Getting Ready for Open Carry

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I have never open carried before, but I started thinking about doing it last week. I posted on a local message board asking for people's experiences, and within minutes, I was on the receiving end of so much anti-gun venom, I couldn't believe it. I live up in Park County, so I never expected that. Over a couple of days, I was compared to a mafioso and the man who attached Platte Canyon High School (twice). Other popular approaches were challenging my masculinity, threatening to call the police to harrass me every time anyone saw me carrying, and telling me they don't want to be protected by me if I see someone attacking them.

There's also a lot of misinformation being spread, so this morning I personally called the Littleton and Lakewood Police Departments to make sure there were no municipal ordinances prohibiting open carry. Littleton spent about 10 minutes telling me it was totally legal and I shouldn't do it under any circumstances. Lakewood went a little further. I was basically threatened. I was told that any officer would stop me and behave as though I were a hostile. I would be told to put my hands over my head while the officer disarmed me. I was also told that it would be putting myself in a "very dangerous situation" because when guns are involved, an officer's "adrenaline starts pumping." Has anyone had an experience like that in JeffCo, or is it just a scare tactic?

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I'm not sure about Colorado laws, so always check for yourself.

A few tips:

Invest in a digital voice recorder. Carry it with you. Record conversations with law enforcement. If you are legal to carry in a particular location....YOU ARE LEGAL TO CARRY IN A PARTICULAR LOCATION. There is nothing the police can arrest you for unless you, yourself, give them one. CHECK ON COLORADO LAW REGARDING THE RECORDING OF TWO PARTY CONVERSATIONS.

In Missouri, only one party needs consent to record. If I am in a conversation, I give myself permission. This is all that is needed. Check on Colorado law.

This recording will give concrete evidence of your point of view should an officer decide to play by his own rules and decide that his dislike is good enough for an arrest. It also provides support of 4th Amendment violations (removal of firearm=illegal siezure/ frisking and looking in pockets=illegal search without probable cause or RAS/reasonale articulable suspicion) This recording comes in handy later should you ever decide you have grounds for a formal complaint or a lawsuit.

All this wonderful goodness for the low price of a digital voice recorder.

If you have checked with local authorities and you are legal, (I highly suggest making a copy of local and state ordinances to have concrete proof that there are no laws prohibiting it in case some officer mistakenly informs you there is.) Always remember that you are within the law. Although you may become nervous if confronted by the authorities, remember to always act confidently in your lawfulness. Stammering, apologies, and willfull compliance with any ulawful orders by LEO's will often convince them they are in the right when they are not. Their very thoughts will tend towards "If he's not doing anything wrong, why is he acting all nervous?"

Remember: If they can't tell you exactly what law you are violating, there is no compelling reason to talk to themuntil they do havesomething to arrest you for.

If they can tell you exactly what law you are breaking, they will not ask. They will arrest you. Then ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN BE HELD AGAINST YOU. You have an even more compelling reason not to talk to them.

All in all, I doubt you will have a bad encounter. Most often OC outings are uneventful.

Also remember: While you are OC'ing, you are also a representative of all gun owners. When the public sees you they will form opinions of OC'ers based on how you interact with them. Please always remain polite, friendly, and at least decently groomed to whatever standard you hold yourself to.

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A digital recorder sounds like a really good idea. Thanks for that suggestion.

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What message board did you post on? I would like to read the thread if it is still there.

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Still there and still going. Almost 5,000 views now.

http://www.pinecam.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=106271&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

You'll see a post from the moderator stating that he removed the PCHS references.

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Hey bud. I used to live in Park County, in Bailey. I lived back there in the Burlington subdivision. I want to tell you, personally, don't let PineCam get to you. I am a user on Pinecam and I post there too- it's a relatively small portion of the Park County community. My parents still live in Bailey- and I'll have it known that I carry non-stop up in Park County. I carry at the Loaf N Jug, our little pizza place, the liquor store, etc. Nobody has said a peep and you know Park County Sheriff's are commonly stopping at that Loaf and Jug. I've been in the gas station at the same time and never even got a look- not nothing. It's really really lax.

I personally live in Lakewood. I went ahead and contacted Janet Young, she's the head DA for Lakewood- she wrote me a personalized letter stating OC is perfectly legal and is not restricted in Lakewood in any way. She said officers may respond and to simply put my hands on my head and things would work out great for everyone. I carry the letter with me to show any Lakewood officer if they are hassling me big time- but never had that happen.

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Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:58 pm Post subject: [line] I actively open carry in Conifer, Aspen Park, Pine Junction, and Bailey- I am a young man and I do not look like a police officer. I have never- ever- been questioned, stopped, or arrested. I have only received the up most respect from our community. Our local Safeway, King Soopers, Aspen Park liquors, all the other liquor stores, Black Knight Video Games, Sonic, etc, etc The list goes on and on. Open Carry hasn't gotten me into any trouble, at all, ever. Our community, here at Pinecam, is respectful of individual civil rights and can appreciate one's expression. We love liberty, peace, and protection- Please continue to carry your .45 on your hip- and continue to protect our mountain community from bad guys, mountain lions, bears, what have you.

Thanks, again.

Charlie.

Ps. If you see me- I have a black hip holster- and a Taurus .45 subcompact semi-auto at all times- Please don't be afraid to come up to me and talk to me. You'll see me often at Boulder Gas station, new Safeway, and maybe even JJ Madwell's- they have great food.

I'm a very responsible person and will protect myself and my community from deadly threats.

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Thank you for the most useful response I've received.

And people have told me more times than I can count that I DO look like a police officer, so I guess that will serve me well.

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I just finished reading the entire thread over there. Some of things people have said are very irritating. There are some good thoughts though.

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Yeah, there are some reasonable people expressing views that agree with and conflict with my own. I was just shocked at the anger the very thought of open carry provoked from 4 or 5 extremists.

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I know one thing! When people know the community allow citizens to exercise the right to open carry, crime is low. A Policeman should check you out if he thinks it is absolutely necessary, but they should do it with respect if you are being respectful. Having an attitude about it just makes the cop look like a thug. Most (99.9%) of people who open carry are law abiding, good citizens. If they were able to buy the gun then what's the problem. If it is registered in that persons name, and they have no warrants or issues there should be no problem. Anti-gun citizens should relax and realize that people like us only want our communities, children, and families safe. This includes our neighbors. If a community has criminals, they are least likely to commit a crime. Kennesaw, GA. has gun laws that require head of household to own a gun. They have no crime!!!!!!!!!! Almost everyone open carries a gun.

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Citizen for Open Carry it is our right! wrote:

I know one thing! When people know the community allow citizens to exercise the right to open carry, crime is low. A Policeman should check you out if he thinks it is absolutely necessary, but they should do it with respect if you are being respectful. Having an attitude about it just makes the cop look like a thug. Most (99.9%) of people who open carry are law abiding, good citizens. If they were able to buy the gun then what's the problem. If it is registered in that persons name, and they have no warrants or issues there should be no problem. Anti-gun citizens should relax and realize that people like us only want our communities, children, and families safe. This includes our neighbors. If a community has criminals, they are least likely to commit a crime. Kennesaw, GA. has gun laws that require head of household to own a gun. They have no crime!!!!!!!!!! Almost everyone open carries a gun.

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Welcome to the forum and well said.

Just 2 quick things...

"If it is registered in that persons name"
No registration is required in CO or in GA.

"Almost everyone open carries a gun.[In Kennesaw]"
Very very few people openly carry in Georgia. Georgia has one of if not the most restrictive list of off limits places in the country and is so vague that just about anywhere can be a no carry zone "public gathering".

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I was just trying to make a refference to crime % in places that allow good citizens to open carry. I lived in Blairsville, Ga. and we never got harrased for open carry, but we also knew the local law enforcement............ Also just trying to get people to get more involved in what their local laws allow. In Colorado it is the same thing, but we are more friendly of an open carry state.

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And your right, I don't want to mislead folks into getting into trouble. I lived in a very rural area of Georgia, and this was also over ten years ago since I have lived there. I just want hones, good folks that know how to make good deccissions in a bad situation. I would put my life in the line to save someone elses, especially an unarmed person. God forbid we ever HAVE to use these tools in this manner, but life is strange and only getting stranger, and we should all look ahead at our gun rights. If you can't own a gun, then you have lost one of the major things our country was founded on. The fact that WE are the Government, and it is what we want that should be honored, (if you are a good law abiding citizen with no violent, domestic, or thiefing style, menacing, etc. style crimes). Like I said, if you can buy the gun, you should be able to open carry it. I bet if you made folks take a safety test, hand written test on situations and such, let those people carry open, give them a badge that is totally identifiable as a "Responsible Citizen Badge", I bet crime would drop like a ton of gold. Most criminals are chicken****s anyway. "Nothing is more angry and hostile than a man protecting hhis family".

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Citizen for Open Carry it is our right! wrote:

...but we also knew the local law enforcement...

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And you are exactly why the GA laws are written the way they are. To arrest the undesirables and let the good ol' boys slide.

No offense but that is the way it is.

But not a thread about GA.

Anyway, welcome and if you ever find yourself in ATL stop by. I always have some homebrew in the fridge.

Edited for grammer.

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GW80421, why did you say it's not ok to OC in Castle Rock?

I live in CR, haven't had a problem yet.

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Well, not that you can't OC in Castle Rock. It's just harder. I read that Castle Rock has an open carry ban that extends to nearly all city-owned locations. Someone who isn't from Castle Rock wouldn't be aware of that and may not realize what is city property. I may have been misinformed.

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I know that RMGO has a link on their FAQ page to the ban of open carry in all city owned properties, but that link is no longer valid.

I'm trying to research CR.gov site to see if I can find something.

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gw80421 wrote:

Well, not that you can't OC in Castle Rock. It's just harder. I read that Castle Rock has an open carry ban that extends to nearly all city-owned locations. Someone who isn't from Castle Rock wouldn't be aware of that and may not realize what is city property. I may have been misinformed.

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In Colo Spgs, it's similar, no OC in city buildings...luckily state law helps us out here by requiring that cities/towns post any area off-limits to OC as such. All city buildings here are posted with blue signs that clearly state open carry is prohibited.

The CBI website is down for maintenance so at the moment I can't quote the statute but it is C.R.S. 29-11.7-104 (also it's been cited numerous times on this forum)....it says that any city/town with a law on the books about prohibitions to OC in certain areas must be posted at all entrances to that area.

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From the CR.gov website

"Prohibited Activities
Prohibited on Town parks, open space and trails

• Firearms without a valid concealed weapons permit"

Sorry, couldn't cut and paste from the site.