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OC report for Spokane

surfj9009

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Well after a full day of OC I had ups and downs. Good experiences underlined in black, bad experiences will be underlined in red.

ACE Hardware on Rowan: Uneventful, but the girls working there were watching me close, and I had all the help i needed finding a direct route to everything I was looking for. Talk about great customer service, I had my own shopping assistant! i'll definitely go there again and hopefully illicit some genuine conversation. They are the closest mom and pop hardware store to my house.
ARC firearm store on Division: The clerk asked me if I was pleased with my XD-40
Audio Installations on Sprague: Uneventful not even a second glance
Sportsmans Warehouse in the Valley: Uneventful


ATT store at the Valley Mall: The sales consultant asked me if there was a particular reason I had a firearm holstered in his store out loud in front of a crowd, and I instinctively just belched out "for the same reason i have car insurance I suppose"

He further asked me if I would please leave it in my car next time I came in, to which i responded, "Does your company policy prohibit me from entering this store with my firearm" and he said, "not that I'm aware of, but it just makes people nervous", to which I responded "well I am not doing anything to cause that, and just because somebody is uncomfortable with it does not mean I am in violation of any law. Just because it may make you uncomfortable, does not mean I have to give up my own safety"

The guys boss came around and seemed to want to communicate further, but I had to get going so I just made my purchase and left.

And then I went to Hooters by the mall. Me and my buddy went and sat down, and a waitress came and took a drink order. I ordered a Pepsi, and my friend ordered a beer. (He wasn't carrying). Within 3 minutes of sitting, a manager type came over and said, "sorry sir, but I am going to ask you to please put your gun in your car".

I asked what the problem was, "I'm not in the area restricted to minors". He said their policy was that there were no firearms allowed period. When he asked if I would take it to my car, I said "No that's alright, if that's your policy, I will take my business elsewhere. As I approached the lobby at the exit, a old security tough guy came up to me and said "Are you a police officer." I said no. He said "are you a bail bondsman" I said no.

He went on to state that since they sell alcohol I could not carry in there. i tried to inform him of his erroneous interpretation of the law, and he refused to believe me. When I insisted he do some homework and offered one of the pamphlets I made(Washington Gun Rights), he said he already had one!!

Yeah, OK. Since I just put it out there a few weeks ago, I have to say I doubt it. The guy was getting pretty damn fired up, and I was already outside, so I just left him alone and decided to write a letter to the right person with regards to their official policy and his behaviour.

After that, we went to Flaming Joes on Sprague.
I did leave my gun in the car because they have a sign on the door "As per RCW9.41.300, d), there are no firearms allowed. Since this place has great food I figured i would go in with my buddy for one good last plate of wings before I send a letter to the owner. They are a family restaraunt, beer only, but none of the place is off limits to minors. I am hoping to clarify this with the owner, because if they are misinterpreting the law, than I would love to correct them and hope that they allow my firearm in there in the future. If it is a cover for a personal anti-gun policy, then I will not patronize them anymore. Hopefully a letter will clear this up, because they do have the absolute best wings I have ever had.

Sorry this was a long post, but today was my first day of many to come for Spokane OC. I will keep this thread updated, and hope others will do the same with their Spokane OC experiences.

Thanks for reading
 

BobCav

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SurfJ, sounds like you did an AWESOME job! Keep it up!

Oh man, I can't WAIT until I get to Spokane!

Voice recorder on all while carrying and there are many, many people that HATE when I write letters!

Muahahaha......
 

surfj9009

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Spokane, WA, ,
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yeah man! I am a damn good professional letter writer!! I should remember to get a voice recorder tommorrow.

this whole OC thing is new to me, but I do believe it is a very important part of my personal freedom. I have to admit though, I did feel my lip shake a few times while talking to the Hooters security guard. There were a few times I was carefully stumbling over my own words because my mind was moving way faster than my lips would. I suppose my ability to verbally articulate the laws and principals of OC will just have to come with time.

i forgot to mention, one of the hooters girls did ask if I had a permit for it as i was getting up from the table, and I said I didn't need one. I told her I only needed a permit if I was covering it with my sweatshirt, thats why its a concealed permit. She said, "thats so dumb, that doesn't even make any sense":celebrate

Maybe it's the men there who should be wearing the skimpy outfits!

It was kind of funny now that I think about it, although it was nerveracking at the time. I felt like everyone was watching me as I walked out, assuming I would go nuts or something. The manager who asked me to leave had to have been scared to death, because he wouldnt even look me in the eye and looked like he was leaving himself room to run for cover for the whole 10 seconds he was at my table.

Absolutely ridiculous.

I did have my holster on my hip and my gun in my pocket the night before at the Northtown mall in the ATT store. The mall prohibits firearms apparently, and I just had to run in real quick anyways so I didn't care. I just concealed it and left my holster exposed. The sales clerk there asked what i carried, I told him an XD-40, and he told me he was thinking about the same gun. We talked for about 15 minutes about local shooting spots and guns, (he is an out of state transplant). We parted ways after the pleasant conversation and I left him with the Washington Gun Rights pamphlet, so hopefully he will become a new Spokane member of the OCDO forum.

I sure am glad I never leave the house without that little pamphlet in my back left pocket. You never know when you will need one.
 

sv_libertarian

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Olympia, WA, ,
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Great experiences! You had more people talk to you in a day about it than I have in the last month! It gets easier everytime you do it. There is often a lifetime of social conditioning to overcome.

I know I was nervous the first few times, and when I go into a new place or area OCing I still am a bit apprehensive.

Keep up the good work!
 

surfj9009

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Spokane, WA, ,
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thanks man. I know it will get easier with time. Sure was an interesting day though. My buddy, who is a gun owner, just kept laughing at me and the situations. He seems to think concealed carry is sufficient, but he ain't knowledgable at all either about how easily our rights can be stripped, and have been stripped either.

You all can expect many more updates in this thread over the next few weeks. I wouldn't be surprised one bit though if I am the victim of an officer responding to "a man with a gun" call. This city is so messed up in so many ways.
 

surfj9009

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This morning:

OC'd the gas station on Maple and Rowan. The clerk didn't notice, but there was a guy who checked out before me and I think he saw my XD. When I went out to pump my gas, he was sitting in his truck with another guy and they kinda just kept an eye on me until I left. (I wonder what some of these people think when they see me carrying and I get into my $40,000 car with big wheels and tinted windows and drive away. I am sure some people assume I am a drug dealer or gangsta of some sort, even though I am just a normal guy and I don't dress that way.) I dunno

Staples on Division and Foothills: Went in to print a dozen more WGR pamphlets and get a quote for a run of 5,000 in black and white. One early 20's male employee seemed a bit uncomfortable near me. The assistant manager was working the print center and helped me without a hint of disdain or fear or unpleasant desire of me being strapped in his store.:) Yeah!!!

Very nice gentleman, and he had nice compliments about the file. He signed me up for the rewards program, which saves me 10% on the printing. He said he could get the cost down to $325 plus tax and I will save 10% off that. It's an extra .02 each if I have them fold them. (Which I probably wont do, since I can fold them watching tv)
 

surfj9009

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BobCav wrote:
LOL...you should see the looks I get when I roll up in my black Chrysler 300C with tinted windows!
Ha. I can imagine. I got a black Infiniti G35 coupe with deep dish 20" wheels. I almost bought a 300C. Damn nice cars for sure. All eyes on us. I have noticed that not as many people come up to me and talk about my car when i am OC'ing thats for sure. It used to happen all the time. Crazy sheeple!:banghead:
 

surfj9009

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Spokane, WA, ,
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Dave The Welder wrote:
I just realized that the top two posts are on Spokane. Has this ever happened before?
Has what ever happened before? Bad OC experiences? It was my first day of full on OC, not sure about anyone else.
 

Dave The Welder

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surfj9009 wrote:
Has what ever happened before?
The top two posts on the Washington board both where about Spokane a minute ago and not about the west side of the state. When I joined the board, it seemed like the only post that even existed about eastern washington was one that I had started. Now there's a growing number of people on this side of the state joining the board and posting.
 

surfj9009

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Spokane, WA, ,
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Dave The Welder wrote:
surfj9009 wrote:
Has what ever happened before?
The top two posts on the Washington board both where about Spokane a minute ago and not about the west side of the state. When I joined the board, it seemed like the only post that even existed about eastern washington was one that I had started. Now there's a growing number of people on this side of the state joining the board and posting.
Well I am trying to do my part, and I am a fairly new member here. My friend OC's but is not the kind of guy who gets online much. I am going to be aggressively looking for places to host the WGR pamphlet for the next 3 weeks while I am off the ship. Hopefully that will get more Spokane area citizens on here. I am also going to continue to attempt to get a training bulletin issued over here, or meet with the Chief of Police, attend city council meetings, etc. and try to recruit as many people as I can for this issue. When I am off the ship, I have 3-4 weeks at a time that I can spend on activism. I am looking forward to some lunches with the more experienced OC'ers on the west side of the state as well as soon as the weather on the pass permits easy travel over the mountains. If any west side OC'ers would like to come over some time and support us, I will definitely be there as long as I am not on the ship.

Spokane has a few large events during the summer that I am sure many westsiders come over for, and hopefully that could be a launching point for some lunches or outings as well. I'm thinking Bloomsday and Hoopfest mainly. Those are the 2 main events in Spokane that actually draw national attention.

So, if it seems as though I am posting here a lot now, it is for one reason and one reason only.

I am very well aware of the fact that the destruction of our liberty has been happening for a long time. (Read this book: Lost Rights: The destruction of American Liberty, by James Bovard) I put up a fight for everything I believe in, and I do not know how to accept failure. I should be able to have the same confidance about my rights as those on the other side of the state do, but I know that takes a lot of work. If the fact that I only work 6 months a year puts me in a unique position to put in more work than most people can, I will do it.

Our constitution has been trampled, and I am young and smart enough to realize that I must do my part, however small it may be, to try to protect the rights of my family today. When I have a wife and children someday, the work I put in now will ultimately pay its dividends then. For me, it is not about instant gratification, it's about protecting the lives of those that I love the most.

A mighty oak will only fall after many swings of an axe, but IT WILL eventually fall. How fast and hard it falls is up to those who will hang in there and keep swinging.
 

Mainsail

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BobCav wrote:
LOL...you should see the looks I get when I roll up in my black Chrysler 300C with tinted windows!

My Interceptor does the same thing, and gets slow-ass people out of the fast lane on the freeway. My windows are tinted dark enough that when it's parked, nobody can tell if someone is sitting inside it, so they stay well away. ;) Sadly, I'm selling it because I need a 4WD for the spring hiking season.

a74bf37a-1cee-4b49-8fd3-41e1b059a281.jpg




On topic; there's no such thing as a post that's too long. We want to read the details. Good job too!
 

surfj9009

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Very nice mainsail. Too bad you gotta sell it.

I will tell you this. It certainly is nice to see that the Washington section of this website is so active, and I do hope Spokane can become a larger community on here.
 

surfj9009

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Spokane, WA, ,
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Tonight my GF and I went to Hollywood Video on Division near downtown, uneventful.

Then we went to the Starbucks by Gonzaga, it was busy and i know it was seen, but it was uneventful.

Then we walked to the Pita Pit and ordered some food and sat down to eat. Plainly seen by the young students and employees, but not 1 comment made.
 

Cue-Ball

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surfj9009 wrote:
I am very well aware of the fact that the destruction of our liberty has been happening for a long time. (Read this book: Lost Rights: The destruction of American Liberty, by James Bovard)
I'll second that recommendation. I read Lost Rights about 6 months ago or so and it is great. It not only illustrates how many rights we have lost, but it also highlights the many inefficiencies and downfalls of state run programs when free markets handle things just fine.

Anyone that values liberty in the least should read that book.
 

DrewGunner

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surfj9009 wrote:
BobCav wrote:
LOL...you should see the looks I get when I roll up in my black Chrysler 300C with tinted windows!
Ha. I can imagine. I got a black Infiniti G35 coupe with deep dish 20" wheels. I almost bought a 300C. Damn nice cars for sure. All eyes on us. I have noticed that not as many people come up to me and talk about my car when i am OC'ing thats for sure. It used to happen all the time. Crazy sheeple!:banghead:
I always get the fish eye when I get into my 350z.
 

surfj9009

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Ah, the 350z. Whenever I pass one, I feel a special little twinkle in my heart for my cars little brother.

LOL, just kidding man.
 

DrewGunner

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surfj9009 wrote:
Ah, the 350z. Whenever I pass one, I feel a special little twinkle in my heart for my cars little brother.

LOL, just kidding man.
Hahaha, I like the G35's but I couldn't justify paying the extra 20k for a nicer looking body.
 
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