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My eye opening trip to the PRK

Michigander

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I just took a small vacation to northern California. While I was there, I went to the Castro party in San Francisco. It was quite something. The freedom enjoyed by homosexuals was unlike anything I've ever seen. It was very, very, very cool.

But on the opposite side of the coin, there were the police. Being from Michigan, I'd never seen such a police state. The police who were clearly dressed to intimidate, and enjoying the hell out of being in charge, probably outnumbered the people there to enjoy the party. I'd never actually seen massive numbers of cops with full blown riot sticks. It was overbaring as hell. In my mind, it now makes perfet sense why we call it the PRK. The worst part is that the people of Northern California seem all too happy to submit to this state of police excess.

What's the point of my rant? Just that I'm very excited about the prospect of an open carry day in San Francisco. It needs to happen badly. The SFPD needs to be reminded that its goal is to serve and protect, not intimidate and piss off. That Castro party convinced me that every law abiding gun owner that can make it needs to get involved in the SF open carry event. It is extremely important. The police need to be put in their place, and the people in the area need to be educated.

I really, really, really wish I could participate in an open carry event in SF, but I have neither the money and time to travel again nor do I have a Cali registered pistol. I am just very excited and very pleased that it's being planned on.

In short, I wish you Cali OC'rs all the best of luck, and I wish there was more I could do to help out.
 

MudCamper

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Michigander wrote:
The worst part is that the people of Northern California seem all too happy to submit to this state of police excess.

Careful there with those generalizations. I'm a Northern Californian and I don't fit into that category you describe. And I'm not a San Franciscan either. Remember, once you cross the Golden Gate Bridge, you still have to drive for 6 hours at 70 MPH without stopping to get to the Oregon border. All of that is Northern California, and it ain't much like SF.
 

Michigander

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Please don't get me wrong. The SF Bay area is incredibly diverse. I have relatives there that by no means fit into the category you questioned.

But seriously, that seems to be the way that most people like it there. Something like 8 million hard core liberals live there. News coverage of open carry in SF forcing 8 million liberals to ponder the fact that the government isn't above them, and that maybe they shouldn't be throwing their rights away, would be wonderful thing indeed.

The Bay is a very politically active area. They say as goes California so goes the country. It's been true many times, and that is why it's important.
 

SFDude

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I signed up just so I can respond to this post.

Yes, there was a massive police presence on Castro this year for Halloween. That's not normal SF or normal California. What happened is there has been a gay-themed Castro Halloween party every year for many many years. I have been many times. It was a lot of fun. Until it started getting less fun. People started showing up, who were not from SF, and who were there to cause trouble, to be anti-gay, etc. The city started having security checks, which were obnoxious and also illegal (taking away things like harmless rubber swords without giving the person the option of leaving). As we all know, taking away openly-carried rubber swords doesn't do anything to prevent the real problems, which are well-concealed guns in the hands of criminals, and there wasn't anything they could really do about that.

Anyway... problems got worse. Nine people were shot last year. The city said "no more": http://www.sfgate.com/flat/archive/2007/10/11/chronicle/archive/2007/10/11/BAK6SNRC0.html . Gee, the shooting happened even though they were vigorously confiscating rubber swords, how is that possible?

So they announced there wouldn't be an event and they did things like shutting down BART, and having a massive police presence there. It worked; there was no event. I don't think they had a choice. When there are 9 people shot at an event, that event shouldn't continue.

My feeling is they will revive the event next year.

Anyone planning to open carry at the SF Gay Pride parade next year (June 24)?

(I'm not gay btw, just pro-SF, pro-gun-rights, and pro-gay-rights. I won't be posting any more here; I just had to add the background information on this subject.)
 

Michigander

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First of all, it wasn't a non event. They played it up that way, but thousands of people came anyway.

I am well aware that it normally isn't that heavy handed at the Castro party. BUT, police aren't normally as heavy handed as they are in the bay area. SFDude, have you traveled much? I have never been anywhere with as heavy handed of police as SF. They are all over the place, and dress up to intimidate. Nowhere in Michigan would there be security guards in BDU's tucked into tall combat boots wearing para military garbage on their stupid looking uniform, nor would you see every cop on the street with a 3' riot baton.

For me, as an outsider, it looks an aweful lot like people in SF and the surrounding cities (marin excluded) really don't mind police intimidation. It's like they feel safe and cozey with big brother watching over them. (Again, that's a generalization, NOT intented to label EVERYONE)

I don't want to get into specifics, but I know of one police recruit from one bay area city that litteraly told the review board that he or she wanted to be in charge and carry a gun, and was then hired. That mindset appears prevalent.
 

ConditionThree

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May 22, 2006
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SFDude wrote:
(I'm not gay btw, just pro-SF, pro-gun-rights, and pro-gay-rights. I won't be posting any more here; I just had to add the background information on this subject.)
Ah come on, take off your hat, put your feet up and stay a spell... No need to hurry off. :)
 

CA_Libertarian

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Jul 18, 2007
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SFDude wrote:
...As we all know, taking away openly-carried rubber swords doesn't do anything to prevent the real problems, which are well-concealed guns in the hands of criminals, and there wasn't anything they could really do about that...

...So they announced there wouldn't be an event and they did things like shutting down BART, and having a massive police presence there. It worked; there was no event. I don't think they had a choice. When there are 9 people shot at an event, that event shouldn't continue....
It's important to note that it's the firearms smuggled in by criminals that are causing the problems. If 1 out of every 20 party-goers were openly armed, would there have been 9 shootings at the event? I doubt it. The point is that the event was not the problem; the disarmed citizen zone is the problem.

On a related note, the Madison Society announced recently it will be working with a gay/lesbian/transexual group (the name of which eludes me) to promote gun rights.
 
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