Open Carry outings in SC?

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I know that OC is prohibited by statute in SC, but there are some notable exceptions. One of those exceptions is while heading to or from hunting or fishing.

I see OC outings (such as picnics) being held in other states.
Has anyone thought about planning an OC outing in SC and combining the gathering with fishing at a lake somewhere? Perhaps there is a way to have a combination "picnic & fish fry" where everyone present has a fishing license, rod & reel, and OC.

Maybe inform the local LEO organization ahead of time to make sure things stay friendly & open.

Just an idea....

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I POSTED A MESSAGE IN ANOTHER FORUM PROBALY THE WRONG ONE .

GAME LAWS DO ALLOW YOU TO OC . WE COULDFISH AND OC IN A STATE PARK SOMEWHERE..WHY WOULD WE NEED TO LET LEO KNOW ABOUT SOMETHING THAT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL? JUST HAVE YOUR FISHING LICENSE AND A ROD & REEL AND YOU ARE SET. JUST DON'T MAKE IT A PUBLIC GATHERING,JUST A FEW OFUS (FREINDS) ,GUITE A FEW..

I'M IN

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M&P.40 wrote:

WE COULDFISH AND OC IN A STATE PARK SOMEWHERE..WHY WOULD WE NEED TO LET LEO KNOW ABOUT SOMETHING THAT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL? JUST HAVE YOUR FISHING LICENSE AND A ROD & REEL AND YOU ARE SET. JUST DON'T MAKE IT A PUBLIC GATHERING,JUST A FEW OFUS (FREINDS) , QUITE A FEW..

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Informing the local cops would depend on your reason for having the gathering. If it is "just a few friends" then no, you wouldn't necessarily NEED to inform the cops. But let just ONE sheeple see y'all and make a panicky "men with guns in the park" call to the cops and see what happens. Even in a "just a few friends" gathering, giving the LEOs a heads-up will minimize problems that could arise.

But if the goal is OC activism and getting lots of uninformed people (cops, media, citizens) used to someone open carrying (without panic), then this outing should be 1. Planned, 2. Cops informed, 3. Media informed, 4. Well advertised, so more of the Pro-Gun public can participate.

I was thinking more of this type of scenario. If you ever want OC to pass in SC, you'll first need to "desensitize" a large part of the general population to OC. If that is the goal, doing this just ONE time won't cut it either. But starting off in a gun friendly area is probably a good idea. Let the first one be widely reported by the media, and make sure nothing goes wrong. Make it a peaceful, friendly gathering of family, friends, children. Then other groups around the state will follow suit.

Santee Canal state park in Moncks Corner is right on the water. I think it has picnic tables & docks to fish from. That might be a good possibility. I'm sure in there are plenty more good places all over our state.

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I think this is a great idea, but it would have to take place somewhere that has a lot of people otherwise it would be more or less pointless. You can't desensitize the general population if they're nowhere to be seen or to see us.

All that being said, I don’t fish, but I can sure get a license and maybe a “Barbie fishing pole” and show up with my wife who does fish and would love the chance to open carry. The question is, can we get anyone else to show up, get the support of Grass Roots Gun Rights and hopefully get some media coverage?

If there’s anything I can do to help move this along, please PM me or e-mail scopencarry@hotmail.com .

Thanks.

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hp-hobo wrote:

You can't desensitize the general population if they're nowhere to be seen or to see us.

The question is, can we get anyone else to show up, get the support of Grass Roots Gun Rights and hopefully get some media coverage?

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The reason for point #3 above (Media informed) is to inform the public of what we are doing and to create a buzz about the topic. Even if the general public doesn't attend, they should be discussing it in their homes.

Everyone who attends should have a fishing license and a pole IF they plan to OC.

GrassRoots GunRights supports everything that moves SC gun rights in a positive direction.

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1swellguy wrote:

The reason for point #3 above (Media informed) is to inform the public of what we are doing and to create a buzz about the topic. Even if the general public doesn't attend, they should be discussing it in their homes.

Everyone who attends should have a fishing license and a pole IF they plan to OC.

GrassRoots GunRights supports everything that moves SC gun rights in a positive direction.

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I respectfully disagree on two points;

1. While I agree 100% that media coverage is absolutely necessary, you can’t count on that coverage being good or fair. Once they come out and take our pictures and talk to us, the story can be published in the newspaper or shown on TV and slanted to support their point of view. I don’t think it’s a secret that the mainstream media is more likely than not to be anti-gun, or at least not pro-gun. Having the event in a busy location would allow a larger number of people to see for themselves that we’re not mad dog killers.

2. While a lot of people watch TV, most don’t pay attention to anything that doesn’t directly affect them or involve reality shows/sports/sex. And we all know that newspapers are rapidly becoming extinct due to lack of readership. The best way to get people to talk about something is if they, or at least someone they know, directly experiences it. Again, that means real live person to person contact. I’m guessing that’s one reason that Grass Roots has tables at gun shows instead of TV and newspaper advertising.

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Yes, you are correct about the media. We should have no illusion that they would give us coverage even close to "fair." But we can use their anti-gun bias against them with an OC outing like this one.

Some of these news outlets would come out to the event specifically because their bias makes them think something bad will happen. After all, these guys are "gun nuts" right? (blood in the streets, etc., etc.) When they tell everyone via TV and newspapers "what these gun nuts are planning to do next month," all the sheeple will avoid the event, and the pro-gun public will be ok with it. When the event takes place and nothing bad happens, what can the media say then? How do they spin the event as bad when it turned out to be a big yawn (for them) with no shootings?
:lol: We win!

Plan the event for a good location that can handle a lot of people, then let the media and law enforcement know about it approximately a month in advance, and let it take off. (Maybe even get together and plan multiple gatherings around the state simultaneously?) When everything goes off without a hitch, it will be an example we can show our lawmakers that OC is nothing to worry about.

As an aside - GrassRoots has tables at gun shows because the gun show promoters give them to us for free. They know that we draw lots of responsible gun owners in to their shows. Many of our members come to a show knowing they can visit our booth and pay their dues to renew membership. Folks expect us to be there.

Frankly, I'd be ok with advertising on certain talk radio shows and in some of the smaller, local newspapers, but not in the big papers like The State or the Post & Courier. But so far we just haven't done that. We get most of our members from word of mouth through gun shows, gun stores, gun ranges, and CWP instructors. The website (http://www.SCFirearms.org) and The Defender newspaper bring us a steady stream of new and renewing members also.

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Im gonna bump this because H3003 is filed and even though there may be some issues with it we should be working to get OC going in SC.

I think we have a really good idea here to get us started. If our leaders at GRGRSC find issues with the bill we can work to get it changed but we need OC in SC.

It would be a wonderful thing to start planning these outings which could also function as an GRGRSC meeting. This would get non GRGRSC members there to see what were about and hear the message maybe.

I love the idea. It wont hurt us but could help tremendously.

Great idea. Lets get our heads around it and do it.

I havent fished in SC but Ill buy the license and some poles and be there.

Furthermore, I am thrilled to hear that GRGRSC supports "everything" with regards to our gun rights.

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I have open carried my holster many a time, due to laws forbidding me to carry into an establishment (and the holster was too much trouble to take of for 15 mins or lunch) ...



The holster alone is something that gets attention. I think it makes them wonder where the gun is...

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340mopar wrote:

I have open carried my holster many a time, due to laws forbidding me to carry into an establishment (and the holster was too much trouble to take of for 15 mins or lunch) ...



The holster alone is something that gets attention. I think it makes them wonder where the gun is...

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Me too. As a matter of fact I went in the post office yesterday with my fobus holster in plain view and I don't think anyone even noticed.

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Were gonna need some help on the OC activism front. Please use Mikes press release and hit the papers tomorrow. Ask them to reference the site here and the petition as Mike has asked.

We should be able to get the numbers up shortly.

Tomorrow Im going to talk to a few radio stations for ad rates and Im pretty sure I can get on the morning show with one of the stations in Florence as Ive been on there several times with the music thing I do. I know the program director well.

That should give us a good 5-15 minutes of airtime right there. I may be able to get on there a few times in the next month or so.

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Wear a holster and mags in plain veiw and keep the gun concealed in another holster IWB .