Happy Ending

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I've had a few people here in Oak Harbor ask me about it. Some people are actually interested, others feel uncomfortable and complain to store associates (who then ask me about it), and others turn and leave.



Other than that I haven't had any problems while OC. :celebrate

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compmanio365 wrote:

Mountainman, welcome to OCDO! What you were told about OC being construed as brandishing is absolutely incorrect. I assume this person was misinformed, which is a common occurrence. It is also one of the reasons we OC, to educate and inform. OC cannot be construed as brandishing as long as you have the pistol secured in a holster. It would only become brandishing if you removed the pistol from it's holster in a situation that did not require self defense.
(BTW, are you actually in Washington? If so, feel free to show up to the monthly dinners; we get together about once a month to meet and chat and to raise awareness about OC at the same time. Also, you can put your location in your profile so we get a better idea of where fellow OCers are in the state.)

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Thanks for the welcome! I've been reading here for awhile, but hadn't taken the time to register. I spend a lot of time over on Bladeforums, and more lately on Candlepowerforums, as well (same username).

My friend Kyle (the Skagit County SO) is a great guy, and has a really good attitude towards people carrying guns. I'm concerned that though his attitude may not accurately reflect the law, it is the attitude of an officer of the law, and likely the attitude taken by his department.

I don't expect to start carrying openly around town, but I would prefer to carry openly while hiking on Blanchard Mountain and other places around here. Have you had experience with carrying out in the woods? Do people give you more or less raised eyebrows out-of-doors?

I'd think people out hiking would be more comfortable with me carrying a tool of self-defense openly, but then again there are a lot of VERY liberal people around the Bellingham area. I've gotten into some pretty heated discussions with coworkers over the need to carry a gun (or even defend oneself), which is not too heartening.

Thanks again for the welcome!

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heresolong wrote:

sudden valley gunner wrote:

Mountainman38 wrote:

What is law enforcements attitude toward open carry in Bellingham? An S.O. I know in Burlington told me that while OC is legal, I should be very careful as it could be considered brandishing.

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We are going to test this attitude here in Bellingham when it warms up especially if you look at thethread for what happened in a city park.

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Before we get too hot and heavy with our tests, however, keep in mind that the city park issue was resolved, the police know what the law is, the city council repealed the illegal ordinance, etc. We don't really need to go around making a point or testing attitudes as we already know there isn't a problem. I appreciate your enthusiasm, SVG, but you might want to keep reading for a while before you start coming up with solutions to problems that don't appear to exist.

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Ok Iwasn't trying to make it a big ordeal, but if you watch the videos of the Bellingham council people they think if the gun is not concealed it is brandishing, so by no means is it settled. And again what is wrong with testing? If I am within my rights and am harrassed by openly carrying then the officers and people are in need of education.Maybe you need to not be so condenscending to someone who is interested in furthering the cause? Just because you been on this site longer you are more knowledgable? I have appreciated your comments in here but I think you are a little off on you comment here. Maybe "test" was the wrong choice of words.I will correct myself we are going to excercise our open carry rights in a public park and see what peoples reactions are.Nobody said they are going to brandish a weapon but we merely discussed taking a video camera to a park and see what peoples reactions were. I never said I had any solutions to anything, I don't know how much time you spend in Bellingham area being way up there in Blaine but I have spent a lot of time here and have seen people's unreasonable reactions to many things in this extremely politically correcttown. I never tried to offend anyone and I hope you don't take these words as an attack on you personally I'm sure you are a great person and I'll have fun enjoying a beer with you if I get a chance to get to one of the group meetings. By the way I am actually leary of being the one with the gun and dealing with the cops and was more interested in being the videographer.

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Ok, I went and looked at the thread now I am confused you are the one who said you would'nt mind carrying in the park when I brought it up to be video taped. Did you have a change of heart?

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I would say I obviously get less double takes and such when out in the woods, simply because there is less people about to see it. And when you are out camping, etc, I think it is expected from people. But I rarely have any negative reactions to OC even in say, a crowded store full of people. Most simply don't notice, or see and then go about their business, with whatever preconceptions they have that I might be an LEO or whatever. The few that do come up to me and want to talk are usually inquisitive, and I have talked to many people like this.

The conversation rarely is negative, and you usually can tell right away if the person is confrontational or not; in those cases, I simply end the conversation sooner rather than later and go about my business. Usually that confuses the person more than anything else and I never hear anything else about it. Usually, the person is simply curious, and I have had many stimulating discussions with random people in the checkout line, many of which are amazed to hear OC is legal and available to anyone who can own a firearm in the first place.

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+1 to everything companio said, with the exception of the fact that I don't go hiking in the woods.

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I need pipe insulation and due to happy endings post, guess where I am going.

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sudden valley gunner wrote:

Ok, I went and looked at the thread now I am confused you are the one who said you would'nt mind carrying in the park when I brought it up to be video taped. Did you have a change of heart?

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Nope. I have no issues with openly carrying my firearm anywhere in Washington. I have openly carried in numerous areas of Bellingham and Whatcom County and I would be more than happy to show up for a picnic or just to sit in a park and read my book.

My point with the previous comments is that you make it sound like you are headed out for a confrontation. You said that you were going to be "testing" police reactions. My point is merely that I don't believe that we actually need to test police reactions as that issue has been settled here. What is more important, in my opinion, is that we continue to educate people so that they don't react negatively anymore. We do this by continuing to open carry, by answering questions when asked, by providing information to the citizenry, and be reacting appropriately when inappropriately challenged by law enforcement, government, citizens, etc.

I didn't mean to be condescending and I don't think I have all the answers but I did notice that your posts as a brand new member of the forum have seemed to indicate that you think there is a huge problem in Whatcom County and we have to address it. I have not seen a huge problem or much of any problem for that matter. That is the only reason I suggested that you read more before jumping to solve a problem that I don't think exists.

As far as getting together for coffee or a beer I would love to. I am out of town until after Christmas but am off all next week so maybe we could get together then at your convenience and weather permitting. Send me a PM.

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Ok I can see the confusion, no I am not for heading out for confrontation. And agree with what you say about educating people. I don't know how you get that I think its a huge problem I have posted that I havent had any negative encounters yet here in the county, but I also haven't carried in certain areas. The only thing I think you might have gathered that from is this thread that is dealing with whatcom county counsel people, and I do believe they have a huge problem with it, and it was obvious by the video, they think that its only o.k. to carry in a park if its concealed, from what I gathered and please correct me if I am wrong, it sounded like they felt if it can be seen its considered brandishing. I feel that everytime we open carry we are testing peoples reactions, the same as everytime we right or say something we are testing free speech. I don't mean it to be confrontational, but if it is I would love to be able to video tape it with all confidence that members of open carry website are not the instigators or the ones being confrontational, and this would be a good tool to show general public we aren't hot heads or crazy gun nuts that so many people like those in the counsel meeting believe. O.K. I am rambling but I am mostly agreeing with your views and points on the previous post, and to reiterate I am not a combative person but can be defensive.