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Tampa Open Carry Event July 11th

ADulay

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
512
Location
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
For those of you who could not make this meeting, here's a very quick synopsis of what you missed.

Just over 50 guys, all open carrying, showed up with fishing gear, donuts, coffee and a great attitude.

No police anywhere near the place. Lots of civilian people fishing and no problems with that at all.

Several questions from curious people and most, if not all were amazed at the laws in Florida. I can only assume that nobody made a "man with a gun call" to the police!

It was very hot out there, even in the shaded areas of the fishing pier.

ABC news did show up for some interviews and all in all, it was a very good meeting.

Hard to believe that the news didn't make anything out of "50 armed men at fishing pier". Nobody injured or taken hostage!!! Evidently CNN didn't get the word!

Seriously, lots of really good people all with the same goal in mind. It was well worth the effort for me to get out of the house at 7am to make the meet up north.

For the record, no fish were harmed during the entire event!

AD
 

ccwinstructor

Centurion
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
919
Location
Yuma, Arizona, USA
Are there Pictures of the Event?

For those of you who could not make this meeting, here's a very quick synopsis of what you missed.

Just over 50 guys, all open carrying, showed up with fishing gear, donuts, coffee and a great attitude.

No police anywhere near the place. Lots of civilian people fishing and no problems with that at all.

Several questions from curious people and most, if not all were amazed at the laws in Florida. I can only assume that nobody made a "man with a gun call" to the police!

It was very hot out there, even in the shaded areas of the fishing pier.

ABC news did show up for some interviews and all in all, it was a very good meeting.

Hard to believe that the news didn't make anything out of "50 armed men at fishing pier". Nobody injured or taken hostage!!! Evidently CNN didn't get the word!

Seriously, lots of really good people all with the same goal in mind. It was well worth the effort for me to get out of the house at 7am to make the meet up north.

For the record, no fish were harmed during the entire event!

AD

Could you point me toward pictures of the event? I would like to write an article about it.
 

ixtow

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
5,038
Location
Suwannee County, FL
I'm curious why this is a good way to promote OC, but carrying a training gun in a holster every day is bad? It's a good conversation starter and can be done every day no matter where you go instead of just at the fishing pier...
 
Last edited:

ccwinstructor

Centurion
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
919
Location
Yuma, Arizona, USA
Here is an article on Gun Watch


The pictures and links show up at Gun Watch




ADulay, a regular contributor to opencarry.org, wrote about the open carry event that was held in Tampa over the weekend. From opencarry.org:

For those of you who could not make this meeting, here's a very quick synopsis of what you missed.

Just over 50 guys, all open carrying, showed up with fishing gear, donuts, coffee and a great attitude.

No police anywhere near the place. Lots of civilian people fishing and no problems with that at all.

Several questions from curious people and most, if not all were amazed at the laws in Florida. I can only assume that nobody made a "man with a gun call" to the police!

It was very hot out there, even in the shaded areas of the fishing pier.

ABC news did show up for some interviews and all in all, it was a very good meeting.

Hard to believe that the news didn't make anything out of "50 armed men at fishing pier". Nobody injured or taken hostage!!! Evidently CNN didn't get the word!

Seriously, lots of really good people all with the same goal in mind. It was well worth the effort for me to get out of the house at 7am to make the meet up north.

For the record, no fish were harmed during the entire event!

AD



Florida is one of the five remaining states that ban the open carry of firearms in most public places. Those five states are: California, New York, Illinois, South Carolina, and Florida.

Florida's ban on open carry is fairly recent. When the shall issue concealed carry permit law was passed in 1987, Janet Reno, of Waco fame, President Clinton's Attorney General, was the State Attorney for Dade County, Florida. The concealed carry permit bill included state pre-emption that eliminated the power of Florida cities to ban open carry inside of their borders.

Reno was incensed by this and mounted a campaign to ban open carry. She succeeded. The legislature, in an act quite similar to New York's passage of the "Safe Act", held a special session, bypassed the normal committee hearings, testimony, and citizen input, and banned open carry in most places. Some would suggest that this "success" was instrumental in Janet Reno's selection as Attorney General under President Bill Clinton.

Following the statist tactic of outlawing everything that is not allowed, open carry was banned everywhere except for a few exceptions. One of those exceptions was to allow the open carry of firearms while fishing. It is this exception in the law that Second Amendment activists are using to promote the restoration of open carry rights to Florida.


The next generation of Second Amendment supporters being raised in Florida.

Florida Carry organized the open carry event and is vigorously working toward restoring open carry in Florida. In addition to open carry events, they have mounted court challenges and have had success in lobbying the legislature.

Texas is the most recent state to restore open carry freedoms. Its new law will take effect on 1 January, 2016.

Florida and South Carolina are the most likely candidates to restore open carry after Texas. The Florida ban has been in effect for less than 30 years, and Florida has had significant success with its shall issue concealed carry law. Governor Rick Scott has said that if an open carry bill passes the legislature, he will sign it.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2015/07/fl-open-carry-event-on-tampa-pier.html
 

Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
For the life of me, I'm having trouble with the rationale that would allow open carry while fishing, that makes any sense? I'm all for open carry, just don't understand the reasoning behind it that makes it ok while fishing, but not all the time? A Janet Reno thing?

I'm not an ocean fisherman, so maybe I'm missing something. I keep seeing a fish in the bottom of the boat, and shooting it to dispatch it does not seem like a brilliant idea...... Defend from sharks or alligators? What?

I see you guys were on the dock and no fish were harmed. What was for supper? Somebody help me out here!
 

notalawyer

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Messages
1,061
Location
Florida
For the life of me, I'm having trouble with the rationale that would allow open carry while fishing, that makes any sense? I'm all for open carry, just don't understand the reasoning behind it that makes it ok while fishing, but not all the time? A Janet Reno thing?

I'm not an ocean fisherman, so maybe I'm missing something. I keep seeing a fish in the bottom of the boat, and shooting it to dispatch it does not seem like a brilliant idea...... Defend from sharks or alligators? What?

I see you guys were on the dock and no fish were harmed. What was for supper? Somebody help me out here!

Easy answer: Some very powerful politically inclined folks are rabid anti's.

They do everything in their power to infringe on our rights.

In the case of "Camping, fishing and hunting" these things are (were) typically done in somewhat remote outdoor settings containing wildlife and moonshiners, etc. (or in the case of salt-water fishing, pirates) which could, logically, possibly require the use of firearms in self-defense. Therefore they could not really block that aspect of open carry (or concealed without need for a license) and not look more stupid than they already did.
 

Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
Easy answer: Some very powerful politically inclined folks are rabid anti's.

They do everything in their power to infringe on our rights.

In the case of "Camping, fishing and hunting" these things are (were) typically done in somewhat remote outdoor settings containing wildlife and moonshiners, etc. (or in the case of salt-water fishing, pirates) which could, logically, possibly require the use of firearms in self-defense. Therefore they could not really block that aspect of open carry (or concealed without need for a license) and not look more stupid than they already did.

Yay for pirates then I guess? I would not have come up with that on my own. Sounds like a market for the Ronco Pocket Fisherman.
 

ADulay

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
512
Location
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
Yay for pirates then I guess? I would not have come up with that on my own. Sounds like a market for the Ronco Pocket Fisherman.

Wstar,

You don't even need to get that fancy. I open carry every day and carry a "bolo" rig or "Cuban" fishing rig as they are known.

About $4 at West Marine and they do catch fish! They also take up almost no space anywhere you put it and in my case, it fits nicely in the left saddlebag on my motorcycle every day of the year.

AD
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
I'm curious why this is a good way to promote OC, but carrying a training gun in a holster every day is bad? It's a good conversation starter and can be done every day no matter where you go instead of just at the fishing pier...

In that case, why not just wear something from these guys? http://pcdcarry.com/

Of course it's going to be a real big help if the need for self defense ever rises. And if we are not carrying for that eventuality we are, in fact committing what one blogger describes as "wearing our guns at" people.

stay safe.
 

ccwinstructor

Centurion
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
919
Location
Yuma, Arizona, USA
"Wearing our Guns at" is perfectly viable, Strong, Protected, Political, speech.

In that case, why not just wear something from these guys? http://pcdcarry.com/

Of course it's going to be a real big help if the need for self defense ever rises. And if we are not carrying for that eventuality we are, in fact committing what one blogger describes as "wearing our guns at" people.

stay safe.

Nothing wrong with wearing guns as a political statement.


http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/02/i-carry-firearm-for-political-purposes.html
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla

I agree. I "wear my gun at people" every day. I just do it in a manner that is not overtly intimidating. But I also carry my gun so that I can prove, should it become necessary, that I can use force right here, right now, without having to go home to get my real gun.


Carrying a firearm confirms the right of citizens to use force. It confirms that the ultimate sovereign is the individual citizen, not the State.

stay safe.
 

Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
Wstar,

You don't even need to get that fancy. I open carry every day and carry a "bolo" rig or "Cuban" fishing rig as they are known.

About $4 at West Marine and they do catch fish! They also take up almost no space anywhere you put it and in my case, it fits nicely in the left saddlebag on my motorcycle every day of the year.

AD


I had to look that up to see what it is. We don't have any of that foolishness here, but then again we can't ride motorcycles every day of the year either.

So, are you saying that you open carry WHILE riding a motorcycle, then if you get stopped you just show the bolo rig and say you are going fishing? If it's that simple it seems kind of pointless to even not have open carry at all. Btw, we can ride motorcycles while open carry in Wisconsin, as well as snowmobiles, bikes, lawn mowers, boats, four wheelers, and even private aircraft as well as carry into and onto an airport up to the security checkpoint. One could go fishing in a boat, snowmobile, 4 wheeler, or even a car and airplane, but probably not a lawn mower......
 

solus

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
9,315
Location
here nc
Wstar, where there is a will there is a way...

given the constraints of the statutes, seems quite ingenious and i am sure the technique spread like wildfire...

kudos for thinking out of the box to meet their purposes.

uh, snowmobiles use on the beaches is frowned upon...

ipse

still chuckling over the novel idea to circumvent so citizens can OC...
 

Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
Wstar, where there is a will there is a way...

given the constraints of the statutes, seems quite ingenious and i am sure the technique spread like wildfire...

kudos for thinking out of the box to meet their purposes.

uh, snowmobiles use on the beaches is frowned upon...

ipse

still chuckling over the novel idea to circumvent so citizens can OC...

I thought it was pretty good too. I just wondering how often one would get pulled over, riding a motorcycle down the Interstafe, with a fishing pole for a flagpole? I actually do open carry on a bike, if it is warm enough to lose the jacket. Either July 4th or 5th. If it's raining those two days, usually have to wait until next year...... Something for fishing in your saddle bags could not be seen. Most wouldn't notice the firearm I bet, I can walk around Walmart for an hour shopping and maybe three people notice.

We have this stuff up here we call ice, for about 9 and a half months a year........

Some people do ride on open water, tho I'm not saying I do.
 

ADulay

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
512
Location
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
So, are you saying that you open carry WHILE riding a motorcycle, then if you get stopped you just show the bolo rig and say you are going fishing? If it's that simple it seems kind of pointless to even not have open carry at all.
Yes, that's the normal operation. As I ride every day of the year I have a slight advantage over a lot of people.

In reality I show them that I'm headed to or from my local shooting range and a few others around the 4 county area.

I'm also retired so I can really go fishing or shooting every single day and actually do.

That puts me on the roads many hours a day, all open carrying.

Yes, it really is that simple and the fact that it doesn't bother me when I get stopped (about 3 times a year) I have no problems with the LEO's.

Where the "problem" comes in is that most people simply will not open carry. Even if it was 100% legal, you would rarely see it. People would be afraid that their friends would make fun of them, they'd feel "self-conscious', their neighbors would talk, etc, etc. And considering that most people are just scared to death to even talk to an LEO at any time, let alone while open carrying, they figure they would just as soon avoid the "hassle". I don't see it as a hassle. I talk with the officer, we discuss open carry and I go about my business, still open carrying. Not a big deal. But then I don't make a federal case out of when stopped. Hand the guy your ID and move on with your life. The law in Florida is all there in black and white so I'm on pretty sturdy ground when we "talk".

As open carry is not something you see every day down here, the tendency would be to simply "hide the sidearm" and go about your business. Not me. I PREFER to open carry over concealed for one main reason. COMFORT!

I am not worried about what others may think. With that said, I also dress properly, answer the odd question from regular citizens with a good attitude and generally try to make open carry as normal as possible around here.

I've heard all the arguments for and against open carry and I choose open carry.

You will find that most of the people opposed to open carry have never even tried it! They just know they'll hate it so they attempt to let anyone who will listen what a bad idea open carrying is.

In my case, I just smile and continue about my business. No need to argue about it with anyone. They're all adults and can make their own decisions.

I like (and prefer) open carry. Others don't. I don't chastise those who choose NOT to open carry. That's why there's usually a choice.

And like I tell anybody that will listen. Once you get comfortable with open carry, you'll wonder why you ever jammed a gun down your pants in the first place!

AD
 

Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
That's awesome! I agree with you completely. I conceal at church, that is about it. Not retired, otherwise our thinking is very similar. My old trucking job I could carry and did, out west. New job has no gun policy. Mostly HazMat and about all those places are no gun, so it would almost be more hassle than worth. But, trade off is home every night instead of every two weeks.

I like the retired and fishing or shooting every day part tho!!!!!
 

ADulay

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
512
Location
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
I like the retired and fishing or shooting every day part tho!!!!!

For most of my working life, I told anybody that would listen is that all I want to do is ride my bike every day and have enough time and money to fish and shoot along the way.

It's worked out quite well and I'm pretty lucky for sure.

Headed to Sturgis for the 2015 Rally next week.

Lots of open carry states all the way.

AD
 

ixtow

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
5,038
Location
Suwannee County, FL
Wstar,

You don't even need to get that fancy. I open carry every day and carry a "bolo" rig or "Cuban" fishing rig as they are known.

About $4 at West Marine and they do catch fish! They also take up almost no space anywhere you put it and in my case, it fits nicely in the left saddlebag on my motorcycle every day of the year.

AD
I've got one of them Cuban YoYos. I went even simpler... I wove about 30 feet of braided line into a paracord bracelet with a few split shots and tiny little hooks. Wearable fishing gear. Then I got even simpler and just looped up the cord and stuffed it into gutted paracord and made a keychain fob of it. There are all kinds of ways to carry simple fishing gear.

My latest fishing thingy is a 2L soda bottle pre-form with weights and circle hooks and pre-cubed Zote Soap inside it, with a buttload of bankline wrapped around it.
 
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