Los Angeles County

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My name is Mike and I am a 27 years of age. Born and raised here in Los Angeles county which is very unfortunate. My father, uncles and myself are licensed hunters and fishermen of the DFG of California.

Myself being a licensed hunter and fishermen of California for the past 11 years. I have done open carry over a 100 times in Kern county and in Bakersfield(Taft, Maricopa, etc...) with NO PROBLEMS whatsoever. I have gone into liquor stores and convenient stores carrying my 12 gauge Beretta AL-390 Silver Mallard and my Beretta 92FS 9mm sidearm in a thigh holster.

I've had Sheriff's walk next to me and wave. Nobody has ever panicked or felt uncomfortable. I am new about hearing this Open Carry movement. I am for it 100%. Just one problem... I am from Los Angeles. Sherman Oaks to be exact.

My neighbors had the police called on them for playing the music too loud at 2am in the morning. I approached the LAPD Officer and asked him a question regarding open carrying a firearm. His exact reply was,

" Well we won't arrest you but you probably will have 20 guns pointed at you. I know it's legal to do so but police offers especially here in LA county are just not used to seeing a firearm carried openly. Oh and it cannot be loaded. "

I have always wanted to carry a firearm. My father had a CCW permit issued to him in LA county back in 1991 because he owned a Pawn Shop and was a pawnbroker.

I feel I am never safe especially at these tough times when theft, murder, and rape are rising. So I am VERY INTERESTED in open carrying here in Los Angeles county but I feel like I am a lone warrior in this situation. I thought about going down to the Police station and organizing a open carry meeting at a starbucks, having Police offers come and inspect the weapons then grabbing a coffee (on me). What would you guys think? Any opinions or feedback is greatly appreciated.

I am on facebook as well, WALLC777@YAHOO.COM

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That sounds likea good idea as far as getting the local police involved and letting them know what your intentions are. It helps educate some of the police officers who might not be familiar with the Open Carry laws here in California. Welcome to the site!

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wallc777 wrote:

" Well we won't arrest you but you probably will have 20 guns pointed at you. I know it's legal to do so but police offers especially here in LA county are just not used to seeing a firearm carried openly. Oh and it cannot be loaded. "

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Welcome to the forum wallc777- thank you for taking the time to register and ask questions.

As for the response from the Sheriff's deputy- its fairly common to recieve information that is not entirely accurate or generally discourages legal behavior. In this case the deputy is using the threat of 20 guns pointed at you, presumably because some concerned citizen called to report a man with a gun.

First- as long as you are not acting in an unusual manner, most people will assume that you are armed because you are authorized to do so. Only the really nervous nancys call 911 to report holstered firearms.

Second- the Sheriff's department would not respond with 20 deputies to contact someone who is visably armed.

Thirdly- breaking leather or drawing their firearm and pointingit atsomeoneis an action which indicates that the peace officer has determined thatdeadly force is necessary. Deadly force can only be used if a person reasonably believes that they or another is in immediate danger of death or great bodily injury. A person with aholstered firearmdoesnot present such a danger.

If the deputy you spoke with was telling you the truth, his department would be misapplying lethal force. In all honesty, I believe this was his way of detering you from trying exposed carry. And while he did tell you it would have to be unloaded, it appears he failed to tell you about the school zone law as well as a number of other restrictions. Please be sure to review all available material on the topic.

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C3, unfortunately both LASD and LAPD have very loose policies with regard to bringing a weapon to a low ready state.

When officer approach to make contact - if they can't observe you from a distance for whatever reason - its pretty much guaranteed that they will break leather on approach. But at the same time they will likely not aquire a target with their weapon. Did that make sense?

LA County is a pretty huge geographic are with huge changes in both culture and crime depending on the station that is servicing the area. In general both agencies will be 'more prepared' for a problem in the 'more dangerous' areas.

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Hmmm... very interesting. I would love to carry a audio/video recorder with me or at least have someone record the encounter. Probably a bystander would be a good idea. I am almost certain I will have officers around me. Most likely be detained.

However they cannot search or run the serial # .
It cannot be loaded.
They can only check if it's loaded or not, and that's it.

I'm up for this.

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wallc777 wrote:

Hmmm... very interesting. I would love to carry a audio/video recorder with me or at least have someone record the encounter. Probably a bystander would be a good idea. I am almost certain I will have officers around me. Most likely be detained.

However they cannot search or run the serial # .
It cannot be loaded.
They can only check if it's loaded or not, and that's it.

I'm up for this.

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Actually both the recorder and friendly witnesses are strongly suggested. Please see the Noobie thread here.

It has also been recommended that sterile carry (without photo ID) is preferable as we have had one member sought out and convicted of a 626.9 violation after being detained and released.

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Decline toanswer any questions asked by the LEO. (Pie hole closed) Don't consent to any unconstitutional search, but don't resist.

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i"ll UOC with you sometime



I UOC in Long Beach/Cerritos/Lakewood area all the time... never actually been stopped or talked to any LEO while i was armed, but i have had 1 incident at my own home with a neighbor, a Los Angeles District Attornies "secretary who knows all the laws"The story is on this forum.



The idea of informing the officers on duty and likely to show up to do the E-check

to meet you at a local starbucks and everything is a good idea....



BUT... hopefully they dont expect everyone that plans on UOCing to do so every time they plan on carrying.



I cant remember where i read this, but i believe one county NOT IN CA, ask its CCW holders to call and inform the police department of everytime and place they are going to carry concealed for the day.



I mean its a nice thing for us to do for them, but what are they gunna do for us?

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wallc777 wrote:

... I thought about going down to the Police station and organizing a open carry meeting at a starbucks, having Police offers come and inspect the weapons then grabbing a coffee (on me). What would you guys think? Any opinions or feedback is greatly appreciated.

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Mike,

First off, welcome to the forum; always nice to see new interest here.

I would suggest not forfeiting your rights so readily. Inviting the officers is a great idea. Just skip the offer for them to check your guns. I think we need to change CA culture to respect the 4th Amendment, not rewarding 12031(e) checks.

My suggestion is to invite them to come down and meet the people involved. I think you've got a great way to reach out to the LE community and offer them a way to get to know you and vice versa. In many places, there is an "us versus them" attitude, and perhaps your idea is a great way to close that rift.

Of course, if the LEOs demand to inspect your firearm, you should not resist. However, I would voice your reservation of your rights. I would ask if they really think the CA legislature can create a loophole to long-standing SCOTUS doctrine (e.g. Terry v Ohio). Just because the CA Court of Appeals says it's OK doesn't mean a federal lawsuit wouldn't hold the department and the officer individually responsible. I would express my concern that such actions create significant liability for the taxpayers.

We all want the same thing: to live in a freer, safer society. I think we just need the opportunity to show that there's a better way to do it than we've been trying for the past few decades. I have high hopes that we can become like many other states where there is mutual respect and support among LE and the general public. This requires reaching out to the LE community as much as we do the general public. We are really in the middle, trying to pull both sides together.

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Welcome Wallc777! I would recommend calling the local LEA, but do not give them any specifics...just general area, general time frame (am/pm), and let them know that any MWAG calls is probably just you. Don't even give themyour name if asked. Unless you specifically want an encounter (don't really know why you'd want one), just go about your lawful business. Remember, you're not asking for permission, you're exercising your rights.

I also highly recommend sterile carry, not doing so could lead topersecution, prosecution, and conviction.

Good luck, carry on, and be a good ambassador for open carry.