You may start a topic here for an Open Carry Log -- a place to relay places and any events which may occur.
 #7671  by j.gorum9mm.
 
okay,i can see everyone here has a carry log so i should probably start one too.i guess i will start from today.it was pretty uneventful,i went to manlove autoparts in selbyville wearing a pair of jeans, my army p.t. jacket,and my ruger p95 (yes,im aware its not as cool as a springfield armory or kimber) i needed a fuse for my car but its so old(1988)it wasnt even in the books and it is still a new car to me. the guy behind the counter actually came outside with a screwdriver,opened my fusebox,replaced the fuse,and only charged me for the fuse itself. i told him jokeingly i could have done it myself,but he only laughed and said he had nothing better to do.i wonder if he thought i was a LEO,or maybe it had to do with the jacket.i know he saw my gun,or maybe he really had nothing better to do.
 #7830  by j.gorum9mm.
 
went to the food lion in selbyville today for a couple things.it was uneventful until i got to the check out line when a couple bangers passed behind me.one of them did a double take,nudged the other one pointing to my gun,and said something like "o s--t i a'int gon' be da' n---a to f--k wit' him!" i didn't look back or even agknowledge that i heard him,more than anything i just wanted to turn around and correct his grammer. i mean come on,i may not always have good grammer but not a word of what he said is in the english dictionary.i understand he probably didn't grow up in the best environment but he must have gone to some kind of school at some point in his life. i hate it when people dont even make an attempt to even try to sound a little bit educated. anyway im rammbling on about something completely off the subject. at least i know i won't have to worry about him in the future.
 #7833  by LordJim
 
i mean come on,i may not always have good grammer but not a word of what he said is in the english dictionary.
Neither is 'grammer' :)

-
Jim
 #7845  by George
 
What is the purpose of good grammar? She’s nice to ya even when yo momma ain’t!
 #7968  by j.gorum9mm.
 
okay i had my first LEO encounter last night.i went to food lion in selbyville(as usual)to buy some soda while my uncle is visiting from va. for some reason i felt more nervous than usual. after getting my items i got in the check out line, a couple of kids somewhere between the ages of i'd say 16-19 were in front of me.one of them was fascinated with the fact i was oc'ing and was starting to ask about it when i felt a tap on my arm. as i turned around i was surprised to see a uniformed selbyville police officer who immidiatley asked for i.d. i then handed him my military i.d. and drivers licence,to which he replied "where is your carry permit?" i then told him that "i did not need a carry permit to oc in delaware."he insisted that i did but decided to check into it,and allowed me to pay for my items,and meet him outside.i explained to him that it was legal to carry openly,i also told him about del oc,and that i was planning on getting a ccdw.he was very professional and courtious,he even allowed me to disarm myself so he could hold the weapon.he sat in his car,and i sat in mine as he investigated further.after about 20 minitues or so he stepped out and told me he could still not determine if it was legal and asked me to follow him in my car to the pd. at this point i was no longer nervous but concerned because he told me if he could not prove the firearm was mine he would need to hold it until i could produce the registration. once we arrived i sat in the lobby while he dug deeper into the laws.15 minitues or so he returned with whom i later learned was the chief of police. the chief then informed me that indeed it was legal to oc however he could very well charge me with dissorderly conduct if he so chose to. there were a few moments when i thought he might prove good on that but it turned out he is a firearms instructor and strong beliver in the 2nd. amndmnt.he did not approve of oc but did seem to understand why i chose to. both the chief and the other officer were very respectful and i even joked around with them a little bit. i respect what they do and understand why they had to ensure i was on the straight edge. they returned my weapon,and i decided that i should persue my ccdw and only oc when if i feel it nessacary for my protection.they did however contact my n.g. unit who called me in for a conversation which at this point i will keep confidential. all in all it was a good/bad experiance i dont want to go through again.
 #7972  by stephpd
 
George wrote:What is the purpose of good grammar? She’s nice to ya even when yo momma ain’t!
:) :D :) :D :) :D :)
j.gorum9mm. wrote: the chief then informed me that indeed it was legal to oc however he could very well charge me with dissorderly conduct if he so chose to. all in all it was a good/bad experiance i dont want to go through again.
The charge of disorderly conduct would not stick in a court of law. The civil suit that would follow for wrongful arrest would cost the town as well. These things really bother me and I hate that the police think that intimidation is a good thing when dealing with civil rights. The more I read these types of stories the more bent I get. But then I knew that these things would happen because this is so new to many in the police department and the civilian sector as well.

I just wish there were an easier way of doing this. The more times this happens the more I think we need to get more active on different levels. Maybe having The News Journal do that article would help. Getting the word out to all the police in the state is another thought. I'm just not sure how to do it besides mass mailings to all the police departments. We definitely need to start a game plan on raising public awareness .
 #7977  by cappilot06
 
stephpd wrote:We definitely need to start a game plan on raising public awareness .
I agree and I'm on board with whatever method of getting the word out would work best. Fortunately most of the run-ins with law enforcement by members here have turned out ok in the end, but they have certainly been harassed and embarrased in the process. And no publicity has come from any incident either to further help get the message out.

I wouldn't count on any law enforcement agency helping us out by informing their officers. They don't want us OC'ing, and would rather risk a lawsuit against an uninformed cop who might harass us than to actually educate them. Our only hope is to attempt to get something published in a widely circulated newspaper, and one that states facts and not opinions.
The membership here is certainly growing, and I can't help but feel that with crime on the rise everywhere there is not a reporter somewhere willing to write a story...finding an editor to publish it might be another story however.
 #7979  by George
 
j.gorum9mm. wrote:okay i had my first LEO encounter last night.i went to food lion in selbyville(as usual)to buy some soda while my uncle is visiting from va. for some reason i felt more nervous than usual. after getting my items i got in the check out line, a couple of kids somewhere between the ages of i'd say 16-19 were in front of me.one of them was fascinated with the fact i was oc'ing and was starting to ask about it when i felt a tap on my arm. as i turned around i was surprised to see a uniformed selbyville police officer who immidiatley asked for i.d. i then handed him my military i.d. and drivers licence,to which he replied "where is your carry permit?" i then told him that "i did not need a carry permit to oc in delaware."he insisted that i did but decided to check into it,and allowed me to pay for my items,and meet him outside.i explained to him that it was legal to carry openly,i also told him about del oc,and that i was planning on getting a ccdw.he was very professional and courtious,he even allowed me to disarm myself so he could hold the weapon.he sat in his car,and i sat in mine as he investigated further.after about 20 minitues or so he stepped out and told me he could still not determine if it was legal and asked me to follow him in my car to the pd. at this point i was no longer nervous but concerned because he told me if he could not prove the firearm was mine he would need to hold it until i could produce the registration.ugh, what registration? they are not going to keep MY gun until they have probable cause that it is not mine. it is not a car with a registration. once we arrived i sat in the lobby while he dug deeper into the laws.15 minitues or so he returned with whom i later learned was the chief of police. the chief then informed me that indeed it was legal to oc however he could very well charge me with dissorderly conduct if he so chose to. there were a few moments when i thought he might prove good on that but it turned out he is a firearms instructor and strong beliver in the 2nd as long as you hide your rights. amndmnt.he did not approve of oc but did seem to understand why i chose to. both the chief and the other officer were very respectful and i even joked around with them a little bit. i respect what they do and understand why they had to ensure i was on the straight edge. they returned my weapon,and i decided that i should persue my ccdw and only oc when if i feel it nessacary for my protectionthats your choice but this makes me want to OC even more!.they did however contact my n.g. unit who called me in for a conversation which at this point i will keep confidential. all in all it was a good/bad experiance i dont want to go through again.
 #7980  by stephpd
 
cappilot06 wrote:
stephpd wrote:We definitely need to start a game plan on raising public awareness .
I agree and I'm on board with whatever method of getting the word out would work best. Fortunately most of the run-ins with law enforcement by members here have turned out ok in the end, but they have certainly been harassed and embarrased in the process. And no publicity has come from any incident either to further help get the message out.

I wouldn't count on any law enforcement agency helping us out by informing their officers. They don't want us OC'ing, and would rather risk a lawsuit against an uninformed cop who might harass us than to actually educate them. Our only hope is to attempt to get something published in a widely circulated newspaper, and one that states facts and not opinions.
The membership here is certainly growing, and I can't help but feel that with crime on the rise everywhere there is not a reporter somewhere willing to write a story...finding an editor to publish it might be another story however.
Back just after the second meeting opencarry.org put out a press release about us. We were contacted by a reporter from the News Journal about doing a piece on us. We were bother by the group picture that was included,(our fault I guess) and that we were being approached by the local paper. We weren't ready at that time to have our picture of the front page. But we've come a long way in the last year and I hate seeing members new and old being harassed for doing something legal. But we do need to start thinking about ways of getting the public and the police to recognize our rights.