Jacket rode up over holster at a wedding, escorted out by three police officers
I just went with a date to a wedding where neither I nor my date personally knew the bride or groom. The bride's mom was a business associate of my date.
I came just on time and was a bit rushed and since carrying a P7 every day since the incident in Connecticut I still have sometimes gotten misshapen on how I tuck my concealment over my holster. Anyway, I thought I had my jacket down, but apparently in my haste my jacket was hung up over the holster. My jacket must have ridden up while I was in the vehicle and even though I pulled down on it at least once and maybe twice the far right side of my jacket was hung over the Alessi CQC-S holster/P7. I should have visibly checked to make sure everything was ok instead of just pulling down on the jacket.
As I walked in, someone saw the holster right away. Shortly thereafter, the groom introduced himself and said "I don't think they will let you take that in there." And I said ok, I'll put it away especially for you.
When I returned there was a lady who was asking me who invited me with a nervous, suspicious tone which made me particularly uncomfortable because previous public experiences with open carry were entirely positive and I complied with the Groom's request to "not take that (the pistol) in there." I told her my date's name and she could not find her, and she told me to look around the pews and see if I she could be found. Hindsight says, they had already decided they did not want me there, it sounds like they just wanted to get upset also at whomever invited me. Perhaps I should have made up some excuse like "must be a different church," my mistake.
Anyway, I sat down with my date, a lady I have been on about six dates and she seemed friendly, she introduced me to her friends and everything seemed ok. Some more time passed and someone pulled my date aside and spoke with her a bit. She asked me if I was carrying a gun, and I said no because it was now in the vehicle. She asked me if I carried one earlier and I said, "my mistake." She got upset with me for making a scene in front of her friends who just happened to be business associates. I told her I did not create a scene, it seems that people overreacted.
Anyway, they called me aside and asked me to leave upon which I was greeted outside with five police officers. The female officer frisked me somewhat haphazardly, and another officer took my magazine and flashlight. They looked at my license; one of them remembered me from the vehicle wreck two years ago. They also looked at my pistol permit. I explained to them that I felt that it was important to carry considering Aurora and Newtown.
I was asked to leave the premises completely, and was escorted away by three of the officers. The police officers were sympathetic, and I am sure they could have made a lot bigger mess for me because after all it was my mistake, I should have been more careful to conceal the P7.
As for the date, even though she is quite a bit pro-gun, and I know she knows that I carry because I left the pistol in the car and went into her house with a holster, light and mag pouch, I doubt she will talk to me again. After all, what is she going to say to her friends? None of those people know me.
I did not think it would have been THAT big of a deal for someone carrying at a wedding especially after all the recent positive experiences I have had with open carry in stores and public settings.
For years I hear people talk about carrying a handgun everywhere they go. So, for a brief time I tried this without being OCD about concealment. Of all the places I visited, most of the time, without hardly even trying there was not an issue with concealment, nor an issue even with open carry. I am guessing the numbers of people who really try to carry a handgun mostly everywhere are few.
A pivotal part of the anti-gun strategy is careful, calculated social conditioning that tells the population that guns are bad, and the owners are crazy. Unfortunately my concealment mistake at a wedding did not help.
All most people want is the feeling of security at any cost of freedom, and their views are shaped, in large by the media and television in general. We live in a country that has a high percentage of firearms, yet the only firearms the public EVER observes are in movies, gang shootings, or media drama. The biased, controversial, portrayal of firearms in the USA is a calculated move to create an emotional argument demonizing gun owners encouraging ignorance and directing interest away from sports shooting.
Tactically there is absolutely no advantage to open carry. Politically, in light of all the mis-information, if every gun owner started open carry the public would have to get used to this idea. The thought that, maybe, just maybe, this would create a wave and interest in awareness in firearms that could outshine the anti's efforts to disarm.
I just went with a date to a wedding where neither I nor my date personally knew the bride or groom. The bride's mom was a business associate of my date.
I came just on time and was a bit rushed and since carrying a P7 every day since the incident in Connecticut I still have sometimes gotten misshapen on how I tuck my concealment over my holster. Anyway, I thought I had my jacket down, but apparently in my haste my jacket was hung up over the holster. My jacket must have ridden up while I was in the vehicle and even though I pulled down on it at least once and maybe twice the far right side of my jacket was hung over the Alessi CQC-S holster/P7. I should have visibly checked to make sure everything was ok instead of just pulling down on the jacket.
As I walked in, someone saw the holster right away. Shortly thereafter, the groom introduced himself and said "I don't think they will let you take that in there." And I said ok, I'll put it away especially for you.
When I returned there was a lady who was asking me who invited me with a nervous, suspicious tone which made me particularly uncomfortable because previous public experiences with open carry were entirely positive and I complied with the Groom's request to "not take that (the pistol) in there." I told her my date's name and she could not find her, and she told me to look around the pews and see if I she could be found. Hindsight says, they had already decided they did not want me there, it sounds like they just wanted to get upset also at whomever invited me. Perhaps I should have made up some excuse like "must be a different church," my mistake.
Anyway, I sat down with my date, a lady I have been on about six dates and she seemed friendly, she introduced me to her friends and everything seemed ok. Some more time passed and someone pulled my date aside and spoke with her a bit. She asked me if I was carrying a gun, and I said no because it was now in the vehicle. She asked me if I carried one earlier and I said, "my mistake." She got upset with me for making a scene in front of her friends who just happened to be business associates. I told her I did not create a scene, it seems that people overreacted.
Anyway, they called me aside and asked me to leave upon which I was greeted outside with five police officers. The female officer frisked me somewhat haphazardly, and another officer took my magazine and flashlight. They looked at my license; one of them remembered me from the vehicle wreck two years ago. They also looked at my pistol permit. I explained to them that I felt that it was important to carry considering Aurora and Newtown.
I was asked to leave the premises completely, and was escorted away by three of the officers. The police officers were sympathetic, and I am sure they could have made a lot bigger mess for me because after all it was my mistake, I should have been more careful to conceal the P7.
As for the date, even though she is quite a bit pro-gun, and I know she knows that I carry because I left the pistol in the car and went into her house with a holster, light and mag pouch, I doubt she will talk to me again. After all, what is she going to say to her friends? None of those people know me.
I did not think it would have been THAT big of a deal for someone carrying at a wedding especially after all the recent positive experiences I have had with open carry in stores and public settings.
For years I hear people talk about carrying a handgun everywhere they go. So, for a brief time I tried this without being OCD about concealment. Of all the places I visited, most of the time, without hardly even trying there was not an issue with concealment, nor an issue even with open carry. I am guessing the numbers of people who really try to carry a handgun mostly everywhere are few.
A pivotal part of the anti-gun strategy is careful, calculated social conditioning that tells the population that guns are bad, and the owners are crazy. Unfortunately my concealment mistake at a wedding did not help.
All most people want is the feeling of security at any cost of freedom, and their views are shaped, in large by the media and television in general. We live in a country that has a high percentage of firearms, yet the only firearms the public EVER observes are in movies, gang shootings, or media drama. The biased, controversial, portrayal of firearms in the USA is a calculated move to create an emotional argument demonizing gun owners encouraging ignorance and directing interest away from sports shooting.
Tactically there is absolutely no advantage to open carry. Politically, in light of all the mis-information, if every gun owner started open carry the public would have to get used to this idea. The thought that, maybe, just maybe, this would create a wave and interest in awareness in firearms that could outshine the anti's efforts to disarm.
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