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A call from my sister about O.C.

Squeak

Regular Member
Joined
May 31, 2009
Messages
827
Location
Port Orchard,
Yesterday I received a call from my sister to discuss the date for our annual family reunion involving my side of the family. After we saved the world and straightened out the gummit, she popped up and asked if I would leave my gun in the car when we come.I asked her why in the world would I do that, especially knowing there was a shooting from a break-in 3-4 houses down the street!She and her hubby said that they don't have a problem with me OCing, it's, well, 4 people were, well, um, are uncomfortable seeing me with a gun at a family social. It isn't appropriate!It took me 10 minutes to pry the names of the 'concerned' family members from her. To my surprise 2 were her 40yr daughters! BTY, they lived in Alaska for over 10 yrs, so guns don't make them nervous, I would think! The other 2 are my wife's sister and her husband.To say the least, I was hot! My wife was surprised, also. Sad thing is, my sister-in-law has been bitten twice by dogs while going for a walk in the neighborhood! THEY should be carrying!Well, that's my rant. Thanks for listening. Gonna go pound some steel on the anvil!
 

ManInBlack

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
1,551
Location
SW Idaho
4 people were, well, um, are uncomfortable seeing me with a gun at a family social. It isn't appropriate!It took me 10 minutes to pry the names of the 'concerned' family members from her. To my surprise 2 were her 40yr daughters! BTY, they lived in Alaska for over 10 yrs, so guns don't make them nervous, I would think! The other 2 are my wife's sister and her husband.

My take: your sister and her husband failed in raising your nieces. As for the wife's sister and husband, they are outlier relations, so their say shouldn't count for squat.

How many others are going? I would think the anti-gun whiners would be vastly outnumbered, and that should be enough by itself.

My gut says the tell them, not so politely, to screw themselves, but then again, it's not my family, and I don't have to live with the repercussions...

;)
 

PistolPackingMomma

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
1,884
Location
SC
She and her hubby said that they don't have a problem with me OCing, it's, well, 4 people were, well, um, are uncomfortable seeing me with a gun at a family social. It isn't appropriate!

Simple response.

"My wife and I said that we don't have a problem with them not OCing, it's, well, we're, well, um, uncomfortable not seeing them with a gun at a family social. It isn't appropriate!"

:lol:

Seriously, good luck with that situation. Family can be the most difficult of all to deal with.
 

carsontech

Activist Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2011
Messages
529
Location
Anderson, SC
but if my gun isn't welcome, I'm not going to be there. :(

That's exactly what PistolPackingMomma and I said to her parents when they invited us to their place up in WV last week. Her dad said of course we could OC, unlike the last time they invited us up.

The funny thing is, he acted like he never told us to leave the guns locked up when we were at their house the time before last. He acted as though we were always welcome to wear our tools when we were at his house.

What changed his mind this time, you might ask? The last time PistolPackingMomma's parents were down here, to SC, they saw that we OCed doing EVERYTHING (well, almost everything, SC isn't an OC state. We have to conceal when we are on public property or private property, like restaurants and other businesses where we haven't asked permission to OC from the owner.)

We also took them and the 4 children (out of 8), that still lived with them, to the range. We brought at least 10 different handguns, an AR-15, some hunting rifles, some shotguns... they all had a blast! That was the first time I've ever ran out of a thousand rounds of ammo so quickly.

We changed their mind about carrying firearms at all time by letting our OC light shine, letting them get familiar with lots of different kind of firearms, letting them get some practice in with them, and letting them have some fun with at the same time. I think the main thing that "won them over" was showing them how we OCed doing everything, how normal it seems, and how responsible we were while doing it.
 
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KBCraig

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
4,886
Location
Granite State of Mind
Carry away. If anyone is sufficiently "uncomfortable", they will leave; problem solved. If they're not so uncomfortable that they leave, there's not a problem.
 

Wolfebane

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2010
Messages
113
Location
Whidbey Island
I have this same kind of issue with my father. It makes no sense to me since he was the one I remember getting me into guns - we used to ALWAYS go shooting when we went camping and we went camping a lot when I was younger.

I still have yet to get a straight or even comprehensible reason from him about why he has an issue with me carrying around him.

When I first started carrying and I tried to talk to him about it he even said at one point, half jokingly, that he was "concerned that I would shoot him."

Needless to say there has never been any history of violence between us or any sort of animosity on that level which would even make that a valid thought.

I hung up from that phone call in disgust and didn't take his calls for a few days. It made me sick to my stomach that he would even consider that.
 

BigDave

Opt-Out Members
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Messages
3,456
Location
Yakima, Washington, USA
Squeak you did not disclose if this event is taking place at a public area or a family members home.

Something to consider Squeak;
Is open carrying at this event more important then the event itself?
Is it more important to you to be armed or to openly carry while attending?
Is it worth possibility of hard feelings, if you choose to openly carry?
Is it worth attending open carrying and have some family members upset?

Just avoid letting hurt feelings or ego's become involved in your decision making.
 

jt59

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Messages
1,005
Location
Central South Sound
Squeak you did not disclose if this event is taking place at a public area or a family members home.

Something to consider Squeak;
Is open carrying at this event more important then the event itself?
Is it more important to you to be armed or to openly carry while attending?
Is it worth possibility of hard feelings, if you choose to openly carry?
Is it worth attending open carrying and have some family members upset?

Just avoid letting hurt feelings or ego's become involved in your decision making.

+1...there is an obvious answer here.
 

Squeak

Regular Member
Joined
May 31, 2009
Messages
827
Location
Port Orchard,
Good advice/comments! I'm still thinkin'! MAYBE I'll CC. But then, I'd have to make a new holster! My Daddy said that life wasn't easy, but dang! I know, PCC/POC.
 

PistolPackingMomma

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
1,884
Location
SC
I have this same kind of issue with my father. It makes no sense to me since he was the one I remember getting me into guns - we used to ALWAYS go shooting when we went camping and we went camping a lot when I was younger.

I still have yet to get a straight or even comprehensible reason from him about why he has an issue with me carrying around him.

When I first started carrying and I tried to talk to him about it he even said at one point, half jokingly, that he was "concerned that I would shoot him."

Needless to say there has never been any history of violence between us or any sort of animosity on that level which would even make that a valid thought.

I hung up from that phone call in disgust and didn't take his calls for a few days. It made me sick to my stomach that he would even consider that.

I face a somewhat similar issue. My sister makes comments or jokes about my gun that make me uncomfortable. She bought me a stupid little keychain that said "I have pms and a gun. Excuse me, did you have something to say?" or she tags me that story about the armed citizen robbing his attempted robber because she thinks of me when she reads it.

What I've tried to make clear to her is that while I see the humor she sees, I see something that she doesn't. That carrying a gun is not a joke; that every day I strap this tool to my hip, I face the reality that I may have to use it. I accept the responsibility, and it does not weigh lightly on my mind. I have the ability to end someone's life, and there is nothing funny about that.
 

mark-in-texas

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Messages
319
Location
Richmond, Tx
oops....hit save to fast...

I've taken nieces & nephews on out of state road trips & both CC'd and Oc'd (were legal) and I've ALWAYS been armed!! I'm for damn sure NOT going to face my sisters and tell them I failed to protect the most important people on the planet!
 

MSG Laigaie

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
3,239
Location
Philipsburg, Montana
We changed their mind about carrying firearms at all time by letting our OC light shine, letting them get familiar with lots of different kind of firearms, letting them get some practice in with them, and letting them have some fun with at the same time. I think the main thing that "won them over" was showing them how we OCed doing everything, how normal it seems, and how responsible we were while doing it.

This is a great story and being "normal" works best
 

skiingislife725

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Messages
400
Location
Lake Stevens, WA
I'd say if you see them very often, then save the OCing for other occasions.....or like someone else said, get them to come to the range and get more comfortable. Or have them see you out and about OCing to see that nothing happens. That's kind of how I've been with the liberal half of my in-laws (wife's mom/stepdad). My mother in-law is so against the idea of guns that she wouldn't allow her daughters to have squirt guns growing up. Which is very sad I think but that's another story. Anyways, I've sent her home with a printed out copy of "The Tao of Gun" and "The Gun Is Civilization" and now I've even OCed around her, at my house at least, and it's growing on her. She has also found out that her bestie and her husband have a TON of guns...so that might be helping too.

Anyways, it's a slow process...if you think you can work on them to get rid of that irrational fear than maybe not OC...if they're a lost cause, do whatever you feel like I say.
 
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