Arlington Open Carry April Meetup

@Regular Joe -- I actually do think guns are dangerous and personally would not open carry a firearm in a holster *without* a retention device. But, to each his (or her) own.

AOC is not an ad-hoc OCDO "Open Carry Lunch." It's an open carry advocacy group. The mission of the group is to:

*Test how the law is enforced by the Arlington County police -- to ensure that the rights of Arlington gun owners are not being infringed.

*Provide a venue for members to practice exercising their rights -- to the fullest extent of the law.

*Educate the police about the rights of citizens during OC stops; and,

*Normalize the open carry of firearms by private citizens -- with aim of changing the view that only criminals and police carry guns

@Tess: One of the reasons for the basic firearm safety policy for AOC gatherings is to protect me from liability. AOC is a Meetup group, not an incorporated entity (as you point out). This exposes me to *more* liability as the organizer of the group, since incorporation *limits* liability.

I think all the consternation about "rules" and "groups" and "joining" are because AOC is obviously not what most people do on OCDO. It's more intentional and more assertive than the usual "we just get together as gun owners open carrying in the normal course of our lives whenever somebody feels like organizing a gathering" approach. I don't have a problem with that approach. I just don't want to take it. Hence, Arlington Open Carry.

So, if AOC isn't what you're looking for, no problem. You can keep doing what you've been doing, and more power to you. If you want to try something different, you can join AOC here (and it's a Meetup group, so yes, you have to "join" to get on the email list):

http://www.meetup.com/Arlington-Open-Carry/

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Normalization is an important reason why I OC; it shouldn't be burdened by made-up or unnecessary rules.

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I put together a firearms safety policy to cover all our meetings (see below). It's just two major rules: One, firearms must not be handled, and must remain in holsters at all times during our meetings, and; Two, all openly carried firearms must be carried in a holster with at least one level of retention (i.e. thumb break, or mechanical locking device such as on Blackhawk Serpa and Safariland ALS holsters). Both rules are to ensure we don't have any safety mishaps during our meetings. If you don't have a holster with at least one level of retention and won't be able to get one by our first meeting on Sat., April 24 at Uncle Julio's Rio Grand Cafe in Ballston, don't OC, but come anyway. Don't CC either since it's illegal (for now) at Virginia restaurants that serve alcohol. If you have any questions about holsters or anything else, don't hesitate to ask.

Ben


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Arlington OC Firearms Safety Policy

Safety mishaps, particularly with firearms, expose Arlington OC to liability issues and could significantly damage our credibility as a gun rights and educational organization. At all non-range Arlington OC events and meetings, the following rules and requirements shall be strictly observed:

A. Firearms

At all Arlington OC meetings, events, or gatherings, firearms shall NOT be handled; they will remain holstered at all times.

B. Retention Holsters

A retention holster with at least one level of retention, such as a thumb break or other mechanical action to prevent the firearm from being removed from the holster by an unauthorized third-party, is REQUIRED for open carry at all Arlington OC events. Examples of acceptable retention holsters include: Galco Fletch High Ride Belt Holster (or any other leather holster with a thumb break), Safariland ALS concealment holster, and Blackhawk SERPA holster.

C. Responsibilities

All Arlington OC members/attendees share the responsibility to support, adhere to, enforce, and assist with the implementation of these procedures and standards.

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LOL, Who is this guy? Troll, agent provocateur? Or just ridiculously overparanoid and overbearing because of a bad LEO encounter before?

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LOL, Who is this guy? Troll, agent provocateur? Or just ridiculously overparanoid and overbearing because of a bad LEO encounter before?

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230therapy,

You're a member of this group, did you attend?

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The event was cancelled, according to the meetup page.

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OK! this is nuts. Its obvious a bunch of people - myself included, want to do an OC dinner in Arlington so, lets make it happen.

I say same place as suggested - on another night - with the same common sense standards as we have operated with in the past.

I prefer weekends but the summer sucks for my schedule and i will be out of town alot over the next month.

How many people are available this saturday? or next friday? If i get a couple YESes I will post a topic with details.

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OK! this is nuts. Its obvious a bunch of people - myself included, want to do an OC dinner in Arlington so, lets make it happen.

I say same place as suggested - on another night - with the same common sense standards as we have operated with in the past.

I prefer weekends but the summer sucks for my schedule and i will be out of town alot over the next month.

How many people are available this saturday? or next friday? If i get a couple YESes I will post a topic with details.

Click to expand...