Briefly put, yesterday's OC walk around and ON the University of Cincinnati campus went just fine, without a hitch. About 70 total participants.
Thanks for the post, Brian. It reminded me to post my summary.
As posted on Facebook:
I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for attending. The group of 67 men, women, and children was FANTASTIC, and it included 13 UC students!!
(** UC students make sure you read the note at the bottom of this post **)
The interactions with members of the public were PHENOMENAL and numerous - people of different ages, races, and religious beliefs asked questions of the participants, and the participants engaged them in conversations of various lengths. People even talked to
Chris Beckman for a half an hour AFTER the walk!
My favorite encounter happened as we were returning from lunch - a women pulled her car into a driveway right in front of part of the group, blocking the group's progress back to the rally point, and essentially said "What the hell is this all about?" and then said she was scared of guns (while surrounded by about 20 people with guns).
Carolyn Robey and
Julie Smith Johnson, among others, talked with her and her boyfriend for a good 10 minutes, concluding with contact information being given.
At least one person drove & carpooled 4 hours in one direction, another drove from Lima (2 hours), two from Indianapolis (2 hours), and at least 6 from around Columbus (~2 hours) to come. If I've missed your long drive, please note it. THANK YOU so much for making the trip.
I also want to express my deep appreciation to the leaders, members and friends of Central Ohio Carry, Southwest Ohio Carry, and Ohio Carry for being the first people to recommend this walk, and for coming. From these groups, as best as I can remember names, those people are:
Chuck LaRosa,
Paɗɗy Mac Uidɦiɾ, Carolyn Robey,
Dave Noice, and
Brett Anthony.
Thanks also to
Cincy Brian,
Joe Beresford,
Hans Oak, oh my, I can never remember everyone, so...
** I know there are others whose names I haven't retained, so please remind me and PLEASE FRIEND ME if you haven't already. **
FOOD - my deep appreciation to the folks at Hwy 55 U Square, 140 W. McMillan, Cincinnati, and DiBella's Subs, 265 Calhoun St., Cincinnati for their warm welcome and GREAT food. (if anyone can figure out how to link them, please do) Also, although those two restaurants had sufficient capacity, thanks to Penn Station, 208 W. McMillan for being willing to serve participants lunch.
There have been LOTS of requests among the participants, the merchants, and the people we passed by to do this kind of thing again. Stay tuned!
PLEASE post your comments about the walk, what you thought it would be like, what it was like, and your photos.
Oh, one more thing -
Ben Jung's girlfriend wins the prize for the longest long arm possessed by the shortest person. (Thanks for bringing her, Ben!)
ONE LAST THING for
UC students: the administration, through the UC legal department, made it clear that open carry on campus *for this event* was fine... BUT, the student code of conduct has not been altered *yet* so I DO NOT suggest open carrying on campus until that happens!