Open Carry Trash Pickup Followup

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Hey there everyone!

Just got home from the OC trash pickup. Must say I had a good time with the few people who attended. Thank you Shane, Chris, Julian, John... I forget the name of the older gentleman who was with us, my apologies to him. It seems though, that Back Cove was relatively maintained to begin with, would love an opportunity to do this again along the highway or something.

Haven't seen much in the press yet, but my ugly mug is in the Portland Press Herald already... http://www.pressherald.com/news/Small-turnout-for-trash-and-carry.html

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Yeah it was good. I was reading some of the comments to the article you linked here. Someone said there was 9 cops there and 24 on call? to be honest the whole time I was there I do not even recall seeing 1 cop well uniformed anyways there very well possibly could of been plain clothes present though. In my opinion I do not even see why there would need to be a police presence at something like this because 1 all the people that go to things like this are legal firearms owners 2 the firearms are properly holstered and never leave their holster. But I guess from reading the comments on the article some people feel a police presence is necessary at an event like this. Which I do not get! the police should be on patrol or investigating crimes or tracking criminals not stalking legal firearm owners in the shadows. Being a resident of Portland and knowing how it can be at times crime wise I'm willing to bet the back cove was probably the safest place to be that day. This was my first time openly carrying and I did not get any dirty looks or rude comments from any people at all! it was a positive experience for me and I plan on openly carrying allot more in the future would love to openly carry down at monument square and on congress st but will take baby steps first. Josh I see you are stepping it up man Good job! And what I really like seeing is how you are being safe with your firearms and showing your son the positives of firearms! he is only 5 and already see's that it's legal to openly carry a firearm when I was 5 I did not even know you could carry a firearm period! it's just great to see you practicing the 1st amendment,2nd amendment etc.. and showing your son what his rights are at such a young age maybe in 13 years we will have another open carrier possibly? How often do you usually carry in your area? I'd love to oc down in that area got allot of friends and family down there maybe one day we'll bump into each other both oc'ing at the grocery store or something keep it up though man! I know Norman said he usually walks to and from star bucks weekly that's good too Maybe one day I'll walk down to star bucks oc'ing soon! but I got to step it up I'm going to try and carry more. Oh yeah I found some more photos also http://mainetoday.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1005010&CategoryID=52602&ListSubAlbums=0

Stay safe everyone! God Bless!

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It is actually the "non-event" status that makes things so great and proves the point - ordinary citizens just going through their daily lives and giving back to the community in this case.

Even if LE was monitoring you, they will eventually grow tired of doing so as they come to better understand what is happening and what is NOT happening. Somewhere along the way, it'll be reduced to a simple drive-by with a wave.

Yata hey

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mack91 wrote:

How often do you usually carry in your area?

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To be perfectly frank, I've done it this area only three times in the last 3 days I've seen others do it on occasion, but have never taken the steps to do it myself until recently. Was on the fence a long time... really indecisive about doing it or not doing it. Weighing factors like will it bother people? Will people bother me? Will the cops get called? I mean, I know it is legal; I know my rights. I know that people aren't used to seeing OC. I think my hesitation stemmed from not wanting to cause a scene.

The cookout proved to me that we as open carriers are not the ones that are causing the scene. The people who disagree with what we are doing are the ones that start the drama. They are the ones that attempt to make us feel wrong about embracing and acting on our rights. Perhaps I was a little slow in realizing that, but now I have had the proverbial light switch come on and have decided to do what I think is right.

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This one's for you MrJoshua :idea:

It is the anti-freedom crowd that is loud and abrasive, not the legal OCer.

It is the anti-freedom people that are aggressive, not the legal OCer.

It is the anti-freedom tactic to lie and distort, not that way of the legal OCer.

If you give in to abrasive, aggressive lies in retaliation to OCing, what will happen to your freedom?

If on the other hand more and more people come to understand the truth which you have discovered and chose to exercise their rights, the possibilities are limitless. Look what happened with just one picnic.

Respond with knowledge, tact and civility - you will underwhelm them and give them enough room to make fools of themselves.

Yata hey

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MrJoshua wrote:

mack91 wrote:

How often do you usually carry in your area?

Click to expand...

To be perfectly frank, I've done it this area only three times in the last 3 days I've seen others do it on occasion, but have never taken the steps to do it myself until recently. Was on the fence a long time... really indecisive about doing it or not doing it. Weighing factors like will it bother people? Will people bother me? Will the cops get called? I mean, I know it is legal; I know my rights. I know that people aren't used to seeing OC. I think my hesitation stemmed from not wanting to cause a scene.

The cookout proved to me that we as open carriers are not the ones that are causing the scene. The people who disagree with what we are doing are the ones that start the drama. They are the ones that attempt to make us feel wrong about embracing and acting on our rights. Perhaps I was a little slow in realizing that, but now I have had the proverbial light switch come on and have decided to do what I think is right.

Click to expand...

Well said!