since9
Campaign Veteran
Are you sure you're living in Colorado Springs, Colorado?
The reason I ask is that I've been OCing here in Colorado Springs, CO now for two years, and while I occasionally get an odd look, it's rare. I've never been stared at or received a rude comment or gesture. Parents do not quickly run away with their children, even when I walk into IHOP when it's packed with families on a Saturday morning.
I've OC'd to dozens of restaurants, all over downtown Colorado Springs, and have sat on a bench in Acacia Park and watched my son play in the fountain for more than an hour while carrying on conversations with mothers and their kids. I've strolled up and down the streets of Manitou Springs amidst out-of-town crowds. That was one of two times I received a stare, but they quickly recovered and asked, "Is that legal?" after which we had a short but pleasant conversation about OC vs CC, and how 43 states in our Union support open carry.
While many people have asked me a lot of questions, no one has ever asked me a stupid question, much less "beyond stupid," although I have heard a number of ignorant statements. One of my favorite involved a professor at Webster University, who said "Carrying firearms in an institution of higher learning in Colorado is illegal." He said this in response to a conversation among some of us shortly before class began. As did some of the other students, I CC'd while working through my masters program. I checked the student handbook, their website, all entrances to the campus, and the student bulletin board in the hallway. None of these locations carried any notice whatsoever that said firearms were prohibited either on the campus or in the classroom. So, commensurate with Colorado State Law, I continued to OC throughout the program.
As Fazoli's is a privately-owned business, she is within her right to deny you entry or ask you to leave if you're already inside. If she did not specifically ask you to leave, however, you were not trespassing.
It has nothing to do with the way you look or your behavior. In some people's minds, gun=bad. As for customers, the reason they didn't say anything is because they have no authority to ask you to leave. The owner, manager, or an employee, however, does have that authority. The vast majority of people here in Colorado Springs are smarter than that, though occasionally you'll run across one of the idiots who will never pass a rationality test.
I've found the only time anything sours my mood is when I let it. I take situations such as yours and use them as opportunities to share a few nuggets of wisdom, such as "criminals do not open carry" and "as an honest, law-abiding citizen, I take pride in my civic duty to myself and others by exercising my Constitutional right to keep and bear arms in defense of myself and my community." If the clue bird can't land on their shoulder because it's getting a wave-off, I'll write both the manager and HQ a letter. If the clue bird gets another wave-off, I'll enter their store's information in Friend or Foe, print out a copy of all the green businesses surrounding their red one, and send it to them.
Just because someone once told you to leave a store, that doesn't mean you can't go back at a later date. Management changes, and you don't know whether she was the manager, a shift supervisor, or just an employee. She didn't let you know if that's official store policy or just her policy.
If it's posted, I'd leave it in the car or go someplace else. If it's not, carry on!
