Menomonie, WI Culvers OC Meet & Greet Possibility?

Menomonie, WI Culvers OC Meet & Eat March 12th, 2PM

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone that lives around Menomonie, WI would want to meet up at Culvers? I haven't open carried too much around here, just on my own property because I am not sure how cops react to people exercising their 2nd amendment rights around here. Maybe after eating at Culvers we could do some shopping at the local Mill's Fleet Farm and Wal-Mart. I was thinking of meeting on March 12th, around 2pm. I don't know of too many people on this forum in Dunn county and I'd like to meet other OC supporters. Looking forward to hearing from people!

Well, hello Pyro.

There are more of us in the EC area than Menomonie, that I know of. I know of about 6 within 25-30 miles. If you want to setup a Culver's meet in Memononie, that would be great. You will get people to show. I personally work weekend nights, but if you want to setup for the 12th of March, I WILL be there! Sent me a PM thru this site and we can exchange phone numbers and I will help any way I can to get this going. Also, if you want to do some OC in public, I will be more than happy to meet up and tour Menomonie. I live on the west side of EC and am about 20 miles from the Walmart distribution center.

I look forward to talking with you.

Tony Anderson

I live on the east side of Eau Claire and would be more than happy to have a Menomonie meet!! If you guys do an OC tour of the town let me know, I'd love to tag along.

el bumpo

I think March 12th should work for me so count me in.

Sounds like a plan all, we shall shoot for March 12th at 2PM then. I'll see if my wife feels like joining us, but she hates the idea of people walking around with guns strapped to their hips, maybe I could make her a little more comfortable with the idea if she saw some other level-headed citizens exercising their 2nd amendment rights. She's grown up around guns all her life, hunted, and target shot longer than I have. She told me last night if she saw someone walking around Wal-Mart with a gun on their hip at Wal-Mart she'd probably never shop their again, which isn't true because we shop there too much. If she's not comfortable with the idea of having lunch with us, then she'll probably just stay home or go hang out with one of her girlfriends.

She's more comfortable with concealed carry because then people don't know you have a gun on you, and the last thing I'd want to happen to her is cops approaching us while we're eating or shopping, she's really afraid of cops getting on our case. While she does appreciate the work they do, we got pulled over once when we were practicing for her driver's test in a parking lot, and she almost started to hyper-ventilate because she had a MN testing permit, and wasn't even supposed to be practicing in WI without a WI testing permit. The cop took her ID and mine, and I just explained to him I was helping her practice in an empty parking lot at 11pm at night. He ran our ID's, handed em back, and thanked us for practicing in a parking lot as well as wished her luck on her driver's test.

Anyways, enough rambling. The cops here are pretty understanding as far as I could tell, I actually talked to em when they rang my doorbell two nights ago and thought I was a different guy because they had him living at my address when he used to live at the address right above us. Next time I end up randomly talking to them, I should ask them if they support people's 2nd amendment rights and their privilege to open carry in WI, just to get a feel for Menomonie's police force. The hardest thing I think about open carrying in Menomonie is 1000 foot school zones spread out over Menomonie. Culvers isn't in one of them though.

Chris K.

Pyro01 said:

She's more comfortable with concealed carry because then people don't know you have a gun on you, and the last thing I'd want to happen to her is cops approaching us while we're eating or shopping, she's really afraid of cops getting on our case. While she does appreciate the work they do, we got pulled over once when we were practicing for her driver's test in a parking lot, and she almost started to hyper-ventilate because she had a MN testing permit, and wasn't even supposed to be practicing in WI without a WI testing permit. The cop took her ID and mine, and I just explained to him I was helping her practice in an empty parking lot at 11pm at night. He ran our ID's, handed em back, and thanked us for practicing in a parking lot as well as wished her luck on her driver's test.


Chris K.

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If your wife will understand logic, ask her what's more dangerous. A potentially dangerous situation she can see and keep an eye on, or one that you can't see and don't know is there?
Also explain to her that in that parking lot, it's private property and a DL is not required on private property. The officer knew that, that's why nothing happened. They have limitations on their authority. It just gets abused a lot and that's where the most problems and negative sentiment comes in. Same with carrying and confrontations. The officer's are technically limited in their actions. So she doesn't need to be scared, it can really be a learning experience for all.

Motofixxer said:

If your wife will understand logic, ask her what's more dangerous. A potentially dangerous situation she can see and keep an eye on, or one that you can't see and don't know is there?
Also explain to her that in that parking lot, it's private property and a DL is not required on private property. The officer knew that, that's why nothing happened. They have limitations on their authority. It just gets abused a lot and that's where the most problems and negative sentiment comes in. Same with carrying and confrontations. The officer's are technically limited in their actions. So she doesn't need to be scared, it can really be a learning experience for all.

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with totality of circumstances for some?

When I ask her if she'd rather know a law-abiding citizen is carrying a gun versus a criminal who can't unlawfully conceal one without anyone's knowledge and use it for wrongdoing, she just goes silent. It's kinda hard even for me to get a grasp on what she sees on the issue of a law-abiding citizen exercising their 2nd amendment right. The parking lot we were practicing in was actually government property, our house was on the same block this human care resources building is on, but when he pulled us over, we were already back on private property in our own little parking lot.

my best one was, when arguing with my anti- fatherinlaw, who claimed i didnt need a gun at his house (like he has one to protect me/us right?), i countered with; well you dont need the fire extinguishers you have in your home, just throw them out, if a fire starts, you can just call the fire dept. and they'll come. he just shook his head and grinned. touche' there dude.

I'll have to remember that one. Or what about throwing out all the first aid kits because we'll just call an ambulance when someone burns their hand a little bit on the stove, or cuts their finger?

Well, I guess this is going to work with very little effort. I will make some phone calls.

I was looking at one of my old posts in another thread and found out Caribou Coffee supports open carry in Wisconsin. We got one of those across from Wal-Mart, I don't go there, but it's nice to find potential meeting places.

Pyro01 said:

The hardest thing I think about open carrying in Menomonie is 1000 foot school zones spread out over Menomonie. Culvers isn't in one of them though.

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As long as you're in their parking lot or in the restaurant, it wouldn't matter if the school were next door - you're on private property. Same as being at someone's house, or any business.

If you're not standing on gov't owned land, you can be within that magical 1000' zone and the law says you're in the right.

Some police officers have had different opinions, but eventually learned the error of their ways, sometimes with considerable expense to their employers.

I had coffee a week ago with a friend of mine who happens to be an officer, & he mentioned that the shop we were in was across the street from a church that he thought had a school, so I should be careful where I carry. (He's an OK guy, so I didn't interpret this as a threat that he would arrest me.)

I pointed out to him that a) I had parked in the off-street lot adjacent to the coffee shop
b) I was still on private property
c) I didn't know there was a school there, or within 3 blocks, so couldn't be convicted.

He was a bit surprised about that last. I suggested he re-read the law, 'cause in this case ignorance is actually an excuse. He was still surprised.

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/Stat0948.pdf
948.605(2)(a)
Any individual who knowingly possesses a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone is guilty of a Class I felony.
(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to the possession of a firearm
1) on private property not part of school grounds
3) that is not loaded and is
a) encased


As a side note, anyone notice that 948.605(3) [discharge of a firearm in a school zone] does NOT have as an exemption self-defense? There's another law that needs to be changed.

Well apparently, in California. The school zone covers the front yard of a residence if it's open to the public. They don't consider it private property unless it's completely closed off by fence etc. As wrong as it is...that's has been upheld in court multiple times I believe.

Motofixxer said:

Well apparently, in California. The school zone covers the front yard of a residence if it's open to the public. They don't consider it private property unless it's completely closed off by fence etc. As wrong as it is...that's has been upheld in court multiple times I believe.

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Good thing we don't live in California!

California's a nice place, just not for gun laws.

Well, by the looks of it so far, I think there's going to be four of us total. Anyone else in the area interested in attending? If I had some friends of my own that owned a handgun and felt the same way I did I'd have them come along, but the only person who may fit that description is a friends dad who's a vietnam vet I believe. He doesn't open carry that I know of, but man does he and his buddies love to shoot.

I'd also like to add I finally had $15 in my wallet to let me join WI Carry, yay!

Pyro01 said:

I'd also like to add I finally had $15 in my wallet to let me join WI Carry, yay!

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Welcome! :banana: