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I was also hassled by some blonde surfer stoner bag boy punk guy at Food Lion on W Market St...looked like he was 30 going after 15 year old chicks. Know the type?
Me, in line with GF
Him: You a cop?
Me: No.
Him: You have a permit? A license? Anything?
Me: No, I don't have a CCW.
Him: So you just carry your little nine millimeter on your hip?
Me: Yes
Him: I'm gonna go get me like a sawed-off shotgun, go around like a ninja or somethin' dude. [Bounces a little]
Me: Open carry is legal here if you aren't a felon. You can't have a shotgun less than 18.5 inches, though.
Him: I-I-I a-ain't a felon. That's wazzup dude...hmmnbabblebabble
I walk off with my GF and shake my head.
GF of course gave me grief. "You're attracting the wrong kind of attention! When are you going to get your CCW? I just don't like this!"
Looking back I think it's funny...he was an ass. I put him in his place.
I don't think it would have bothered her, except I got hassled at the Four Seasons mall (where I KNOW there is no law against OC or CC) a couple days before by a rent-a-badge and a Gboro town cop.
Anyone who wants to know what happened can read this letter, which I plan on sending to shareholders or mall owners or whatever they are, this weekend, when I get their address. I will embolden the important segments for anyone who wants to skim. Let me know what you think about the letter, too, if you want, although it's a bit rambly. I was pissed when I wrote it.
I was also hassled by some blonde surfer stoner bag boy punk guy at Food Lion on W Market St...looked like he was 30 going after 15 year old chicks. Know the type?
Me, in line with GF
Him: You a cop?
Me: No.
Him: You have a permit? A license? Anything?
Me: No, I don't have a CCW.
Him: So you just carry your little nine millimeter on your hip?
Me: Yes
Him: I'm gonna go get me like a sawed-off shotgun, go around like a ninja or somethin' dude. [Bounces a little]
Me: Open carry is legal here if you aren't a felon. You can't have a shotgun less than 18.5 inches, though.
Him: I-I-I a-ain't a felon. That's wazzup dude...hmmnbabblebabble
I walk off with my GF and shake my head.
GF of course gave me grief. "You're attracting the wrong kind of attention! When are you going to get your CCW? I just don't like this!"
Looking back I think it's funny...he was an ass. I put him in his place.
I don't think it would have bothered her, except I got hassled at the Four Seasons mall (where I KNOW there is no law against OC or CC) a couple days before by a rent-a-badge and a Gboro town cop.
Anyone who wants to know what happened can read this letter, which I plan on sending to shareholders or mall owners or whatever they are, this weekend, when I get their address. I will embolden the important segments for anyone who wants to skim. Let me know what you think about the letter, too, if you want, although it's a bit rambly. I was pissed when I wrote it.
Dear Sir:
I am writing about an incident in which I was involved in your mall yesterday, March 20, 2008. I am a law-abiding twenty-one year old college student. I was carrying a small handgun in a holster on my hip as I shopped in the mall. I have shopped there on and off since moving to Greensboro last summer. As I went up an escalator and stepped off of it, an Officer Lands accosted me, pointed to my hip, and said “What’s all this?” to which I replied “It is my handgun, sir.” I was with my girlfriend, and she began to get nervous. I was polite but firm, and told the officer that I was unaware I was doing anything wrong. He told me I “didn’t have any common sense” and that “people don’t do” what I was doing. Other than carrying a gun openly, which is my right under federal and North Carolina law, I was simply helping my girlfriend shop for new summer clothing. As a matter of fact, I mentioned to him, I know some people who do what I am doing. I told him I was unaware it was against any rule, to which he replied that there is a rule against it. I asked him why it wasn’t posted. He said “It’s posted everywhere.” I asked him to show me, and he simply replied “No. You know, I don’t like your attitude tonight. At all.” I had my hands well above my midsection and was not speaking loudly, yet some security officers flanked me. The officer was speaking loudly and his body language suggested he was upset. In short, it created quite a scene and shook up my girlfriend, who after all had merely come into your establishment to enjoy shopping for some clothing. The officer and a young man who works for you, named Shaw, told me I was required to leave.
I went out into the parking lot and put my gun in the car. At that point I approached a man in a “Mall Security” SUV and asked him to speak to the two gentlemen who had asked me to leave. This man told me that if I felt I had been treated unfairly, I should get their names. He was very polite, which was a breath of fresh air. That’s what I did; in fact, I had a decent conversation with Officer Lands and felt we saw more eye-to-eye afterward. His personal opinion was that it is unwise to carry a pistol openly in public as a private citizen, which I disagree with. That disagreement is totally irrelevant to any capacity that he has as a police officer to enforce his own private opinion on me. He does not have that capacity, and it is perfectly legal and acceptable in our state to do what I like to do. I am a strong believer in the constitution, including the Second Amendment. If we do not exercise our rights, we lose them. I also believe in the right of private business owners to enforce their own rules. According to Officer Lands and Sgt. Shaw, that is all they were doing. But I would rather hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Shaw claimed that he was acting on some complaints from tenants, which I doubt, since he did not mention it in the mall. In my experience, people do not seem to care about my personal choice to carry a weapon openly. Frankly, I think Officer Lands was having a bad day. He’s not a bad-seeming fellow, and I respect police officers greatly. However, I do not appreciate ad-hoc rules that are made up on the spot to discriminate against me for exercising my rights and embarrassing me and my girlfriend in public.
If there is a rule against weapons in the mall, why is there no signage to announce it? Why have I spoken numerous times with other people who carry a weapon openly in the mall yet don’t share my experience? Are there any other such exceptions to North Carolina law within the mall?
If it is a matter of policy, I understand. I do think it should be posted though. If this is so then I will be taking my business elsewhere, such as Friendly Center, Wendover Center, and other places where I can exercise my constitutional rights without harassment—places where I am entitled to protect myself. And also quite frankly I think that if this rule is enforced strictly, there should be some other rules. It would be nice to go out in the parking lot and not see illegal gambling, disturbances of the peace, and public intoxication. I was even in the food court and witnessed an employee at a restaurant sexually harassing another employee. It was lewd and out in the open with security officers nearby. Unfortunately, while I lost my appetite, the security officers did nothing.
I await your response. It is your choice to enforce any policies you may see fit, and I support your right to do so. However, I as an individual will also exercise my right to spend my money where I see fit. If we do not see eye to eye, I express my regret in advance. If that is the case, you have lost one customer.
Thank you very much for reading this.
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