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'Open-carry' gun advocates pack heat at Escondido mall

ConditionThree

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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


090901opencarry_t350.jpg
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
 

Sons of Liberty

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Is this one of the few malls that doesn't have a no weapons policy?

I wonder if those who felt threatened by the guns, also felt threatened by Officer Cramer's gun?

"This Bud's for you!" :celebrate
 

bigtoe416

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Pretty good article overall. There are more anti quotes than positive ones, but that may have just been how the ratio turned out. I wish reporters would ask a follow-up question to those people who don't like the idea of people carrying guns, "What does the right to keep and bear arms mean to you?"

I suspect you'd get a lot of this :uhoh:
 

Citizen

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bigtoe416 wrote:
SNIP There are more anti quotes than positive ones, but that may have just been how the ratio turned out.
My understanding is that the editor allows to remain in the story what he wants. If he wanted equal pro-gun quotes, he would just tell the reporter to get plenty of quotes.
 

AyatollahGondola

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Excellent......

It's hard to tell from the press these days if there were as many pro, as con. So, I'll just have to make up my own happy ending.

By the way, I feel threatened by skateboarders
 

KS_to_CA

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Members of the city council is basically saying...

"In theory, I support the law, but to actually practice it, ah, I dont know about that."

"The exercise of this right freaks some people so we shouldn't be exercising this right."

When is the next election again???

:banghead:
 

Hendu024

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Ohh sheeple... These are the same people that would be hiding behind the open carriers when some psycho comes into the mall with an SKS. Oh wait... didn't that already happen?
 

arkangel88

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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".

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,”

Those are my favorite quotes, ignorance at its best.
 

Captain_Awesome

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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.
(bold added)
I thought you guys would be all over this one, haha. Wait, we are still calling it a right, right?

Anyways, I'm glad the event went well. Gives me more confidence for when I start OCing.
 

Decoligny

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Captain_Awesome wrote:
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.
(bold added)
I thought you guys would be all over this one, haha. Wait, we are still calling it a right, right?

Anyways, I'm glad the event went well. Gives me more confidence for when I start OCing.

Until the 2nd Amendment gets incorporated and applied to State and Local Governments, any carry/ownership offirearmsiscurrently only a privilege. The State could theoretically pass a law tomorroe making it illegal to possess a firearm, and without 2A incorporation, it would be the law.

As itstands now, the 2A only applies to the Federal Government. So Uncle Sugar can't tell us we can'tkeep and bear arms, butthe legislators up in Excremento can.
 

demnogis

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Frankly I'm not amazed by the idiocy of the comments posted on the article's discussion page. It is apparent what low level of intelligence the general 'young' populace has nowadays. They have no regard for the rights and liberties Americans have fought for. Even not having fought for them myself, I understand and appreciate what we have in this country compared to others in the world.

Our society needs a wake-up call. Sadly it is the young and misled that will continue to run this country if they're not made aware of how to assert their rights. Why will they care about something they don't exercise? Their lack of concern and respect for all our rights is grossly visible.

How do we make them care? Inform them. Lead by example, and exercise your rights today!
 

CA_Libertarian

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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.

:celebrate We have their attention! Progress!

“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.”
This officer has a strange concept of protecting rights... It seems he otherwise was very polite and brief in his trampling the rights of his subject peons.
 

pullnshoot25

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demnogis wrote:
Frankly I'm not amazed by the idiocy of the comments posted on the article's discussion page. It is apparent what low level of intelligence the general 'young' populace has nowadays. They have no regard for the rights and liberties Americans have fought for. Even not having fought for them myself, I understand and appreciate what we have in this country compared to others in the world.

Our society needs a wake-up call. Sadly it is the young and misled that will continue to run this country if they're not made aware of how to assert their rights. Why will they care about something they don't exercise? Their lack of concern and respect for all our rights is grossly visible.

How do we make them care? Inform them. Lead by example, and exercise your rights today!
What is even worse is that the same guys that fought for our rights are a lot of times the same ones that trample them. Lots of cops are active duty or former military personnel, which is a highly ironic situation.
 

CA_Libertarian

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Oh yeah, almost forgot:

Kudos to Mr. Reaster, et al. It's great to see more people getting involved, especially some of our seasoned citizens.

Great job organizing the media contact, and great job to everybody interviewed for staying on message. It sounds like the media wanted to try to muddle the topic with the immigration issue.

Y'all have my respect and admiration.

Carry on.
 

bigtoe416

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N6ATF wrote:
1078 comments and counting, many referring to penis size or lack thereof.
Clearly there's only one solution to this; UOCing in speedos.

And now some inappropriately appropriate bananas.

:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate
 

coolusername2007

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Great showing guys and gals! Looks like you all had some fun. I just love the "training" quote. Nowadays you can't do anything if you haven't been "trained". I would have lovedto follow question up that question with "have you been trained to excercise your 1st amendment right?" Sure proficiency training is a really good idea, along with regular practice, but required, I don't think so.

Also, in that second video link, did the cop say 12032? I didn't sound like he said 12031 to me.
 

AngryBeaver

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I attended this event and it went great,very low key and i only saw the reporters talk to 2 or 3 people other than us..dozens walked right by and said nothing. Looking forward to doing this at Bass Pro this Friday and back in Escondido again next month..hope to see more of us out there.
 
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