Howdy all,
This is my first post to the forum, despite lurking for a while. I've been OCing for a bit over a year in the Spokane area, and this incident occured a bit ago but i thought it bore repeating.
I was on a date to HuHot Mongolian, located in Spo. Valley on Sprague, with a girlfriend one weekday evening. The restaurant was crowded, but not filled to capacity, so seating was prompt. I'd previously OC there several times and never had an issue. The owner/GM has even come by several times, visually noticed the OC and said nothing except for a pleasant, "How's the food today?"
This day, when heading up to get food, one of the waiters comes by and mentions a bit uncomfortably, "Hey there, another one of the customers just wanted to make sure you had a permit for that thing (he indicated the Glock on my right hip)." I mentioned to him that Open Carry was legal in Washington, and that while i didn't need it, i did also posses a CPL. "Ah, ok, yeah. He's a fireman and was worried. Ok, enjoy your meal." He seemed mollified, and i went back to my business of enjoying the awesome food at HuHot (if you've never been, it's totally worth trying).
I'd been keeping my situational awareness, having previously noted the gentleman i believe was the source of the complaint. Since management obviously had no issues with me being there, i settled down for a nice dinner.
Approximately 30 minutes later, as we were finishing up, I see two LEOs enter the place (Sheriff's Office, i believe) and speak to the host. I have direct line of sight with them and immediately realize they're very likely there on my account. I make eye contact with them, keeping a pleasant expression, and wait for them to come to my table, which they do momentarily.
"Do you have a gun?", LEO 1
"Yes, Sir. I'm open carrying a pistol on my right hip.", Me.
"May i see your ID?", LEO 1. I pass him my Military ID and he walks off a few steps to run it.
"There've been complaints.", LEO 2.
"I haven't been asked to leave by the Management and i believe Open Carry is legal in Washington. Is that correct, Sir?", Me.
"I'm not sure, but there are kids here. Why don't you at least cover it up?", LEO 2.
LEO 1 comes back and hands me my ID card.
"Sorry, we got a complaint from someone here. Is there a reason you are carrying openly? The owner may not like it.", LEO 1.
"It's legal for me to do so and as something of a political statement. I haven't been asked not to by the management, and i've come here carrying openly before.", Me.
"How about you just cover it up? You can still get to it quick, and there are no problems.?", LEO 2
"I don't think i'd be comfortable with that.", Me.
Eventually the LEOs leave uneventfully. I make eye contact with the suspected complainant, with a bit of a sad smile on my face. And on the way out after our meal i have words with the host. He assures me the restaurant has no issue with my open carry and that they did not place the call to 911. We swap pleasantries and i leave.
Two interesting take-aways from this seem to be: The LEO asked me to do something that may have been illegal. In my case, i had my CPL on my person, but if i hadn't had one, or had it with me, him asking me to cover up would have been asking me to commit an illegal act. At the time he asked me to, he had no idea if i had a CPL or not. One of the LEOs seemed uncomfortable with the fact that i was OCing and unfamiliar with the law. The other was professional, and you could tell he was only responding to the call in a perfunctory manner. Also, HuHot Mongolian is a very OC friendly business, even if sometimes the have a customer who is not.
This was my first Man-With-A-Gun call, and i felt the need to share.
Also, "Hello" to the forum community.
-J
This is my first post to the forum, despite lurking for a while. I've been OCing for a bit over a year in the Spokane area, and this incident occured a bit ago but i thought it bore repeating.
I was on a date to HuHot Mongolian, located in Spo. Valley on Sprague, with a girlfriend one weekday evening. The restaurant was crowded, but not filled to capacity, so seating was prompt. I'd previously OC there several times and never had an issue. The owner/GM has even come by several times, visually noticed the OC and said nothing except for a pleasant, "How's the food today?"
This day, when heading up to get food, one of the waiters comes by and mentions a bit uncomfortably, "Hey there, another one of the customers just wanted to make sure you had a permit for that thing (he indicated the Glock on my right hip)." I mentioned to him that Open Carry was legal in Washington, and that while i didn't need it, i did also posses a CPL. "Ah, ok, yeah. He's a fireman and was worried. Ok, enjoy your meal." He seemed mollified, and i went back to my business of enjoying the awesome food at HuHot (if you've never been, it's totally worth trying).
I'd been keeping my situational awareness, having previously noted the gentleman i believe was the source of the complaint. Since management obviously had no issues with me being there, i settled down for a nice dinner.
Approximately 30 minutes later, as we were finishing up, I see two LEOs enter the place (Sheriff's Office, i believe) and speak to the host. I have direct line of sight with them and immediately realize they're very likely there on my account. I make eye contact with them, keeping a pleasant expression, and wait for them to come to my table, which they do momentarily.
"Do you have a gun?", LEO 1
"Yes, Sir. I'm open carrying a pistol on my right hip.", Me.
"May i see your ID?", LEO 1. I pass him my Military ID and he walks off a few steps to run it.
"There've been complaints.", LEO 2.
"I haven't been asked to leave by the Management and i believe Open Carry is legal in Washington. Is that correct, Sir?", Me.
"I'm not sure, but there are kids here. Why don't you at least cover it up?", LEO 2.
LEO 1 comes back and hands me my ID card.
"Sorry, we got a complaint from someone here. Is there a reason you are carrying openly? The owner may not like it.", LEO 1.
"It's legal for me to do so and as something of a political statement. I haven't been asked not to by the management, and i've come here carrying openly before.", Me.
"How about you just cover it up? You can still get to it quick, and there are no problems.?", LEO 2
"I don't think i'd be comfortable with that.", Me.
Eventually the LEOs leave uneventfully. I make eye contact with the suspected complainant, with a bit of a sad smile on my face. And on the way out after our meal i have words with the host. He assures me the restaurant has no issue with my open carry and that they did not place the call to 911. We swap pleasantries and i leave.
Two interesting take-aways from this seem to be: The LEO asked me to do something that may have been illegal. In my case, i had my CPL on my person, but if i hadn't had one, or had it with me, him asking me to cover up would have been asking me to commit an illegal act. At the time he asked me to, he had no idea if i had a CPL or not. One of the LEOs seemed uncomfortable with the fact that i was OCing and unfamiliar with the law. The other was professional, and you could tell he was only responding to the call in a perfunctory manner. Also, HuHot Mongolian is a very OC friendly business, even if sometimes the have a customer who is not.
This was my first Man-With-A-Gun call, and i felt the need to share.
Also, "Hello" to the forum community.
-J