Came out of Home Depot, and There he Was!!!!

Howdy Folks!
I got off work last evening, and before leaving Brighton to head on home, decided I would stop in at the Home Depot
to get some "Private Property, no trespassing" signs for our home.

Don't know exactly how long I was in there, but when I came out, I saw an LEO who was driving an unmarked car.
My pistol was holstered on my left side (cross draw) and there was no way I could pass him without him seeing my
pistol. Several things flashed through my mind, like "Oh, I forgot something in the store and need to go back inside."
Nevertheless, I decided the best thing would be to go out to my car and walk right directly past him.

He was talking with another citizen and looked as I approached. I smiled and waved at him, and he waved back.
I continued walking to my car, half expecting a voice from behind me but none came. As I put my gear into the
car, I looked over to see him drive away, with nothing said or done.

I must admit to drawing a deep breath to relax, because I figured a confrontation might be forthcoming. I was glad
none did, because I was bone tired. I got in my car and drove home. Guess the LEOs in Brighton understand that
open carry is legal, and see no need to bother a citizen going about his lawful business.

All's well that ends that way.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

Uberness!!!

Yeah LEO seem to be OK with OC everywhere so far, sometime i get paranoid too so the Police Department of areas i want to visit to make sure OC is ok lol but i have yet to have someone say anything bad to me. Civilians also seem not to care as the only interaction I ever have with them is when they ask me if I am an off duty cop or just someone exercising my rights . Also, from what I have seen if you act regularly and just walk pass them while acknowledging their presence LEOs seem to relax more around us. WHATEVER YOU do just don’t run with the gun holstered LOL .

This is Colorado--not including the PDR of Denver, so why are you surprised that the vast majority of cops understand and respect our 2A rights? In the Springs, you would never get a second glance if you were going about your business in peaceful commerce or transit even if you were carrying a .50 AE Dessert Eagle. Read the thread in the Kalifornia section I just responded to, then thank the Lord you live in a Free State.

Gunslinger said:

This is Colorado--not including the PDR of Denver, so why are you surprised that the vast majority of cops understand and respect our 2A rights? In the Springs, you would never get a second glance if you were going about your business in peaceful commerce or transit even if you were carrying a .50 AE Dessert Eagle. Read the thread in the Kalifornia section I just responded to, then thank the Lord you live in a Free State.

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Howdy Gunslinger!
It is my experience that Murphy's law is not only right most of the time, but that Murphy was a real optimist.
And that if it can go wrong, it will usually do so for me! So I do find myself surprised when I don't have issues.
I was paranoid about whether I could buy a handgun until I finally broke down and bought one. I was surprised
then I was able to do so without any trouble whatsoever. Now I am busy being paranoid about whether I'll be
approved for my CCW, and won't stop fretting about that one until I am pleasantly surprised to find it in the mail
one of these days. It's just how I am, I guess. If I haven't got something to fret about, I just ain't functional.

But stories like these reinforce my sense of concern when open carrying.
http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...d-CO-pays-15-000-to-settle-open-carry-lawsuit

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...h-LE-at-some-time-or-another-(even-at-Belmar)

Just don't know how ready I am to tangle with an LEO like what Lockster reported, coming along with his own pistol
already drawn and presenting a threat.

Yes, Colorado for the most part is just fine. But there are instances where things go badly wrong.
From bitter experience, I've noticed that if they can go wrong, they usually do where I'm concerned.

Then again, most of what I worry about never happens.
Guess I'll just carry on and hope for the best.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

M-Taliesin said:

Howdy Gunslinger!
It is my experience that Murphy's law is not only right most of the time, but that Murphy was a real optimist.
And that if it can go wrong, it will usually do so for me! So I do find myself surprised when I don't have issues.
I was paranoid about whether I could buy a handgun until I finally broke down and bought one. I was surprised
then I was able to do so without any trouble whatsoever. Now I am busy being paranoid about whether I'll be
approved for my CCW, and won't stop fretting about that one until I am pleasantly surprised to find it in the mail
one of these days. It's just how I am, I guess. If I haven't got something to fret about, I just ain't functional.

But stories like these reinforce my sense of concern when open carrying.
http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...d-CO-pays-15-000-to-settle-open-carry-lawsuit

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...h-LE-at-some-time-or-another-(even-at-Belmar)

Just don't know how ready I am to tangle with an LEO like what Lockster reported, coming along with his own pistol
already drawn and presenting a threat.

Yes, Colorado for the most part is just fine. But there are instances where things go badly wrong.
From bitter experience, I've noticed that if they can go wrong, they usually do where I'm concerned.

Then again, most of what I worry about never happens.
Guess I'll just carry on and hope for the best.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

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Always a chance of bad ju-ju. But that chance is much less in a Free State than a Slave State. And if something does go wrong, courts in CO have shown little patience with those who violate our rights.

NavyLCDR said:

Why have we allowed ourselves to come to the point in this country when we worry about LEO busting us for legal behavior? Coming out of Home Depot and we want to run and hide back inside because there is a guy with a badge and uniform in our path?

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Howdy Pardner!
Then again, could be me. I tend to fret about things, and those things I fret about tend not to happen.
Still, all things considered, the reports of LEO encounters for this legal behavior are both compelling and
many. Some of them are stuck in the juggernaut of our legal process, putting out money and time to
defend their legal behavior. Skidmark is in that situation right now. And I've been told to expect
harassment for open carry, whether it is legal or not.

So, them's the berries. It is what it is. Why it got that way is nearly irrelevant. That we stand up against
that paradigm is what is important, and to drive change is the whole point of forums such as OCDO. If we
want our Constitutional rights, we gotta be prepared to take a stand. Even if that stand is in court. Do I
want a confrontation with a heavy handed LEO? Nope. Do I mind chatting with a reasonable LEO? No, I
don't. Most of them are just trying to get through their day, mellow and groovy. But we all know there are
some on testosterone overload who view this legal behavior as a challenge to their territory, carefully
marked by their pheremones.

I sincerely believe the vast majority of cops are really dedicated to 'serve and protect'. I do fret about
those who somehow sneaked by the psych eval to end up with a badge and a gun. The guy who confronted
Lokster is a real good example. The officer approached from behind with his weapon already drawn, no RAS
or probable cause. Lokster's complaint to Internal Affairs in Lakewood got him a senior officer who defended
the street cop by saying "That's how we've always done it." Well, in the case of a law abiding citizen who
is merely carrying a pistol while walking his dog, perfectly in accord with our 2nd Amendment, how they've
always done it is dead wrong. Luckily, Lokster isn't dead right!

Every encounter of a positive nature with an LEO only helps to establish confidence on my part, and I'm
already much more comfortable today than when I started carrying, like 2 months ago. In coming weeks,
months and years, I'm sure I will grow to feel much less concerned. Experience breeds confidence.

But until that day, I'll remain wary and on my guard. Only a fool engages in an ideological war unarmed.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

M-Taliesin,

"But until that day, I'll remain wary and on my guard. Only a fool engages in an ideological war unarmed."

Reminds me of one of my favorite philosophies: "I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person".
Also stated as: "I refuse to have a battle of wits with the unarmed".

Following that philosophy prevents this: :banghead:

OCW

M-Taliesin said:

Howdy Folks!
I got off work last evening, and before leaving Brighton to head on home, decided I would stop in at the Home Depot
to get some...

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Thanks for sharing your experience and reactions, M-T. That was an honest and thoughtful slice of (OC) life.

OldCurlyWolf said:

Reminds me of one of my favorite philosophies: "I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person".

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Amen.

I shopped at Kohl's this morning, not OCing, as I'd heard the tales, but CCing. No mention was made of my carrying, but when the cashier demanded to see my ID with my credit card, I politely declined, citing Master-Merchant agreement. She insisted and motioned over her manager, who turned out to be a royal PITA. She interrupted, then began berating me without my having been able to put a word in edgewise. I'm not one to banter words in public, and I'm certainly not one allow myself to be treated like trash, so I left her royal highness, the Princess of Willful Ignorance, as she babbled on through mouth agape, and was on the phone relating my experience to Kohl's Corporate office within 15 minutes.

In some ways I wish I'd been OCing... Although it might have shut her up, it may also have completely overshadowed the MasterCard issue. As it was, I complained about the MasterCard violation three levels up, all of whom where appalled at the manager's behavior, while I simultaneously filled out MasterCard's online reporting form specifically designed to report such departures from the MasterCard-Merchant contract.

Later today I received an e-mailed, yet signed letter of apology from Kohl's which touched on the manager's aberrant behavior and the corrective action corporate would take to ensure it never happens again!

Oh, how I wish stores such as Kohl's were so forthright and proper when it came to the issue of us exercising the Constitutional rights upon which our Country was founded.

since9 said:

Amen.

I shopped at Kohl's this morning, not OCing, as I'd heard the tales, but CCing. No mention was made of my carrying, but when the cashier demanded to see my ID with my credit card, I politely declined, citing Master-Merchant agreement. She insisted and motioned over her manager, who turned out to be a royal PITA. She interrupted, then began berating me without my having been able to put a word in edgewise. I'm not one to banter words in public, and I'm certainly not one allow myself to be treated like trash, so I left her royal highness, the Princess of Willful Ignorance, as she babbled on through mouth agape, and was on the phone relating my experience to Kohl's Corporate office within 15 minutes.

In some ways I wish I'd been OCing... Although it might have shut her up, it may also have completely overshadowed the MasterCard issue. As it was, I complained about the MasterCard violation three levels up, all of whom where appalled at the manager's behavior, while I simultaneously filled out MasterCard's online reporting form specifically designed to report such departures from the MasterCard-Merchant contract.

Later today I received an e-mailed, yet signed letter of apology from Kohl's which touched on the manager's aberrant behavior and the corrective action corporate would take to ensure it never happens again!

Oh, how I wish stores such as Kohl's were so forthright and proper when it came to the issue of us exercising the Constitutional rights upon which our Country was founded.

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I open carry at Kohl's here in VA all the time, never had an issue. Good that they responded quickly and correctly to your concern.

Hey, would you mind posting the link to this?

since9 said:

while I simultaneously filled out MasterCard's online reporting form specifically designed to report such departures from the MasterCard-Merchant contract.
.

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bogidu said:

Hey, would you mind posting the link to this?

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I think something like this is what you're looking for.

“Although Visa Rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID. Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures.”

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