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http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/01/bn01guns-open-carry/?northcounty
Related Terms:Escondido,Los Angeles,San Marcos,Starbucks
'Open-carry' gun advocates pack heat at Escondido mall
By Angela Lau
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
4:36 p.m. September 1, 2009
Bud Lentz of San Marcos, who participated in Tuesday's "open carry" event, has his gun checked by police Sgt. David Cramer. The group told police beforehand they would be carrying unloaded weapons. - John Gastaldo / Union-Tribune
ESCONDIDO – A group of gun advocates openly carried their unloaded firearms to an Escondido mall Tuesday afternoon.
Many of the patrons at nearby restaurants said their actions were intimidating.
“I don't like it. This ain't the wild, wild west,” said James L. Higgins III of Vista.
His nephew, Kareem Higgins, also of Vista, agreed.
“Guns represent life and death,” he said. “They're about having power over others. It's overkill.”
The six men and two women, ages 24 to 77, drank some beverages from Starbucks at the Signature Pavilion on West Valley Parkway and left after an uneventful hour.
The gathering was organized by Escondido Open Carry, founded by Escondido residents Gerald Reaster, 69, and Donna Woods, 77, in response to the growing movement nationwide to openly carry guns.
The movement asserts an individual's right to bear arms under the Second Amendment and the privilege to wear an unloaded gun openly in California.
The group gathered at the mall at 1:45 p.m. One member went into Starbucks and bought coffee and iced tea, which the group drank outside in the courtyard.
Reaster had notified Escondido police beforehand, and Sgt. David Cramer came by to make sure their guns were unloaded. The open-carry participants obliged, and Cramer left shortly after he determined the guns were empty.
“It's great that they called us. Even though it is their right, it is outside the norm,” Cramer said. “I was told to come down here to make sure everyone's rights are protected.”
Blake Nelson, 18, of Los Angeles, here visiting his father at the La Jolla Indian Reservation, was sitting with his skateboard nearby.
“Dude, it's a gun. I definitely feel threatened,” he told a reporter.
John Bibigian, 79, who was drinking a banana smoothie in Starbucks, was among the few who supported the group.
“They have a right to carry a gun if they want,” he said.
Escondido Open Carry plans to attend Cruisin' Grand Friday evening. Cruisin' Grand is a popular hot rod event in downtown Escondido that runs every Friday evening from April until the end of September.
The group also plans to go to Escondido's Farmers Market held downtown on Tuesdays and attend street fairs in Escondido and San Marcos.
Thora Guthrie, CEO of the Downtown Business Association of Escondido, which organizes the annual Cruisin' Grand, is dismayed.
Emphasizing that she spoke for herself, Guthrie said she will not bring her family to the event if Reaster's group attends.
The business association's president Scott Peck was resigned to the fact that the group has the right to go to Cruisin' Grand.
“If it's legal, I really have no opinion on it. It's really a police matter,” Peck said.
Escondido's City Council members reacted to the group's plans with some degree of alarm.
“Oh, boy! He will cause fear among people who don't carry guns,” Councilwoman Olga Diaz said.
Councilman Dick Daniels said he supports them with the expectation that they will behave responsibly.
“I'm a big supporter of the Second Amendment,” he said. “Whether I would walk around with a holster and a gun is another matter.”
Councilman Sam Abed, said he does not support openly carrying firearms.
“I would be comfortable if someone wants to be armed at home to defend themselves, but doing it openly, I'm not sure about that,” he said.
Reaster and Woods said they felt that they needed protection because of their age, and that they needed to draw attention to the fact that personal freedom has eroded over the years. Reaster carries pepper spray with him in addition to his gun.
“I see the means of self-defense as getting a concealed carry permit, but you have to be a politician, movie star, extremely rich, have a connection with police to get a concealed weapons license,” he said.
“I'm not one of these paranoid pistol wavers,” Reaster said. “But the stark reality is that some people have no regard for the law.”
Angela Lau: (760) 737-7575
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/01/bn01guns-open-carry/?northcounty
Related Terms:Escondido,Los Angeles,San Marcos,Starbucks
'Open-carry' gun advocates pack heat at Escondido mall
By Angela Lau
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
4:36 p.m. September 1, 2009
ESCONDIDO – A group of gun advocates openly carried their unloaded firearms to an Escondido mall Tuesday afternoon.
Many of the patrons at nearby restaurants said their actions were intimidating.
“I don't like it. This ain't the wild, wild west,” said James L. Higgins III of Vista.
His nephew, Kareem Higgins, also of Vista, agreed.
“Guns represent life and death,” he said. “They're about having power over others. It's overkill.”
The six men and two women, ages 24 to 77, drank some beverages from Starbucks at the Signature Pavilion on West Valley Parkway and left after an uneventful hour.
The gathering was organized by Escondido Open Carry, founded by Escondido residents Gerald Reaster, 69, and Donna Woods, 77, in response to the growing movement nationwide to openly carry guns.
The movement asserts an individual's right to bear arms under the Second Amendment and the privilege to wear an unloaded gun openly in California.
The group gathered at the mall at 1:45 p.m. One member went into Starbucks and bought coffee and iced tea, which the group drank outside in the courtyard.
Reaster had notified Escondido police beforehand, and Sgt. David Cramer came by to make sure their guns were unloaded. The open-carry participants obliged, and Cramer left shortly after he determined the guns were empty.
“It's great that they called us. Even though it is their right, it is outside the norm,” Cramer said. “I was told to come down here to make sure everyone's rights are protected.”
Blake Nelson, 18, of Los Angeles, here visiting his father at the La Jolla Indian Reservation, was sitting with his skateboard nearby.
“Dude, it's a gun. I definitely feel threatened,” he told a reporter.
John Bibigian, 79, who was drinking a banana smoothie in Starbucks, was among the few who supported the group.
“They have a right to carry a gun if they want,” he said.
Escondido Open Carry plans to attend Cruisin' Grand Friday evening. Cruisin' Grand is a popular hot rod event in downtown Escondido that runs every Friday evening from April until the end of September.
The group also plans to go to Escondido's Farmers Market held downtown on Tuesdays and attend street fairs in Escondido and San Marcos.
Thora Guthrie, CEO of the Downtown Business Association of Escondido, which organizes the annual Cruisin' Grand, is dismayed.
Emphasizing that she spoke for herself, Guthrie said she will not bring her family to the event if Reaster's group attends.
The business association's president Scott Peck was resigned to the fact that the group has the right to go to Cruisin' Grand.
“If it's legal, I really have no opinion on it. It's really a police matter,” Peck said.
Escondido's City Council members reacted to the group's plans with some degree of alarm.
“Oh, boy! He will cause fear among people who don't carry guns,” Councilwoman Olga Diaz said.
Councilman Dick Daniels said he supports them with the expectation that they will behave responsibly.
“I'm a big supporter of the Second Amendment,” he said. “Whether I would walk around with a holster and a gun is another matter.”
Councilman Sam Abed, said he does not support openly carrying firearms.
“I would be comfortable if someone wants to be armed at home to defend themselves, but doing it openly, I'm not sure about that,” he said.
Reaster and Woods said they felt that they needed protection because of their age, and that they needed to draw attention to the fact that personal freedom has eroded over the years. Reaster carries pepper spray with him in addition to his gun.
“I see the means of self-defense as getting a concealed carry permit, but you have to be a politician, movie star, extremely rich, have a connection with police to get a concealed weapons license,” he said.
“I'm not one of these paranoid pistol wavers,” Reaster said. “But the stark reality is that some people have no regard for the law.”
Angela Lau: (760) 737-7575