Rockingham County Sheriff

REX681959 · Nov 20, 2009

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I just thought since I'm OC more & more I'd ask our local sheriff his opinion of OC.

Just wondering where you stand on the Open Carry of a handgun.

Although as you know it is legal to openly carry a firearm in North Carolina.

There has been some friction, mostly with uninformed LEO in other counties.

BTW I have a cc permit, I just think open carry is a deterrent to crime & helps support

the 2nd amendment.

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Thank You,

Rex

His Reply--

I agree Rex,

As long as there are no violations of N.C. Statutes I have no problems with it. I am a supporter of the Second Amendment Rights and I think that we need to constantly stay alert to those who might try to erode those rights.

I am an active member of the NRA.

Look what has happened in other countries where those rights were suspended!

We have over 2400 licensed to carry concealed permits in our county. I would like to see twice that amount.

Thanks for the question…

Sheriff Sam Page

Godscreation · Nov 21, 2009

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Niiiiice!

chiefjason · Nov 21, 2009

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That is a great reply. In general it seems that Sheriff's have a better understanding and acceptance of OC than city LEO's. I guess when you working the more rural areas it's more likely that they will encounter it.

Dreamer · Nov 21, 2009

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It seems that many of the LEOs of rural counties, and the coastal counties have this attitude, whereas the LEOs in the "urban" areas are more hostile to LAC's carrying...

Just because NC has "preemption", doesn't seem to stop certain LEAs from harassing and falsely arresting people who want to protect themselves. It's a form of under-the-radar gun control, and it's a travesty...

So how's that working out for you, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Fayetteville?

We folks in the rural/coastal counties have LEOs that actually ENCOURAGE open carry, and I think the crime distribution in NC might reflect the deterrent value of OC and widespread CC.

tekshogun · Nov 22, 2009

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Dreamer wrote:

It seems that many of the LEOs of rural counties, and the coastal counties have this attitude, whereas the LEOs in the "urban" areas are more hostile to LAC's carrying...

Just because NC has "preemption", doesn't seem to stop certain LEAs from harassing and falsely arresting people who want to protect themselves. It's a form of under-the-radar gun control, and it's a travesty...

So how's that working out for you, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Fayetteville?

We folks in the rural/coastal counties have LEOs that actually ENCOURAGE open carry, and I think the crime distribution in NC might reflect the deterrent value of OC and widespread CC.

Yeah, here in Greensboro, I fear that an asp tactical baton will get temporarily embedded in the back of my head before I have the chance to explain but I guess you can win or lose the game if you don't play and I haven't begun to play yet. Oh man, I just thought of and referred to this as a game. Here I go, Mr. Activist; are all systems go?

glockaholic · Nov 28, 2009

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Yeah, here in Greensboro, I fear that an asp tactical baton will get temporarily embedded in the back of my head before I have the chance to explain but I guess you can win or lose the game if you don't play and I haven't begun to play yet. Oh man, I just thought of and referred to this as a game. Here I go, Mr. Activist; are all systems go?

Start playing, man! C'mon in, the water's fine.

REX681959 · Dec 23, 2009

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I know that OC is not too popular & the ones that do OC on a regular basis are few & far. But........AM I THE ONLY PERSONWHO OCs IN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY?????

Seniordep2010 · Dec 23, 2009

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Rex,

Thanks for posting this, it has prompted me to e-mail my sheriff and get his opinions on open carry. I'll be sure to let everyone what response I get.

tekshogun · Dec 23, 2009

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Excellent, what county is that? I'm in Guilford County (right below Rex) and may contact Good ol' BJ Barnes, but since I spend little time in Guilford, I'd rather talk to the Greensboro Chief of Police........ I know one of the assistant chiefs personally, I could ask him, but he hinted that I not go around carrying my sidearm after I bought it. He doesn't seem to happy about me with it but that may be more rooted elsewhere other than him being a police officer in an urban environment.

REX681959 · Dec 23, 2009

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That's not a bad idea. I go to Greensboro all the time. Funny thing I went through the mad house at the Honey Baked Ham Store earlier today & the Walmart on Battleground carrying my 44mag & didn't even get a look.

RayBurton72 · Dec 23, 2009

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I OC in the Greensboro area on a regular basis... Not my primary method (I CC on company time), but I have never had a problem with LEOs.

In fact, only once has anyone ever said anything negative about it - some old biddy on my way out of a Starbucks...

REX681959 · Dec 24, 2009

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Well so far I have had very few problems. But I tend to wear VERY LOUD clothing & carry a BIG gun. Add to thatthe fact that even though I'm just an average size guy most people tell me that I project an image of a much larger man.I have been told thateven without a gun most people are intimidated by me, even though I consciously try to act like the friendliest guy in the world. Consequently if someone is going to draw unwanted attention it will be me. But so far so good.

ocgso · Dec 29, 2009

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tekshogun wrote:

Excellent, what county is that? I'm in Guilford County (right below Rex) and may contact Good ol' BJ Barnes, but since I spend little time in Guilford, I'd rather talk to the Greensboro Chief of Police........ I know one of the assistant chiefs personally, I could ask him, but he hinted that I not go around carrying my sidearm after I bought it. He doesn't seem to happy about me with it but that may be more rooted elsewhere other than him being a police officer in an urban environment.

I am concerned that someone high up on the Greensboro PD did not want you to carry. That does not bode well.

I think I may also write a few notes, as I open carry everywhere I go in greensboro and surrounding places (when I am not working).

I think the biggest issue is city PD. The sherrif's dept typcially deals with rural areas, where guns are more normalized and there isn't such a criminal image attached to them.

I will post responses from LEO on this forum.

Seniordep2010 · Dec 30, 2009

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So I e-mailed Sheriff Dick Jenkins regarding OC about a week ago. I still have no response :banghead:. What gives? Do you think he is avoiding having to address this matter?

ocgso · Dec 31, 2009

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So I emailed both the county sheriff (BJ Barnes, Guilford County) andthe greensboro chief of police (Tim Bellamy) yesterday.

Nothing from the county sheriff, but this time of year, I am willing to wait. Perhaps he is on vacation.

I got a response from the executive assistant to the Greensboro PD chief, he wants to speak to me in person. I will let you know how that goes.

The way I figure, he is either really interested in learning more:celebrate

OR, he doesn't want his comments in writing :what:

I will keep you posted

REX681959 · Dec 31, 2009

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If you go maybe you should carry a voice recorder & turn it on before you go in.

zahalglory · Jan 1, 2010

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Ditto Rex! take a recorder. I can't remember if we're a single party consent or whatever it's called state though. Meaning that in some states you need permission to record someone. Some places you can record as long as they're talking to you. So check that out first. It's ok to not be sure with your wife during a divorce but you want to be 100% with the Sheriff haha

ocgso · Jan 1, 2010

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Well, I doubt it will be in person......if it is, I will pull out the voice recorder on my phone and ask if I may record the conversation.

Not sure what to do if he calls, which I figure is more likely.

Hopefully he is just trying to be personable or wants to learn more. The way that James Penn'sencounter went, I may have visitors after the phone call......

We will see, we will see:uhoh:

tekshogun · Jan 1, 2010

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ocgso wrote:

Well, I doubt it will be in person......if it is, I will pull out the voice recorder on my phone and ask if I may record the conversation.

Not sure what to do if he calls, which I figure is more likely.

Hopefully he is just trying to be personable or wants to learn more. The way that James Penn's encounter went, I may have visitors after the phone call......

We will see, we will see:uhoh:

I will say, despite the media craze over issues in the Greensboro PD, they are still a very professional organization, for the most part, and I am glad that someone from GPD got back to you and hope your meeting goes well. Can you tell us what you included in your email to both the Sheriff and to the Chief? Thanks.

ocgso · Jan 1, 2010

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Email was just me introducing myself, letting them know that I am highly in favor of open carry, and that I wanted to know how they felt about it and what training they had in place to ensure officers were aware of the legality of it (because so many officers in other areas are not informed and I hope not to have any incidents like that in Guilford Co or Greensboro respectively).

In a nutshell....

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