WLBZ2 News - Open carry picnic in Portland, ME on Sunday 14 August 2011

http://www.wlbz2.com/news/article/168416/3/A-look-at-news-coming-up-for-the-week-of-Monday-August-8

SNIP

"SUNDAY - Gun Owners will be celebrating their 2nd Amendment rights with a picnic Sunday. The Maine Open Carry Association set up the second annual picnic in Back Bay in Portland to unite people who have similar attitudes and viewpoints."

Wow, all those press releases really paid off.

Public relations - it's a war for the hearts and minds of the people.

Give them enough "facts" and they will make intelligent decisions.

Grapeshot said:

Public relations - it's a war for the hearts and minds of the people.

Give them enough "facts" and they will make intelligent decisions.

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I take the perspective that people will just choose the facts that support their pre-determined beliefs. Don't think there are a lot of moderates to swing on gun rights; people are pretty much "us" and "them".

Grapeshot said:

Public relations - it's a war for the hearts and minds of the people.

Give them enough "facts" and they will make intelligent decisions.

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Yes, now if only we could convince the media to provide real facts instead of "pretend" facts....

Good that they got some recognition. Hopefully some more folks will turn how because of it.

thebigsd said:

Yes, now if only we could convince the media to provide real facts instead of "pretend" facts....

Good that they got some recognition. Hopefully some more folks will turn how because of it.

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With any luck we'll get some media coverage at the event. I see one of the main benefits of OC as the ability to engage an otherwise disinterested public and perhaps disavow some of them from their stereotypical view of gun owners.

ep0k said:

I take the perspective that people will just choose the facts that support their pre-determined beliefs. Don't think there are a lot of moderates to swing on gun rights; people are pretty much "us" and "them".

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ep0k said:

With any luck we'll get some media coverage at the event. I see one of the main benefits of OC as the ability to engage an otherwise disinterested public and perhaps disavow some of them from their stereotypical view of gun owners.

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No benefit..........benefit. You never will sell everybody.

I take the position that any publicity is good press - it does cause people to think and they ARE getting the message. They see through the lies and deceptions of the antis and are taking a more informed position at the very least.

Grapeshot said:

No benefit..........benefit. You never will sell everybody.

I take the position that any publicity is good press - it does cause people to think and they ARE getting the message. They see through the lies and deceptions of the antis and are taking a more informed position at the very least.

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I also agree that any press is good press. Although, the media does control the views of the masses unfortunately. The war on the hearts and minds is quite an uphill battle in America because of this.

I enjoyed the event and I look forward to future gatherings. I'll be keeping my eyes open for range trips and the like.

Had a great time meeting everyone. Next year I hope to participate rather than just attend.

Saoirse said:

I enjoyed the event and I look forward to future gatherings. I'll be keeping my eyes open for range trips and the like.

Had a great time meeting everyone. Next year I hope to participate rather than just attend.

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yes it was a good time!!! you did participate today!!! if you where there than you participated today!!!

XD-OVER

Saoirse said:

I enjoyed the event and I look forward to future gatherings. I'll be keeping my eyes open for range trips and the like.

Had a great time meeting everyone. Next year I hope to participate rather than just attend.

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crdonov said:

yes it was a good time!!! you did participate today!!! if you where there than you participated today!!!

XD-OVER

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OCing, CCing or noCing - being there and standing up to be counted is what counts - good job!!

Anybody got pictures and after action report? Please share them.

Met a journalist around 11:00 before the event started, got lots of face time. Police LT showed up at 12:00, no issues, left promptly. Cruisers in the area over the course of the day. Approximately 20 people turned out and we had some good community interaction. Also picked up the trash, as per usual. Think overall we did a good job of keeping our focus on RTKBA / Visibility and keeping partisan politics out of it. Met lots of new friends.

free

had a great time finally meeting all u guys. Looking forward to next year and any upcoming events.

I had a really nice time today, met a lot of nice people. You folks sure are a nice group.

To be completely honest with everyone... today was my first time ever open carrying, it felt... strange. Almost the same type of "strange" as the first time I conceal carried (maybe that makes me a pansy, or is that normal?). It seemed to wear off as the time went by though, and then was not a problem. I even stopped to get gas in Waterville on my way home and was still carrying (forgot about it), no one freaked out or called the cops, got a few strange looks though. I suppose that the strange looks are normal.

I think that the more interesting part of the day while at the event was seeing peoples reactions to a crowd with holstered guns. Aside from the group that yelled a few unintelligible words towards the group of us in the back (closest to the parking lot) I thought it was very interesting that everyone walking or biking by seemed to look twice at the group of us. Some how at some point in time people started to associate people that have guns as "bad people". Not sure why this is, but it seems like it would be something interesting to research. No matter what the reason, having these "get togethers" is very important. Not only for coaching law enforcement, but also teaching the citizenry that just because someone has a gun does not make them a bad person, or someone to be feared.

The more events like this and the more that people carry, hopefully people would become more accustomed to people wearing handguns. I cant wait for next year.


73,
-Joe

Abackus said:

....snip......

The more events like this and the more that people carry, hopefully people would become more accustomed to people wearing handguns. I cant wait for next year.

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Don't wait for next year, become an instant ambassador and educator for your RKBA in any legal manner - of course OC is the better tool for that.

Grapeshot said:

Don't wait for next year, become an instant ambassador and educator for your RKBA in any legal manner - of course OC is the better tool for that.

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Exactly. instead of events, make OC a part of your everyday life!

This Event was fantastic! I got to talk Firearms with people who speak my kind of language. Everyone was friendly and nice to be around. This was my first time in that part of Portland, and more over, my first time OCing in such a...im not sure how to say it..well..high traffic area I suppose would be a good term. My time Ocing as been, for the most part, around a much smaller group of people. All the looks we got were a little different but then again, people who don't understand will always take that second look.

And on a other note, this is most likely THE longest i have OCed to date, and after a while I could hardly notice my firearm was there.

I think it would be good to do some more OC events. Not so much for media coverage or to 'get the word out'. It just made me that much more comfortable to be around other people who were also carrying. As Joe had said, 'It was the safest place to be in Portland'.

Shane, I thought your interviews came out very nice and put MOCA in a good or neutral light. We weren't there to cause trouble, no trouble was caused, and over all was a good time. Heres the link to the Portland Press Heralds story:

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Event-supporting-right-to-carry-firearms-in-public-draws-20-people.html

I would like to get together for range time on a more regular basis, maybe make that a monthly thing. It was a good group building exercise and I enjoyed the opportunity to introduce folks to their first shooting experience. It's nice to get face time with everyone.

The Portland Press Herald said:

Belanger, a University of Southern Maine student, said the group wants to show that it’s not just criminals who carry firearms. He said law-abiding people do as well, but others may just not realize it.

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I am not sure what I think of the way she phrased her last paragraph. Almost comes across as, "It's not only criminals you need to fear, but law-abiding people too." She couldn't have explained the different purposes criminals and law-abiding citizens have for carrying? Self-defense versus victimization would certainly have left a different taste in the readers mouth.

Saoirse said:

I am not sure what I think of the way she phrased her last paragraph. Almost comes across as, "It's not only criminals you need to fear, but law-abiding people too." She couldn't have explained the different purposes criminals and law-abiding citizens have for carrying? Self-defense versus victimization would certainly have left a different taste in the readers mouth.

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Therein lies the problem which we work to overcome - the negative perception.

While it is a war of words and images, we are winning. People don't blindly accept the canned tripe anymore.