come to that conclusion. I do not see metal detecting as "inherently evil or wrong". I see it as innocuous and harmless. As innocuous and harmless as walking down that same sidewalk while playing the banjo.
AT LEAST IN THIS SITUATION anyhow (maybe not with turfed grass, which does have admitted connotations). In this situation it's bare dirt. Thus I would not say that a "reasonable" person can expect damage, or that "you can't be there", etc....
I have hunted scores of sidewalk tearouts (did so good in one, that they had a newspaper article about it.... lots of seateds, barbers, tokens, etc...). And I never asked anyone "can I?" One time I had a state worker gripe (an inspector doing a final 5pm check of the work progress for the day). I merely waited 5 min. for him to finish his rounds, and resumed hunting.
in the park
)
and pet the dog now and then saying, 'POOR Fluffy, you must really be sick! No more dollar store doggie food for you!' 
