dwordinger
Regular Member
I've carried around Spokane and never had any problem, issue, or concern expressed by anyone, until last weekend. I've also carried on the west side abound Seattle, and Bellingham. A week ago I was in Everett and carried in the Comcast Arena with no problem.
This last weekend Dr. Ron Paul came to Spokane and I was a volunteer collecting contact information from some of the people who came to hear him speak. The event was held in the Spokane Convention Center owned by the Spokane Public Facilities District. I was approached by one of the facility's employees and told it was their policy not to allow the carrying of firearms. I wish I had been able to record the conversation, but he first said something like he couldn't make me leave the building or remove my weapon but it was their policy to not allow weapons in the building. I told him I didn't care about his policy, Washington State Preemption Law says I can carry in the Convention Center. He went on about his policy and said I had to take my weapon out to my car. I politely informed him I did not. I didn't want to escalate the encounter and I certainly didn't want to cause a disturbance for Ron Paul's event, but I let him know he was wrong. He quickly backed off a bit and said I didn't have to take my pistol out to my car if I concealed it. I have a CPL so to end the discourse I pulled out my shirt tail and concealed my pistol. In retrospect, I should have acted as if I did not have a CPL and said something like, "Carrying concealed without a CPL is against the law." I didn't want to lie to him, but I could have made a statement of fact he may have misinterpreted as to my status.
Under different circumstances I may have pressed the issue farther, but I didn't want to cause a disturbance at the Ron Paul event. Dr. Paul is the only Republican Candidate who has been consistently supportive of our Second Amendment right and all other civil rights so making the presence of a person (one of his volunteers) carrying a pistol in the lobby into an issue of any sort could have been mischaracterized by some, including the media.
The harassment didn't amount to that much. It's just unfortunate that some people feel so worthless they feel the need to justify their existence by feigning authority over others.
This last weekend Dr. Ron Paul came to Spokane and I was a volunteer collecting contact information from some of the people who came to hear him speak. The event was held in the Spokane Convention Center owned by the Spokane Public Facilities District. I was approached by one of the facility's employees and told it was their policy not to allow the carrying of firearms. I wish I had been able to record the conversation, but he first said something like he couldn't make me leave the building or remove my weapon but it was their policy to not allow weapons in the building. I told him I didn't care about his policy, Washington State Preemption Law says I can carry in the Convention Center. He went on about his policy and said I had to take my weapon out to my car. I politely informed him I did not. I didn't want to escalate the encounter and I certainly didn't want to cause a disturbance for Ron Paul's event, but I let him know he was wrong. He quickly backed off a bit and said I didn't have to take my pistol out to my car if I concealed it. I have a CPL so to end the discourse I pulled out my shirt tail and concealed my pistol. In retrospect, I should have acted as if I did not have a CPL and said something like, "Carrying concealed without a CPL is against the law." I didn't want to lie to him, but I could have made a statement of fact he may have misinterpreted as to my status.
Under different circumstances I may have pressed the issue farther, but I didn't want to cause a disturbance at the Ron Paul event. Dr. Paul is the only Republican Candidate who has been consistently supportive of our Second Amendment right and all other civil rights so making the presence of a person (one of his volunteers) carrying a pistol in the lobby into an issue of any sort could have been mischaracterized by some, including the media.
The harassment didn't amount to that much. It's just unfortunate that some people feel so worthless they feel the need to justify their existence by feigning authority over others.