Ms. Hernandez has previously inquired about Glocktalk where there is an active Carry Issues forum
here. I post there quite a bit but there is a moderator for that forum area under the userid RussP who, although from VA, is well-versed in open-carry issues.
One observation that Ms. Hernandez might take away from this endeavor is the obvious skepticism held by law-abiding citizens (who've simply made a decision to take more responsibility for the safety of themselves and their loved ones) that their view will get a fair shake in the press. Perhaps her difficulty in getting material, and why, is worthy of part of the article.
I have open-carried in my small town, with no consequences thus far, but a small western WI city is different than the enclaves of Madison or Milwaukee. When travelling I'm the same person but carry concealed on non-resident carry permit(s).
That a citizen must end up being subjected to becoming a 'test case' to endure outrageous expense and a city's waste of tax dollars to fight for a right, absent any other criminal conduct, is a shame anywhere in America. That should be the take-away for the article.
No, I've never had to present the firearm. Yes, I'm still waiting for the AG and/or Legislature to act to clarify the absolute swamp that is WI firearms law since, as it stands now, any reasonable person has to either deny themselves exercise of the right, or in the blink of an eye suddenly find themselves breaking the law. RE open-carry, the most obvious example is my open-carry into the convenience store to pickup my regular coffee & newspaper, chat with the staff about weather, gas prices, etc., put some pennies in the jar and then... if I simply get in my car I've now broken the
concealed carry statute.
Do I think such an article, after making it through the editorial process, would ever call for an examination of such things, as being in the public interest? Not really, although I'd be delighted to be proved wrong by Ms. Hernandez. I truly wish her luck, but I don't think it can be discarded that there is general mistrust in play. When local papers continue to run AP stories citing completely flawed WHO or CDC "studies" as factual, without any further fact-checking save a 1 liner at the bottom that says "gun advocacy groups dispute the survey" then perhaps she will understand the trust issue.
I'm open to answering some reasonable questions (PM or email works), no different than I would be about helping a young student write a paper about concealed-carry on campus... but I remain skeptical.
