Haven't OC

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Hi,I have been lurking around the board. I am glad to see fellow Americans areexercising their right to OC. Myself, I have my CPL for Washington State and am ex military. I carry concealed on a regular basis and find it appalling at the strife that OC people come across when they shouldn't. Kudos to you that OC, for me I do like to have my weapon available but haven't found a comfort level of carrying OC. I am curious what makes folks decide to OC? as I am sure lots of you have been where I am at.

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Welcome aboard, glad to have the support of another fellow Washingtonian.

It can be a daunting thought to O.C. I did it because I have always wanted to and was determined to be active about a cause I believe in. I started slowly carried at home and then to some freinds homes, then to stores I researched through this site that are open carry freindly. Now I pretty much open carry everywhere, except for a few places. I found that 99% of the time I am not bothered at all.

And the few times I have been it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. Having the confidence that what I am doing is right and a support group of the fine people on this site helps out a lot.

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I have always felt the need to go armed where ever I go, just for a safety issue. I was once impressed when young and in the military when a friend and I were passing through a truck stop between Phoenix and Tucson where I saw a teen girl and here dad in the checkout line both OCing large caliber revolvers. In New Mexico I OCed for work when I was a security guard, but didn't know OC was ok for regular folks too. Once I got here to WA I didn't really knew about personal carry laws here so I didn't think about it. At first I just went to work and home and since I lived a few blocks from work, I walked most of the time. Once I moved to Seattle though, I got my CPL and started to CC. Then I met these OC guys who had a table at a Puyallup WAC show and I learned it was ok to OC in WA. :celebrate

Since then I have OCed. Not much at first, but slowly more and more. Now I only CC when it's not warm enough for me to go without a jacket. I also CC when I just want to not display it at all. Usually though I OC. I think it adds a bit of security to the surrounding area. It's one thing for a criminal to think someone might be armed, but it's something else for them to KNOW someone is armed and watching.

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I learned about OC'ing from a friend of mine, and didn't believe it at first.

Now I've been OC'ing most of the time that I am out on personal business, especially when I am riding my motorcycle. I have had a few bad experiences, and that does make you think twice about the practice. I.E. Is it worth it, etc.

In the beginning I carried openly because it was my right, but I've found that there are other motivations as well. Educating others on gun rights is important to me. The longer I do this the more impact I feel it will have with the people I meet.

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Even though I haven't been carrying for to long, maybe 4-5 months tops, it didn't take me to long till I started to OC. The whole reason I started to OC some was partly because I thought it would be a good way to educate people that not all people that have guns are bad guys. The second and slightly annoying reason I started to OC is that ether all my pants or shrinking or my waist is growing because that IWB holster is starting to make things a little uncomfortable now days. Personaly I blame the pants.:?

Anyways, you should try to OC, find somewhere comfortable and take a small trip. Besides getting a little nervous you should find that no one cares. If you want to really stress yourself out do what I did, I went to wallmart for my first OC by myself when it was packed.:lol:

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cdjspider wrote:

If you want to really stress yourself out do what I did, I went to wallmart for my first OC by myself when it was packed.:lol:

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Me too!! To buy ammo!!!

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Hello everyone



I am new to carrying a gun but not to guns. Are you guys saying that it is legal for me to carry my gun on the outside of my belt where everyone can see it

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I don't really like to be the center of attention, so CC is my default, but I do OC occasionally. Usually when I do, it's because I walked out of the door with my OWB holster thinking that I will need a jacket for the day, but then it gets way warmer than I thought. But I will OC if the mood strikes me, or I don't feel like wearing my $12.00 crap IWB holster and want to wear my Blackhawk Serpa. The times that I do OC, I'm surprised at the lack of reaction from anyone. I'm always expecting someone to freak, but has never happened.

We had an OC meet at Puyallup last summer at a library. One of the first times I OCed. It was to support a member after an unfortunate encounter with the police. It was a lot of fun, and we had some good food! It was kinda funny to see a couple of police cars having a little pow-wow to try and figure out what if anything to do about all us armed folk.

OCing with others was a great way to establish that first level of comfort in OCing. I'm sure there are members that would be happy to meet up with you to start ya off OCing, or we could have an OC gathering nearby just for the heck of it. (We don't have to wait for something bad to happen before we get together after all)

ETA: In response to skrivanich, If you are not legally restricted from carrying a gun, yes! A state law to pay attention to is RCW 9.41.270, which says we can't carry in a way that "warrants" alarm. Note that it does not say "cause". There has to be a justifiable reason someone would be alarmed for their saftey, and simply carrying in the open has been ruled to not warrant alarm as per State vs Casad.

Also, no loaded gun in any vehicle unless you have a CPL.

Disclamer: I am not a lawyer! Read and understand all the applicable laws!

Links:

RCW 9.41.270: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.270

State vs Casad: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=wa&vol=2007_app/353334MAJ&invol=4

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skrivanich wrote:

Hello everyone



I am new to carrying a gun but not to guns. Are you guys saying that it is legal for me to carry my gun on the outside of my belt where everyone can see it

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Yes, that's exactly what we are telling you. Read the FAQ's that are at the top of the forum page for our state. When you have questions after that, ask and everyone here will help you.

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j2l3 wrote:

skrivanich wrote:

Hello everyone

 

I am new to carrying a gun but not to guns.  Are you guys saying that it is legal for me to carry my gun on the outside of my belt where everyone can see it

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Yes, that's exactly what we are telling you.  Read the FAQ's that are at the top of the forum page for our state.  When you have questions after that, ask and everyone here will help you.

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Also go over to http://nwcdl.org and have a look at the downloads. They have training bulletins that have been issued by LEO agencies, court cases, and gun rights pamphlets.

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skrivanich wrote:

Hello everyone



I am new to carrying a gun but not to guns. Are you guys saying that it is legal for me to carry my gun on the outside of my belt where everyone can see it

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Personally, If you want a quick run down of a states gun laws check here http://www.handgunlaw.us/ . This is were I learned most about gun laws and the fact that we could OC in WA. All you got to do is click on your state one the map

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thank you everyone for your replies. I just always assumed that you could not be showing your weapon. I have a cpl so I will tryit soon and see how it feels

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diesel556 wrote:

Now I've been OC'ing most of the time that I am out on personal business, especially when I am riding my motorcycle. I have had a few bad experiences, and that does make you think twice about the practice. I.E. Is it worth it, etc.

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Not to steal the thread, but have you had any specific issues OCing while on a motorcycle? Seems like it'd be making a big target and even bigger one in the eyes of some LEOs.

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skrivanich wrote:

thank you everyone for your replies. I just always assumed that you could not be showing your weapon. I have a cpl so I will tryit soon and see how it feels

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Many people assume the same thing. Like John Pierce one of the founders of this site stated "Open carry is like gun owners coming out of the closet" ( or something very similar to this I am going by memory here). United States is still very much an armed society, but guns have been so demonized by media and politicians that the very sight of them now upsets some people. One of my goals is to get people used them and hence take the shock value out of seeing it out of the equation.

Washington state has a very high percentage of CPL holders, so there are certainly a lot of armed people walking around and shopping at stores and going about their business. I prefer to have it out in the open I am armed I feel it would help prevent problems, and make it less likely that I would have to use it to defend myself.

Open carry has always been the right granted to us by the 2nd Ammendment. Cpl was the priveledge hence the liscensing requirements. Many including myself believe that that should be a right too. The state of Alaska for example has no such requirements.

Welcome aboard to this site and hope to have you join us in excercising our rights.

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Metalhead47 wrote:

Not to steal the thread, but have you had any specific issues OCing while on a motorcycle? Seems like it'd be making a big target and even bigger one in the eyes of some LEOs.

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I am hopefully going to try this summer. Definately get a CPL since a motorcycle is considered a vehicle. Also make sure following all state laws when it comes to motorcycles. Because probably will become a target in my opinion. I haven't tried it yet so that might not be the case at all. Especially with all the training bulletins that have gone out from the efforts of those on this site.

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sudden valley gunner wrote:

Metalhead47 wrote:

Not to steal the thread, but have you had any specific issues OCing while on a motorcycle? Seems like it'd be making a big target and even bigger one in the eyes of some LEOs.

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I am hopefully going to try this summer. Definately get a CPL since a motorcycle is considered a vehicle. Also make sure following all state laws when it comes to motorcycles. Because probably will become a target in my opinion. I haven't tried it yet so that might not be the case at all. Especially with all the training bulletins that have gone out from the efforts of those on this site.

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Still don't get that whole "You need a CPL to OC in a vehicle thing." Sure you can go around all day wearing a loaded gun in plain sight. But you'll have to walk there:quirky

Still a little too cold to try the motorcycle OC yet, but it begs the thread:
:celebrateOC group ride! :celebrate

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Yea I don't feel it should be necessary either but it is against the law same goes for bicycle. It isn't concealed obviously but, since when does laws have to make sense.

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Metalhead47 wrote:

Not to steal the thread, but have you had any specific issues OCing while on a motorcycle? Seems like it'd be making a big target and even bigger one in the eyes of some LEOs.

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There is something about a sport bike driving next to them that makes some young males want to show off. I have noticed that these young males have generally ceased such dangerous activities since I began carrying, which is needless to say appreciated.
My wife tells me she has seen a few :what: at stop lights while on her own bike behind me while I am OC'ing.

The other day my wife and I were downtown at a stop light, in front of city hall. I happened to be parked right in front of the parking exit, and there happened to be a female officer sitting at that exit waiting to merge into traffic. Either she didn't notice the black 10mm pressed against my flashy red/white jacket or she didn't care.

All in all I find OC'ing on the bike to be even easier than OC'ing on foot.

I do of course carry my audio recorder with me at all times while riding.

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Metalhead47 wrote:

Still a little too cold to try the motorcycle OC yet, but it begs the thread:
:celebrateOC group ride! :celebrate

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That would be a lot of fun.

We've had a few gorgeous riding days already.

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diesel556 wrote:

Metalhead47 wrote:

Still a little too cold to try the motorcycle OC yet, but it begs the thread:
:celebrateOC group ride! :celebrate

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That would be a lot of fun.

We've had a few gorgeous riding days already.

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OK when? Just need to make sure someone is monitoring a scanner so we can all hear about the "armed motorcycle gang" later:shock: