AnaxImperator
Regular Member
imported post
Ever since returning back Stateside from my 2nd tour in Iraq, I've been wondering about the allowances & restrictions regarding OC in Colorado. I've always considered OC'ing, but due to the rather nebulous nature of trying to track down the applicable laws, I held off on it until I could be absolutely sure that I wouldn't walk across some invisible anti-gunboundary & get popped with a criminal gun charge.
The L.A. Times piece on OC'ing led me to this website, and all my questions and concerns were thereby allayed.
So..... Yesterday I confidently belted-on my Norinco M213 in a Bianchi Accumold, and sallied forth to a pleasant afternoon of plinking at my favorite range. Afterwards I wandered back into town for a bite to eat (plinking always gives me a powerful hunger for ribs), and found myself in a nice BBQ joint. The place was rather empty, aside from a half-dozen other patrons and the wait/cook-staff. Being that this was my first time OC'ing, I kept track of the other patrons & employees as I walked to my table, fully expecting to be the subject of stares & whispers.
I wasn't given even a second glance by any in the establishment, and mymeal was finished without incident.
Upon leaving, I noticed a small art-gallery adjacent to the resteraunt, and that it was open for an exhibition. Being the inquisitive soul that I am, I wandered in to find a setup showcasing the entire body of work by a little 87yr-old lady. The gallery itself was actually a small converted bungalow, with a coffee-bar & tiki-patio located in the back. Attending the exhibition was a dozen or so middle-to-late vintagedhipsters & baby-boomers. Again, I was initiallygiven no more than a passing glance as I wandered through the display rooms.
After making my way to the coffee-bar for a hot cocoa and returning to a particular painting that caught my eye earlier, a middle-aged normal approached and began talking to me about the artist's talents & style. A few minutes of small talk later, and he wandered off, and then was replaced shortly after by a middle-aged woman normal (borderline hipster). And the first thing she said to me was;
"Is that a real gun?"
I gave her a smile, and answered in the affirmative. "Wow. Is that, um... legal?" Again, I answered "yes" politely, gave her a very brief run-down on Colorado's OC laws, and why I carried ("Better to not need it & have it, etc"). And with that, said middle-aged woman proceeded to ask me about my favorite paintings there, and if I liked to paint or draw. After another few minutes of art-related chit-chat she returned to the tiki-patio, and I left for home.
While I was driving home, it struck me that I had wandered into what should have been a den of anti-gun sentiment & ignorance.Of all places whereI would've likely encountered a negative statement or attitude towards my OC, it should've been then & there. Instead, it seemed as ifaside from that one lady, everyone else had simply not noticed that I had alarge, brushed-chrome, 9mm semi-automatic hangun at myhip. And when I was given a comment, it was out of sheer curiosity, rather than fear or anger.
So all in all, my first day OC'ingwas a fine one, and my initial nervousness has evaporated.
Bah.... who needs a CCW?
Ever since returning back Stateside from my 2nd tour in Iraq, I've been wondering about the allowances & restrictions regarding OC in Colorado. I've always considered OC'ing, but due to the rather nebulous nature of trying to track down the applicable laws, I held off on it until I could be absolutely sure that I wouldn't walk across some invisible anti-gunboundary & get popped with a criminal gun charge.
The L.A. Times piece on OC'ing led me to this website, and all my questions and concerns were thereby allayed.
So..... Yesterday I confidently belted-on my Norinco M213 in a Bianchi Accumold, and sallied forth to a pleasant afternoon of plinking at my favorite range. Afterwards I wandered back into town for a bite to eat (plinking always gives me a powerful hunger for ribs), and found myself in a nice BBQ joint. The place was rather empty, aside from a half-dozen other patrons and the wait/cook-staff. Being that this was my first time OC'ing, I kept track of the other patrons & employees as I walked to my table, fully expecting to be the subject of stares & whispers.
I wasn't given even a second glance by any in the establishment, and mymeal was finished without incident.
Upon leaving, I noticed a small art-gallery adjacent to the resteraunt, and that it was open for an exhibition. Being the inquisitive soul that I am, I wandered in to find a setup showcasing the entire body of work by a little 87yr-old lady. The gallery itself was actually a small converted bungalow, with a coffee-bar & tiki-patio located in the back. Attending the exhibition was a dozen or so middle-to-late vintagedhipsters & baby-boomers. Again, I was initiallygiven no more than a passing glance as I wandered through the display rooms.
After making my way to the coffee-bar for a hot cocoa and returning to a particular painting that caught my eye earlier, a middle-aged normal approached and began talking to me about the artist's talents & style. A few minutes of small talk later, and he wandered off, and then was replaced shortly after by a middle-aged woman normal (borderline hipster). And the first thing she said to me was;
"Is that a real gun?"
I gave her a smile, and answered in the affirmative. "Wow. Is that, um... legal?" Again, I answered "yes" politely, gave her a very brief run-down on Colorado's OC laws, and why I carried ("Better to not need it & have it, etc"). And with that, said middle-aged woman proceeded to ask me about my favorite paintings there, and if I liked to paint or draw. After another few minutes of art-related chit-chat she returned to the tiki-patio, and I left for home.
While I was driving home, it struck me that I had wandered into what should have been a den of anti-gun sentiment & ignorance.Of all places whereI would've likely encountered a negative statement or attitude towards my OC, it should've been then & there. Instead, it seemed as ifaside from that one lady, everyone else had simply not noticed that I had alarge, brushed-chrome, 9mm semi-automatic hangun at myhip. And when I was given a comment, it was out of sheer curiosity, rather than fear or anger.
So all in all, my first day OC'ingwas a fine one, and my initial nervousness has evaporated.
Bah.... who needs a CCW?