Could I be charged with a different crime Such as Disturbing the peace, or Inciting a riot?

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Smoothsounds21 wrote:

So should I not carry in GR. Maybe just outside. I live on Alpine and 9 mile. So I stay in the area mostly. I wonder how Sparta cops would take it?

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People do carry in GR, it's just that some of the LEO do not like private citizens who exercise their rights. We actually had lunch a few months back at Arnnie's on Lenard NW, and last year had a picnic in John Ball Park, both with no incident. It isn't like GRPD is "out to get OC'ers", it's just important that you not only know the law and your rights, but also that you know how to appropriately assert your rights. That goes for any where, not just GR.

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Like Kimberguy told me, it's in most of us to be polite and cooperate, but if you are going to decide to OC you kinda have to be a dick!

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Like Kimberguy told me, it's in most of us to be polite and cooperate, but if you are going to decide to OC you kinda have to be a dick!

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T Vance wrote:

Like Kimberguy told me, it's in most of us to be polite and cooperate, but if you are going to decide to OC you kinda have to be a dick!

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It isn't being a dick to hold people professional accountable. (We've got to stop this mindset.) Too many times I hear references to holding a LEO professionaly accountable as "giving them an attitude". This is more than ridiculuous, it is abominable. It's abominable because it means that we as a society, and LE as a whole has come to not only accept, but has come to expect that infringement of our rights. There is somethign seriously sick and wrong with that mindset, and IMHO it is a result of the social re-engineering that has been taking place in this country for generations.

You don't have to, "be a dick" to assert your rights. You can do so in a professional manner.

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T Vance wrote:

Like Kimberguy told me, it's in most of us to be polite and cooperate, but if you are going to decide to OC you kinda have to be a dick!

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So important, worth saying twice!!!!

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ghostrider wrote:

T Vance wrote:

Like Kimberguy told me, it's in most of us to be polite and cooperate, but if you are going to decide to OC you kinda have to be a dick!

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It isn't being a dick to hold people professional accountable. (We've got to stop this mindset.) Too many times I hear references to holding a LEO professionaly accountable as "giving them an attitude". This is more than ridiculuous, it is abominable. It's abominable because it means that we as a society, and LE as a whole has come to not only accept, but has come to expect that infringement of our rights. There is somethign seriously sick and wrong with that mindset, and IMHO it is a result of the social re-engineering that has been taking place in this country for generations.

You don't have to, "be a dick" to assert your rights. You can do so in a professional manner.

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I agree.

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ghostrider wrote:

T Vance wrote:

Like Kimberguy told me, it's in most of us to be polite and cooperate, but if you are going to decide to OC you kinda have to be a dick!

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. . . You don't have to, "be a dick" to assert your rights. You can do so in a professional manner.

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+1. Ghostrider is right, T Vance is wrong. Responsible gun carriers are polite, not dicks in any way, while asserting their rights. I do hope anyone who OC's keeps that in mind please. Rememberyour manners:"please", "thank you", "sir", "ma'am" while answering or declining to answer questions and asking if you are being detained or free to go. Politely keeping government agents in their place is nota sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength.

Don't "kinda" be a dick. Be polite. Don't let anyone else's attitude you encounter dictate your own. Please.

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Since if a cop wants he can charge me with whatever he wants. I think if your a dick then they would be more apt to be a dick to you. I also want to be a good example of the OC civilians for the police, so that the next one of you is not harassed. I think I can do a good job being polite, while at the same time keeping my rights in the officers minds.

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Well I was polite and they still are trying to nail me to a cross.

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T Vance wrote:

Well I was polite and they still are trying to nail me to a cross.

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Yeah, I wouldn't expect cops to be polite. I wouldn't even expect them to be professional (if they detain you for carrying a gun, since that is a violation of Terry, then they are not being professional).

Like DanM said, Don't let their negative attitude or actions dictate your own.

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Welcome Smoothsounds, I have no negative interaction with Sparta LEO's to report on ,but last August I did have an encounter with Kent County officers in Sparta during the Moving Wall display. I was detained, I feel, wrongly for OCing and hold a certain Detctive and another female officer in the KCSD in low esteem to this day. A detective should know the law and apply it justly but this officer and another were lowered to Opinion Inforcement Officers on that day. Be careful in Kent County.springerdave.

sp.

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Smoothsounds21 wrote:

So should I not carry in GR. Maybe just outside. I live on Alpine and 9 mile. So I stay in the area mostly. I wonder how Sparta cops would take it?

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Welcome smoothsounds21,

As you will find reading the posts in the MI section, some of us have never had an issue and some of us have. Unfortunately, having met a few of the members that have I can honestly say they are the most unassuming people that you would ever care to meet. I can't fathom what logical reason existed to treat them as they were.

I openly carry almost 100% of the time with no issues. I carry in various stores on Alpine at least once a week; I've never even been asked about the pistol on my side during these trips. Perhaps the people at Walmart thought you were me? Maybe the looks you mentioned were just the thought, "what is HE doing here again, he was just here an hour ago? :lol:

Just tonight I was at "Chuck E Cheese" on Alpine, it was my son's 5th Bday today. I used to worry about what people thought or that I would be harassed... especially at an establishment devoted to children. Glad to tell you that I did not have any issues at all. Well, I did have to move my holster to the side a bit when I attempted to try my hand at one of the "sit down" games. I actually removed the whole holster with the pistol and moved it over a bit. I carry a G23 which, while no side cannon, is not "discrete" either. No one cared. Later, an older woman did ask me for directions to avoid road construction on I-96. I told her and as she walked away she said, "Thanks officer". As if any PD wears cargo shorts, a blue polo-type shirt, and sandals for a uniform...:banghead: Oh well, she ran away too fast for me to correct her.

As others have said, read and follow the law and you should be fine, especially if you also have a CPL (not a problem if you don't, though). Exceptional incidents do take place but they are becoming rarer.

BTW, when I first started OCing, I carried at the Cedar Springs Farmer's Supply every week on my way to an appointment just west of Cedar. I never had an issue.