MAINE MOVING FORWARD

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Ok guys, we're coming off of a successful event. We can't let this opportunity slip away, we must act and we must act now. We have to do another event ASAP. We don't want to make it look like we got our fifteen minutes of fame, now we're happy and no one will hear from us again. We've got the ball rolling, we just have to keep it going now. One thing that has been proposed is an open carry trash pickup. I think that this is a great idea and that it will do wonders for our image! It will really show that we are good people, who have good intentions! Heres the gameplan: We have one person in charge of each group, a group can range from 2-100 men and anywhere in-between. Each team, or group will go to their local park and have a nice little trash clean up day. So what I need from you guys is who is going to run what and where? After your done you can also go have lunch at your favorite restaurant! I'd love to see this event happen at the same time all across Maine! If this works well for Maine, perhaps a National OC trash pickup?! Ok, so like I said, post here where you will be doing it, and how many people you will most likely have in your group! After this is in place we will set up a day and time and kick this into high gear!

Opinions?!

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Anyone on here in the Wells area?

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shanebelanger wrote:

Ok guys, we're coming off of a successful event. . . .
Opinions?!

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I recommend you kindly ask participants to stay on message - the open carry of properly holstered handguns.

Let's leave the long guns and jeep mounted machine guns at home, k?

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Mike wrote:

shanebelanger wrote:

Ok guys, we're coming off of a successful event. . . .
Opinions?!

Click to expand...

I recommend you kindly ask participants to stay on message - the open carry of properly holstered handguns.

Let's leave the long guns and jeep mounted machine guns at home, k?

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yeah, no rebel flags either fellas! And deuce Ian and his father both live in the wells area. Perhaps we can get them on board with this. And like mike said we have a clear message we want to send and that message doesn't include jeeps with machine guns or rebel flags. That was incredibly hard to play off to the media. That's not what we were there for.

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say when !!!

did you see this in Washington post?


Ingrid SMaineMay 6th, 201011:56 amWe recently had an open-carry barbeque in Portland, Maine. I guess people felt the need to show they could eat a burger while also wearing a loaded gun. Maine is generally a quiet and calm place and there is little need to walk around with a gun. We have one of the highest rates of gun-ownership in the country and one of the lowest murder rates (I am not all sure that these are connected). My argument against open-carry is easy: imagine the person you fear the most now imagine that person walking around with a gun. It would be difficult not to feel threatened when you bump into this person on the street. My sense is that most of these gun-toting folks are pretty paranoid. Paranoia is not a good basis for public policy.

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Mike wrote:

shanebelanger wrote:

Ok guys, we're coming off of a successful event. . . .
Opinions?!

Click to expand...

I recommend you kindly ask participants to stay on message - the open carry of properly holstered handguns.

Let's leave the long guns and jeep mounted machine guns at home, k?

Click to expand...

OC is OC, is it not? You can leave your long guns at home if you want to.I was actually surprised to see no M-92s or 870s slung at the picnic. You a Fudd or what?:question:

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thumper wrote:

Mike wrote:

shanebelanger wrote:

Ok guys, we're coming off of a successful event. . . .
Opinions?!

Click to expand...

I recommend you kindly ask participants to stay on message - the open carry of properly holstered handguns.

Let's leave the long guns and jeep mounted machine guns at home, k?

Click to expand...

OC is OC, is it not? You can leave your long guns at home if you want to.I was actually surprised to see no M-92s or 870s slung at the picnic. You a Fudd or what?:question:

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If you are calling Mike a Fudd, you're definitely in for a ride. :lol: Wouldn't suggest a flame war with him. He is one of the owners and founders of this site, and arguably one of the most knowledgeable people in this country regarding the furtherance of open carry.

Shane's no Fudd either; he's the real deal. He picked up the ball and ran with it while everybody else was talking and doing little else. You don't have to like the rules for his party, you can have your own next time.

Meanwhile, Shane was talking to people that had been there and done that successfully. Sometimes small steps are required and gain more ground than max in-your-face meetings that turn into confrontations - such generates a high level of bad press. We are after all trying to win the hearts and minds of the voting public. This means has worked elsewhere - there is every reason to believe such will work in Maine.

Also please heed OCDO rules:

11) This web site is focused on the right to openly carry properly holstered handguns in daily American life. Do not start OFF TOPIC threads or discussions such as promoting the carry of long guns. Long guns are great! OCDO co-founders John & Mike and most of the folks on this forum own at least one long gun - but due to urban area issues of muzzle control, lack of trigger guard coverage, and the fact that the long gun carry issue distracts from our main mission to promote the open carry of handguns in daily life, we will leavelong gun carry activism in the capable hands of the future founders of web sites about long gun carry.
http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum1/

Yata hey

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thumper wrote:

OC is OC, is it not?

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Here, open carry means properly holstered handguns.

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Ok, so apparently my idea is a bust. Trying to get people to run their own events and have a state-wide move is not going to happen. Like I said before this is finals week, thats why we haven't done anything. My last final is Thursday so here is the deal. We will be having an open carry trash pickup. Please see the new thread I'm going to go and make right now for more information.

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I've been going walking in Portland at least once a week. It's not an event per se, but it's getting the activity visible. Usually start on commercial st. head up to congress and get something at Starbucks...

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boyscout399 wrote:

I've been going walking in Portland at least once a week. It's not an event per se, but it's getting the activity visible. Usually start on commercial st. head up to congress and get something at Starbucks...

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Extremely effective means of getting the word out. Let us know of any interaction (questions/answers) you might encounter.

BTW - good to carry a down loadable digital recorder.

Yata hey

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Thats awesome boyscout! And I noticed that you will be coming to the OC trash pickup! I think that for the majority of people they like the whole strength in numbers idea. Perhaps they think that they will be harassed by the PD if they don't have a group? I'd be interested to see why more people aren't doing what your doing? Thats the only reason that I can come up with? And thanks for rsvp'ing!

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I do carry a voice recorder, and I also leave my knife in the car since that's what I got arrested for in Portland in the past. I've had several positive comments and no negative ones. As I was leaving Starbucks two trips ago a guy thanked me for carrying. No police encounters since the bbq thank goodness. Every time they stop me they want to tell me I'm doing it for attention, etc. and I'm really not. I carry for protection and I open carry because it's more comfortable and I believe it acts as a deterrent. It's hard to convince them every time that they have no grounds to stop me or detain me.

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boyscout399 wrote:

I do carry a voice recorder, and I also leave my knife in the car since that's what I got arrested for in Portland in the past. I've had several positive comments and no negative ones. As I was leaving Starbucks two trips ago a guy thanked me for carrying. No police encounters since the bbq thank goodness. Every time they stop me they want to tell me I'm doing it for attention, etc. and I'm really not. I carry for protection and I open carry because it's more comfortable and I believe it acts as a deterrent. It's hard to convince them every time that they have no grounds to stop me or detain me.

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If this were to happen with a high degree of frequency in a particular town or repeatedly by the same officer, you might want to consider taking some additional steps beginning with filing a letter of complaint.

I don't mind consensual dialog on most non-confrontational subjects, but unless I am being official detained w/RAS, I am not voluntarily taking part in conversations about my carry mode.

Yata hey