WOW talk about a blatant attack on Open Carry by Connecticut

[Shawn Mitola]

Anybody notice?

The line appears to be off the website. Well done.

Nope it is still there, down at the bottom of the page. I've been checking it daily. I will give it one more day and that will be 1 week since I received the first response that they will take it down. If it is still there tomorrow I will email him back and see what is taking so long.

 

[Rich B]

Reply from ctgunpermit.com

Received the following:

I have never once seen anyone in CT ever open carry. The ones who have. Have been arrested. Why would I tell a student to open carry. I understand what your saying. You try to open carry people call the police. They arrest you for breach of peace. That's a fact.
Mike
Sent from my iPhone

Replied as follows:

Mr. Capozziello,
That is not a fact. I open carry every day all over Connecticut I have interacted with the police twice in over a year regarding my firearm, so I can confirm your assertion is demonstrably false.

No one is asking you to 'tell people to open carry'. I am asking you to take down blatantly incorrect information from your website though. I am also hopeful you will get educated with the laws in this state and learn about both forms of legal carry so that you can be a more effective instructor. You have that responsibility. I would be happy to assist you.

If you disagree, name the people who have been arrested for open carry. Name the ones convicted.

Breach of peace is not a valid charge for the mere act of openly carrying a firearm in the State of Connecticut.

Are you interested in what the BFPE had to say to the Fairfield PD when they used the same faulty argument based on the misinformation that you are helping to spread?

Listen to this:
http://ctgunrights.com/06.Audio/Fairfield.Opencarry.Legal.MP3

Please reconsider your attitude towards rights and firearms carry here in CT. You are misinformed and you are spreading bad information (at least through your website). Correcting this is not difficult, but it is important.

You can learn more about the culture of open carry here in Connecticut here:

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?90-Connecticut


--
Rich Burgess
Ph: 203.208.9577

 

[Rich B]

My favorite argument against OC being legal in CT is "I have never seen someone OC in CT".


I have never seen a person drink tea from a coke bottle while standing on their head, that doesn't mean it is illegal.

 

[Rich B]

Reply from ctgunpermit.com

His reply:

I will check out exactly what the actual law is in CT. If I am wrong I will have the site changed. For my self I would never ever let anyone know I have a gun. I live in bpt the only thing I have is the element of surprise. I open carry down there the bad guy will shoot me in the head before I break leather he sees my gun I'm getting it 1st no thank you. Mike
Ps I will let you know what I fond out.

Sent from my iPhone

My reply:

Mr. Capozziello,
You are certainly welcome to your opinion and your choice of carry. After all, that is what having these rights is all about.

I do worry about an 'NRA instructor' making such patently false assertions about the advantages and disadvantages of open carry.

Can you point to one incident where a law abiding open carrier has been killed because of his choice of carry anywhere in the country?

Your assertion that open carry will 'get you shot first' is much like the line that allowing people to carry firearms will result in 'blood in the streets'. It is spouted over and over but can not be backed up by any facts or statistics among the mounting evidence to the contrary.

I can easily counter your argument with one that should be taught in your class considering our statutes on defense.

You carry concealed so that you may 'get the drop' and have 'tactical advantage' over an attacker. I imagine you think of yourself as a 'sheepdog' or something similar.

I do not.

I don't have any delusions about my rights to self defense in this state, nor do I have any misunderstandings of the capabilities (or lack thereof) of a handgun. I would prefer to be a deterrent to crime. Instead of 'catching' bad guys, I would rather they just stay away from me. I have no desire to ever have to "clear leather", much less use my firearm. I would much rather a criminal sees my firearm and decides that there are softer targets available.

You instruct on permit and defense laws (I hope). Please tell me which view is more likely to be in compliance with our state laws. Which one do you think is going to be a better argument in court if a self defense shooting has to happen?

Please do your research, and let me know if you need any help with the statutes. CGS 29-35 is the relevant statute.

I hope you will also utilize the link to opencarry.org as well. You have a responsibility to teach people properly about the very important responsibility of carrying a firearm, and you are only teaching (at the most) 50% of carry options right now.

--
Rich Burgess
Ph: 203.208.9577

My later addition:

I should also add, in case you suppose that I am only speaking of open carry in rural environments or something similar, that I am well known to regularly open carry all over New Haven (I am apparently not alone in doing so either) as well as the surrounding shoreline towns and all the way up north into New Britain and beyond.

Last I checked, New Haven and Bridgeport have very similar crime problems.

If you want to hear the worst interaction I have had in New Haven so far, here you go:
http://subtlehustle.org/NewHavenRudeOfficer/New Haven OC incident 4-2-2011.mp3

--
Rich Burgess
Ph: 203.208.9577

 

[Rich B]

I would have hoped that an NRA instructor would have more understanding of the laws in this state to begin with. This should not be an argument/debate/question if you have even done a cursory review of the law.

I am disappointed so far. I hope he corrects this.

 

[Rich B]

Another reply:

I will investigate it. I know in 51 years in CT I have never once seen Anyone carry open
Maybe in the country I live in a city it's in heard of. I'll look into it. I have owned over 500 guns am a NRA lifemember an NRA recruiter and range officer and instructor so I'm hardly a novice.
Mike

Sent from my iPhone

 

[beanoboy7]

Anybody notice?

The line appears to be off the website. Well done.

This is still on Mike's homepage....

"If you want to carry a concealed firearm and/or to purchase a firearm for the purpose of getting into the shooting sports and you currently live in or are visiting Connecticut, then you have come to the right place."

 

[Shawn Mitola]

This is still on Mike's homepage....

"If you want to carry a concealed firearm and/or to purchase a firearm for the purpose of getting into the shooting sports and you currently live in or are visiting Connecticut, then you have come to the right place."

No he was referring to the original topic of this thread about the See something, Say something campaign.
This thread has gotten a little highjacked but its all for a good cause so I don't mind.

 

[SickPythons]

I recently went through the NRA Instructor's course and found that Connecticut and the NRA don't require laws to be taught in this class. Apparently, in MA, they must give some supplementary information about gun laws in conjunction with the basic pistol course.

There is another class from the NRA which I believe is called Self-Defense inside the Home and another Outside the Home which goes into further detail about the laws, but they are mostly when to shoot situations.

However, I do agree that if you are giving the course, your students will certainly have questions and you should be able to answer them accurately.

I would have hoped that an NRA instructor would have more understanding of the laws in this state to begin with. This should not be an argument/debate/question if you have even done a cursory review of the law.

I am disappointed so far. I hope he corrects this.

 

[KIX]

I can see why the NRA doesn't want to go that deep as a requirement. Look at it now without the requirement. Do we really want a ton of people "interpreting" law?

I do, however, answer questions when I can. I give copies or links to the CT laws and tell my students it is their responsibility to learn the law. I tell them they don't want to deal with the board on a revocation and every bullet has a lawyer attached to it.

Jonathan

 

[Rich B]

A 'Correction' from ctgunpermit.com

At least a small positive step:

Richard Burgess,
I read your lawsuit against the town of Wallingford,
I wish you luck in your fight,
You are correct nowhere does it actually state that open carry is illegal in CT,
I will change the wording on my web site, And teach that it is not illegal to open carry,
to reflect the law in CT.
What happened to you in Wallingford was the reason I have not attempted to carry open.
I knew the police would not know the law.
I believe your case is a winner,
If you have a legal fund I would be happy to make a donation.
Mike



Michael J. Capozziello
NRA Certified Pistol Instructor
203.516.8858
michael60@gmail.com
www.ctgunpermit.com

My reply:

Mr. Capozzielo,
Thank you for reviewing this matter.

Feel free to use my case or any of my material (http://withregardstorights.com) to further educate your students.
Wallingford was an isolated incident, and I am taking them to court for it. I expect to win.

In the meantime, I have not stopped carrying openly, including in Wallingford. I started carrying openly on a regular basis in April of 2010. My arrest was in May of 2010. I had no such problems up until then or since then, and I believe that incident was just the good luck of having a badly informed BEA (a permit holder of 20+ years!) who decided to act on his misinformation and verbally assault me in public, mixed with the good fortune of having an equally poorly informed police department respond. Now all parties are facing federal litigation for their ignorance and arrogance (and maliciousness).

You can see why I am so eager to make sure the right facts get out to the public and especially to permit holders. Perhaps you also might want to tell the tale of Mr. Vanaman and make people understand that it is their duty to know the laws completely. Acting on poor understandings can get you arrested or sued. Commonly, the people I get the 'dirty looks' or negative comments from, while very few in number, are permit holders. Often they are permit holders who are carrying concealed who I have 'made' from across a parking lot. We get a lot of laughs about this, but in my Wallingford incident, it became pretty serious.

The BEA that day believed that open carry was illegal and that it is also illegal to carry in a place that serves alcohol. We both know neither is true. The BEA has continued to assert, even after being told of my criminal case's dismissal and being informed of the law, that what I did was illegal and he would take the same actions next time. That kind of ignorance and arrogance is a powder keg waiting for a light, and I consider him to be a dangerous criminal to anyone exercising their rights. You never know what other right would set this kind of person off. Long hair? Tattoos? Skin color? Sexuality? I don't care to find out.

As I said before, you can get all the details of my case in Wallingford as well as any other adventures I stumble upon:

http://withregardstorights.com

Another good site for current issues:

http://ctgunrights.com

And a good place to ask questions or learn more about open carry:

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?90-Connecticut


I appreciate your attention to this matter. I wish you good luck in your endeavors.

--
Rich Burgess
Ph: 203.208.9577

 

[blackbilly]

Like I said before folks, we ALL have alot of work to do. I found yet another 'instructor' that insists CT is a conceal state. I emailed him last night to get for a little clarity in the wording on his website (it was alittle scetchy), and this is his response... "If you carry a gun that’s not concealed you will lose your gun permit, and end up in front of a judge.

Ct has only 1 gun permit it is concealed only".

mike





Michael J. Capozziello
NRA Certified Pistol Instructor
203.516.8858
michael60@gmail.com[/email
[url]www.ctgunpermit.com[/url]

I haven't yet followed up with a reply to him, but you know I will.[/QUOTE]

I Know I am knew here. Been searching around because I want to find the truth of this whole issue.

Michael taught me my course. We had a large discussion on this and well let just say I see his points. More for self preservation.

 

[Rich B]

We had a large discussion on this and well let just say I see his points. More for self preservation.

I don't get it. What were his points, and what are yours?

 

[Ctclassic]

BlackBilly, First of all, welcome to the site. You have chosen the best forum (imo) to find out what is fact, from what is myth. I cannot stress enough the fact that you need to listen, understand and digest EVERYTHING that Rich B. writes on here. He is the one we all tend to turn to for questions etc. Please continue to look around and follow previous links to educate yourself on the legality of opencarry. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Rich B]

I worry about the destructive impact of instructors, but I have noticed another sad trend.

Many of the people making the most noise about whether or not it is a good idea to OC are people who don't have permits (or have had permits for very short periods of time).

Example:

http://www.ctguntalk.com/smf/concea...-ct/how-to-handle-an-oc'er/msg39849/#msg39849
http://www.ctguntalk.com/smf/anything-goes/pissed/msg40019/#msg40019

When posted in public, people are seeing this as further 'proof' that OCers are routinely arrested or harassed.
Instead of just listening to other people and asking questions so they can get educated, they are spouting FUD and nonsense.


Very sad that this FUD is still propagating.

 

[KIX]

Educating instructors is a good is a good start, as well as LEO's that still don't get it.

But, As we see, it is across the board that we need to educate the public. I try whenever I open carry and have had good results. Actually....... the worst conversation I have had was....... here! That guy I had the discussion with about New Britain was more of a debate than a simple discussion.

But, every day, I think we are making new strides. I think the stories and interactions we read about here are proof of that.

Jonathan

 

[Shawn Mitola]

now if you all don't mind I'm going to bring this thread back on topic for a second and also pat myself on the back just a tiny bit.

http://www.keepctsafe.com/something.htm

Just checked the website as I have been every day since I got my email saying they would remove it and YAY!!! low and behold they actually edited the site and removed the line about Open carry. I'm excited that a few strongly worded email were enough to get this changed. I'm going to compose another email to all those who responded to me thanking them for helping to get that line removed from the website.

Ok I'm done patting myself on the back now... i was getting a cramp anyway. Thanks to everyone who gave their input.

 

[thebigsd]

now if you all don't mind I'm going to bring this thread back on topic for a second and also pat myself on the back just a tiny bit.

http://www.keepctsafe.com/something.htm

Just checked the website as I have been every day since I got my email saying they would remove it and YAY!!! low and behold they actually edited the site and removed the line about Open carry. I'm excited that a few strongly worded email were enough to get this changed. I'm going to compose another email to all those who responded to me thanking them for helping to get that line removed from the website.

Ok I'm done patting myself on the back now... i was getting a cramp anyway. Thanks to everyone who gave their input.

Great news!!!!! It just goes to show what one dedicated and informed citizen can do!!! Glad I could help with my suggestions!

 

[Rich B]

Just checked the website as I have been every day since I got my email saying they would remove it and YAY!!! low and behold they actually edited the site and removed the line about Open carry. I'm excited that a few strongly worded email were enough to get this changed. I'm going to compose another email to all those who responded to me thanking them for helping to get that line removed from the website.

Great job. In my mind that is what this thread is all about; repelling attacks on open carry with well informed and patient writing.

I have experienced a lot of other forums that sit there complaining about incompetent this and stupid that. Complaints about our whole state being anti gun, while never trying to educate anyone out of it.

 

[Ctclassic]

Well done Shawn!! Even with baby steps, one can travel long distances.