List Your Open Carry Experiences Here

DanM said:

I've been OC'ing four years. Most people expressing a view (verbally or through body language) express a positive message to me. Nearly always, I feel "socially accepted" by those with whom I'm sharing the store, restaurant, mall, or other public space. Actually, most people seem to tolerate firearms well despite the media slant against guns.

It seems you are allowing fears or speculation, rather than reality, to drive your perceptions and behavior.

This is not criticism, other than I think you just need to get more actual experience OC'ing and the reality of it before formulating opinions. Your posts seem to indicate that you have a tendency to allow fears and speculations as proxies for reality. The sure cure for this is experience.

I would highly suggest you hang out with an experienced OC'er who is comfortable OC'ing. Go places. You will then get a very good feel for what does NOT happen, the general non-reaction or positive reaction from the public, and you will observe the OC'er not being treated as an outcast.

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You may be right DanM. Fears and speculation are probably what a lot of people base their "facts" on. (Notice I'm speculating here) But let's face it, you don't see too many positive gun stories on the news, even though they do happen.

Just got a visit to my door from the Walker police. They were called by the people at 5/3 bank, and said they had to check it out. They also scolded me for bringing this on myself, pushing the envelope, following a constitution written in the 1700s, etc. I countered all of these arguments, telling them that I was protecting myself and my constitutional rights. While one officer was running my name and DOB (which I provided), the other was telling me the second amendment was written in the 1700s. I told him it didn't matter, that he was a police officer sworn to uphold the law, no matter how old it is. He just kept reiterating that it was written in the 1700s under his breath while looking away, possibly afraid to meet my eyes as he said it. He also said that the second amendment was for a militia only, which really made my blood boil. I kept my cool, however, and told him off when he said I would go to jail for not going and getting my CPL from inside when he said they would be following me in. I told him I was aware that cops can lie, which he scoffed at, but look who isn't arrested right now. Also, I told him that since they were already running my information, they should see that I have a CPL.

They said we'd probably be seeing each other a lot. I told them to have a great day and went back inside.


Wow. First negative LEO encounter, and all those words to counter them were right at the tip of my tongue the whole time. I only have these boards to thank for that.

I'm a little shaken, but I'm about to go out OCing again as I have more errands to run.

Carry on.

FerretMI said:

Just got a visit to my door from the Walker police. They were called by the people at 5/3 bank, and said they had to check it out. They also scolded me for bringing this on myself, pushing the envelope, following a constitution written in the 1700s, etc. I countered all of these arguments, telling them that I was protecting myself and my constitutional rights. While one officer was running my name and DOB (which I provided), the other was telling me the second amendment was written in the 1700s. I told him it didn't matter, that he was a police officer sworn to uphold the law, no matter how old it is. He just kept reiterating that it was written in the 1700s under his breath while looking away, possibly afraid to meet my eyes as he said it. He also said that the second amendment was for a militia only, which really made my blood boil. I kept my cool, however, and told him off when he said I would go to jail for not going and getting my CPL from inside when he said they would be following me in. I told him I was aware that cops can lie, which he scoffed at, but look who isn't arrested right now.

They said we'd probably be seeing each other a lot. I told them to have a great day and went back inside.


Wow. First negative LEO encounter, and all those words to counter them were right at the tip of my tongue the whole time. I only have these boards to thank for that.

I'm a little shaken, but I'm about to go out OCing again as I have more errands to run.

Carry on.

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Why would the bank call the police? Why would the police need to come to your house if you were no longer a potential "threat"? I would be looking for a new bank. You didn't happen to be recording when the police came to the door did you?

Outdoorsman said:

Thanks everyone for your kind remarks. I may never fully feel comfortable carrying openly, but that doesn't mean I will stop trying.

-snip-

I'm going to keep doing my part, even if I feel the need to cover up from time to time. Stay safe everyone... May your holsters be full and hope you never have to pull.

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Please do continue to OC. But let me suggest that you record everything everywhere it is legal to record.

Perhaps what happened today will serve to ally your fears a bit.

Yooperlady and I stop to buy ice cream at Caries Caboose in Montrose quite often. Then we go to the Montrose Township Park to sit, talk, enjoy the quiet view, and eat our ice cream.

Well, Yooperlady is up North so I did the ice cream/go to the park thing by myself today... OC'ing just like I do everywhere everyday. There were some people using the pavilion today and when I asked if it was a private party I was told it was a Senior Citizen picnic... and after I said I was a Senior I was invited to join the picnic.

Almost immediately a lady asked about my sidearm and if I had a carry permit. My explanation about the carry laws (CPL v OC) fell on friendly but deaf ears. So I just sat and chatted with a fellow until a different woman came up and told me that she knew I had the right to carry but she, and some other people, didn't like it so would I go put it away. To which I firmly replied "No."

Oh my.... she became irate and less than polite. My attempts to explain the law fell on another set of deaf ears until finally I just told her to go call a cop.

Ummmmmmmmm.... yep... someone did call the police because an officer arrived a short time later and asked to speak with me. Since I was carrying concealed in addition to openly I immediately disclosed that I have a CPL and I was carrying concealed. To which the officer said "You're fine. You're fine"... and we moved off to the side a little away from all the other folks. And then....

The officer said "People were wondering so I came up here to tell them it was OK for you to be carrying openly."

He then proceeded to get everyone's attention and explained about how open carry is legal in a public place. Much to the consternation of the lady who asked me to put my sidearm away earlier since she became very loud and upset and interrupted the officer very often .... so upset that I finally told her, in a firm command voice, to please calm down. She was really angry saying that even though I have the right to carry a gun she, and all the rest of the folks, have the right to not be scared.

And yet when the officer spoke of me he used the words "calm" and "reasonable" to describe me to the exceptionally upset woman.

After things calmed down a bit the officer, who in my opinion was handling the incident in an exemplary manner, wanted to know if I would make his job easier and just go so the folks could calm down. To which I said "No." and I mentioned that I refuse to give the impression that I had been... run off. But I did say that I wouldn't stay much longer. And he said that he would stay until I left.

So I suggested we sit down at a nearby picnic table and talk for a while. The folks went about their Senior picnic and the officer and I sat in the middle of it having a nice conversation about the economy, gun laws, how folks are having to get used to seeing open carry, and even the weather.

After about 10 minutes or so I decided to go home so.... while discussing which was faster... my Camaro or his Dodge cruiser... we parted company.

I personally am very impressed by this officer's handling of the entire incident.

Ok... I can't say that everyone will have a knowledgeable officer respond to having the police called for OC... but the odds are now low, because of the work done by open carriers (and MOC... credit where credit is due guys/gals!), that a negative LE reaction will happen.

thebigsd said:

Why would the bank call the police? Why would the police need to come to your house if you were no longer a potential "threat"? I would be looking for a new bank. You didn't happen to be recording when the police came to the door did you?

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It may have been someone in the parking lot for all I know. He/She must have mistaken my roll of quarters for gigantic bags of stolen cash.

As for the recorder, I swore it was on but was wrong, as I got only 3 seconds of audio. If it happens again I'll have something for you guys.

As I was running more errands an hour later, I saw a police cruiser in the bank's parking lot.

Outdoorsman said:

You may be right DanM. Fears and speculation are probably what a lot of people base their "facts" on. (Notice I'm speculating here)

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Heh, heh. Actually, that is not such a speculative speculation. It is true that some people do, as you can see in the recent posts above.

I'm only suggesting that we OC'ers should only let the reality of OC experience dictate our comfort level with continuing to OC. Personally, my reality has been 99.99999% comfortable. The one or two uncomfortable experiences were merely nuisances. And I am aware (as most OC'ers are) of the risk that is always possible, but rare, of being arrested or charged erroneously.

Putting all that together, the risk versus the reward of OC is skewed well over to the reward (comfort, public "normalization", visible RKBA advocacy, educational opportunities, etc.) in my mind. So I continue to OC.

Outdoorsman said:

But let's face it, you don't see too many positive gun stories on the news, even though they do happen.

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True. Which is why I used the word "despite" in reference to that, in my last post above.

"Maybe as I keep doing it more and more I will feel differently? I don't know if any of you have any of these issues, or will admit to it?

Anyway, I'm sure I'll catch some grief from the "pro's" of OC, but at least I'm still trying."

No grief from me, I don't think this is unusual at all. I know when I first started OCing I would have moments of worry too. I can totally relate to the "no shopping cart" fear also. Confidence in your rights and some time will ease your fears and before you know it, OCing will be like carrying a wallet or cell phone in it's comfort level.(the response from most people will be the same too) People around you will see your confidence and won't give it a second thought.
Don't beat yourself up, carry with confidence however you carry. Just make sure you carry.

OCed at Kroger and around the house while kids and neighbor kids were in the pool. Talked with the neighbor awhile, he asked how the trip to the River Walk went with me OCing in the D. Good conversation. No problem.

I'm glad you held firm Bikenut, leaving would have looked like you gave in to their irrational fear.

FerretMI said:

Just got a visit to my door from the Walker police. They were called by the people at 5/3 bank, and said they had to check it out. They also scolded me for bringing this on myself, pushing the envelope, following a constitution written in the 1700s, etc. I countered all of these arguments, telling them that I was protecting myself and my constitutional rights. While one officer was running my name and DOB (which I provided), the other was telling me the second amendment was written in the 1700s. I told him it didn't matter, that he was a police officer sworn to uphold the law, no matter how old it is. He just kept reiterating that it was written in the 1700s under his breath while looking away, possibly afraid to meet my eyes as he said it. He also said that the second amendment was for a militia only, which really made my blood boil. I kept my cool, however, and told him off when he said I would go to jail for not going and getting my CPL from inside when he said they would be following me in. I told him I was aware that cops can lie, which he scoffed at, but look who isn't arrested right now. Also, I told him that since they were already running my information, they should see that I have a CPL.

They said we'd probably be seeing each other a lot. I told them to have a great day and went back inside.


Wow. First negative LEO encounter, and all those words to counter them were right at the tip of my tongue the whole time. I only have these boards to thank for that.

I'm a little shaken, but I'm about to go out OCing again as I have more errands to run.

Carry on.

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Just wondering why you felt the need to provide ID. You werent required to show them any id at all let alone your cpl. 4th amendment says that. what exactly were they "checking out" ?
re: a constitution written in the 1700's. maybe he should be asked which constitution he took an oath touphold. I checked the world wide web and could not find an updated constitution anywhere......

tyranny at work

FerretMI said:

It may have been someone in the parking lot for all I know. He/She must have mistaken my roll of quarters for gigantic bags of stolen cash.

As for the recorder, I swore it was on but was wrong, as I got only 3 seconds of audio. If it happens again I'll have something for you guys.

As I was running more errands an hour later, I saw a police cruiser in the bank's parking lot.

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It must have been the bank. How would a random person know who you were, much less where you lived? Just curious because it sounds like the bank sold you out.

thebigsd said:

It must have been the bank. How would a random person know who you were, much less where you lived? Just curious because it sounds like the bank sold you out.

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If he drove to the bank, and the car is registered to him, any one could have taken down the license plate number and called it in. That happened to me.

I provided my info (not CPL) because I wanted to.

I believe it was someone in the parking lot as opposed to the bank because I don't go to the bank often enough for them to know me by sight, and I just exchanged a bill for quarters, nothing involving my account or ID. Also, the LEOs were asking about my car. I assume someone in the lot gave them my license plate number (as Big Gay Al pointed out as I was struggling to write this on my phone).

FS23 said:

Just wondering why you felt the need to provide ID. You werent required to show them any id at all let alone your cpl. 4th amendment says that. what exactly were they "checking out" ?
re: a constitution written in the 1700's. maybe he should be asked which constitution he took an oath touphold. I checked the world wide web and could not find an updated constitution anywhere......

tyranny at work

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Read it again, as far as I can tell, he didn't show them any ID.

This got me thinking, when was the MI constitution written?

So, this town called Walker, is a GR suburb? I may have to take a trip there, and just walk around town for a while to see if I can get those cops to stop me. I could give them a piece of my mind about that "old Constitution" from the 1700's. My father fought for that Constitution, and my Uncle was killed defending that Constitution, and now this guy tries to make it sound like it's irrelevant?

Seems to me, Walker needs an OC event. Anyone else?

stainless1911 said:

This got me thinking, when was the MI constitution written?

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I think the latest one was written in the 1960's or something. But the first one, probably back when Michigan became a state.

Would be convenient to know the most recent accurate date, to respond with in case confronted with some nazi like Ferret did.

Big Gay Al said:

Read it again, as far as I can tell, he didn't show them any ID.

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I did... says clearly he "gave them" his name and dob. written or verbal he volunteered it. Michigan not an id state. If they had no ras he was commiting/had committed a crime he is not required to provide any information period.

btw: not criticizing just wondering why he provided when he wasnt required

Big Gay Al said:

If he drove to the bank, and the car is registered to him, any one could have taken down the license plate number and called it in. That happened to me.

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A friend of mine OC at a cemetary and apparently some people there called him in because he was told by a frind that they heard his name on a police scanner and his license and gun were brought up. Police also showed up at the Meijer he used to work at looking for him. The officer there apparently said she hoped he would show up open carrying.

stainless1911 said:

Would be convenient to know the most recent accurate date, to respond with in case confronted with some nazi like Ferret did.

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I guess no one else knows how to do a little research.

The Michigan Constitution of 1963 was officially adopted on Jan. 1, 1964. According to the history of the Michigan Constitution, we have had 4 Constitutions adopted. The first one was 1835, 2 years before we became a state. The next one was 1850. The third was in 1907, and the current one is the fourth Constitution adopted by the state.

And I'm not even originally from here.