imported post
In honor of the National Open Carry weekend/day whatever, I have ditched my normal CC rig and officially went Open Carry! :celebrate
On the 4thI went to Safeway in Renton. I put gas in the car and picked up some supplies for our cookout. No questions or hassles. During the daywe had several of our friends stop by and hang out. One friend, who I was a bit concerned abouteven telling that I have a gun, let alone,carry, didn't notice the gun on my hip for over 30 minutes.(We live on different ends of the political spectrum) But, once he noticed, he was really cool about it. We talked about it and he wants to go shooting.
Yesterday I went to Office Depot in Kent (by HWY167) to get a replacement toner for my printer. The store was almost empty. An employee came over and helped me find the right one since I couldn't remember which model I had. At the check out there were 3 employees and another customer, not one comment or weird look.
Today I went to run some errandsat Lowe's and Bed, Bath & Beyond withmy 11-month-old son was in tow.
I had to get a couple hand tools and some moss killer (it justwon'tdie)at Lowes. I pretty much walked the entire store with no problems. I passed numerous employees and not a single comment. Many of them smiled and waved at my son, who isMr. Social (he really hams it up for strangers).
After that we ran to the Bed, Bath and Beyond for some returns and pick up a few picture frames.
The lady at the return counter was really helpful. We had to wait for a few minutes a price check on one of the returns. The entire time she was flirting with the boy and I tried to get him to demonstrate his new walking skills. After the return I went and grabbed the items I needed.
When we came back up front the same lady that helped with the return offered to ring us out. As I was waiting for her to get the total, another employee (I don't know if she was the manager) came over and asked if I was off-duty. I politely responded that I was not a police officer and that open carry is legal in Washington. She responded that she was not aware of that. I handed her a copy of the "Washington State Gun Rights" brochure and said that there was a national effort to raise awareness of gun rights and that this was a way to spread the word. I added that many people choose to carry, but often it is concealed and that it is a personal decision, but it is important to be educated.
The funny thing is that the lady who helped us and was playing with my son, actually didn'tnoticemy gun until the other employee asked me about it. She commented that she would have been scared hadshe seen it earlier. I gave her a brochure too and toldher thatIhave beensurprised how many people don'tnotice.
This wasgood weekend. Having a cute baby as my wing-man doesn't hurt either.
In honor of the National Open Carry weekend/day whatever, I have ditched my normal CC rig and officially went Open Carry! :celebrate
On the 4thI went to Safeway in Renton. I put gas in the car and picked up some supplies for our cookout. No questions or hassles. During the daywe had several of our friends stop by and hang out. One friend, who I was a bit concerned abouteven telling that I have a gun, let alone,carry, didn't notice the gun on my hip for over 30 minutes.(We live on different ends of the political spectrum) But, once he noticed, he was really cool about it. We talked about it and he wants to go shooting.
Yesterday I went to Office Depot in Kent (by HWY167) to get a replacement toner for my printer. The store was almost empty. An employee came over and helped me find the right one since I couldn't remember which model I had. At the check out there were 3 employees and another customer, not one comment or weird look.
Today I went to run some errandsat Lowe's and Bed, Bath & Beyond withmy 11-month-old son was in tow.
I had to get a couple hand tools and some moss killer (it justwon'tdie)at Lowes. I pretty much walked the entire store with no problems. I passed numerous employees and not a single comment. Many of them smiled and waved at my son, who isMr. Social (he really hams it up for strangers).
After that we ran to the Bed, Bath and Beyond for some returns and pick up a few picture frames.
The lady at the return counter was really helpful. We had to wait for a few minutes a price check on one of the returns. The entire time she was flirting with the boy and I tried to get him to demonstrate his new walking skills. After the return I went and grabbed the items I needed.
When we came back up front the same lady that helped with the return offered to ring us out. As I was waiting for her to get the total, another employee (I don't know if she was the manager) came over and asked if I was off-duty. I politely responded that I was not a police officer and that open carry is legal in Washington. She responded that she was not aware of that. I handed her a copy of the "Washington State Gun Rights" brochure and said that there was a national effort to raise awareness of gun rights and that this was a way to spread the word. I added that many people choose to carry, but often it is concealed and that it is a personal decision, but it is important to be educated.
The funny thing is that the lady who helped us and was playing with my son, actually didn'tnoticemy gun until the other employee asked me about it. She commented that she would have been scared hadshe seen it earlier. I gave her a brochure too and toldher thatIhave beensurprised how many people don'tnotice.
This wasgood weekend. Having a cute baby as my wing-man doesn't hurt either.
