KSelig
Regular Member
I've been OCing for a year now. I started in WA and I immediately checked AL state law upon being stationed at Fort Rucker. I haven't had any trouble at all until tonight. It wasn't a huge deal, but with some of the other cases going on around here lately, I've been kind of skeptical about any confrontations with LEO. I guess it's time to get a voice recorder and print off some literature. Anyhow, here's what happened:
I was on my way from Enterprise to the Dothan airport to pick up a buddy coming back from leave. I had my 92FS in my Serpa on my hip, so I went around Fort Rucker and ended up heading through Pinckard. I stopped to get gas at a rinky dink little gas station. I went to put my card in the pump and realized that the pumps didn't take cards so I headed inside to pay.
When I got inside I noticed two young girls (probably the cashier's daughters, about 14 years old maybe). I wanted to fill up, so I asked if I could leave my card inside and have her unlock the pump. As I'm handing over my card, one of the girls says, "Oh, it must be eleven O'clock, the po-po are here."
I head out to go pump my gas and the officer stops me on my way to my car. The conversation goes like this:
(O) Officer- Hey buddy, are you carrying a gun?
(M) Me- (Looking down at my obvious full size beretta in its Serpa) Umm... Yes Sir, I am.
O- Ok, do you have a permit for that pistol?
M- Yes sir
O- Can I see it?
M- Yes sir (I hand it over)
O- (reading the permit) License to carry a revolver or pistol concealed on the person.....
M- Sir, a permit is not required to openly carry a pistol in the state of Alabama
O- If you're in your own house. Did they (pointing to the clerk) tell you that you could carry in their store?
M- They did not ask me to leave Sir, and I don't see any signs on the door restricting firearms.
O- What would you have done if they had asked you to leave?
M- I would have left Sir, otherwise I would've been trespassing
O- Are you in the Army?
M- Yes Sir
O- What unit are you with?
M- I'm in flight school Sir
O- Oh? How far along are you?
The discussion goes into my Army training and how he used to be an instructor at Rucker for a short time. He hands me my back my license, tells me to be safe, and I pump my gas. Then I go inside to get back my debit card and pay. He doesn't really say much to me after that.
Now, I have reasons for why I gave him my CPL and why I didn't push the OC issue with him.
1. My buddy was waiting for me at the airport and I didn't want him to be waiting all night.
2. I was trying to remember the codes that covered firearms in AL, but all I could remember were the ones from Washington.
3. With the recent cases of people being arrested, I wasn't willing to take the chance. An arrest for me (whether lawful or not) would not bode well for my career as a pilot, or Army Officer in general.
This reinforced that I don't know the law as well as I should otherwise I would've been able to cite them. I also should start carrying a voice recorder. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the whole thing. Nothing really came of it, but he had no reason to stop me in the first place. When I left I had to stop my self from relativizing it. I thought to myself "well, it went ok I guess. I'm not in handcuffs and he didn't take away my pistol or my permit." I had to remind myself that just because I wasn't arrested it doesn't mean that the stop was warranted.
I was on my way from Enterprise to the Dothan airport to pick up a buddy coming back from leave. I had my 92FS in my Serpa on my hip, so I went around Fort Rucker and ended up heading through Pinckard. I stopped to get gas at a rinky dink little gas station. I went to put my card in the pump and realized that the pumps didn't take cards so I headed inside to pay.
When I got inside I noticed two young girls (probably the cashier's daughters, about 14 years old maybe). I wanted to fill up, so I asked if I could leave my card inside and have her unlock the pump. As I'm handing over my card, one of the girls says, "Oh, it must be eleven O'clock, the po-po are here."
I head out to go pump my gas and the officer stops me on my way to my car. The conversation goes like this:
(O) Officer- Hey buddy, are you carrying a gun?
(M) Me- (Looking down at my obvious full size beretta in its Serpa) Umm... Yes Sir, I am.
O- Ok, do you have a permit for that pistol?
M- Yes sir
O- Can I see it?
M- Yes sir (I hand it over)
O- (reading the permit) License to carry a revolver or pistol concealed on the person.....
M- Sir, a permit is not required to openly carry a pistol in the state of Alabama
O- If you're in your own house. Did they (pointing to the clerk) tell you that you could carry in their store?
M- They did not ask me to leave Sir, and I don't see any signs on the door restricting firearms.
O- What would you have done if they had asked you to leave?
M- I would have left Sir, otherwise I would've been trespassing
O- Are you in the Army?
M- Yes Sir
O- What unit are you with?
M- I'm in flight school Sir
O- Oh? How far along are you?
The discussion goes into my Army training and how he used to be an instructor at Rucker for a short time. He hands me my back my license, tells me to be safe, and I pump my gas. Then I go inside to get back my debit card and pay. He doesn't really say much to me after that.
Now, I have reasons for why I gave him my CPL and why I didn't push the OC issue with him.
1. My buddy was waiting for me at the airport and I didn't want him to be waiting all night.
2. I was trying to remember the codes that covered firearms in AL, but all I could remember were the ones from Washington.
3. With the recent cases of people being arrested, I wasn't willing to take the chance. An arrest for me (whether lawful or not) would not bode well for my career as a pilot, or Army Officer in general.
This reinforced that I don't know the law as well as I should otherwise I would've been able to cite them. I also should start carrying a voice recorder. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the whole thing. Nothing really came of it, but he had no reason to stop me in the first place. When I left I had to stop my self from relativizing it. I thought to myself "well, it went ok I guess. I'm not in handcuffs and he didn't take away my pistol or my permit." I had to remind myself that just because I wasn't arrested it doesn't mean that the stop was warranted.