NRA is more concerned about the cost of an event venue than about whether or not the venue is firearms-permissive. Check out the locations of some of their recent Annual Meetings. :banghead:
stay safe.
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Lynchburg Area - OC reports
- Thread starter jmelvin
- Start date
NRA is more concerned about the cost of an event venue than about whether or not the venue is firearms-permissive. Check out the locations of some of their recent Annual Meetings. :banghead:
stay safe.
The NRA is just beginning to pay a small amount of lip service to OC, but when the choice is between dollars and OC, OC comes up on the short, dirty end of the shtick.
Hollywood.45
New member
I was just wondering what are some of y'all's thoughts about the target store situation?? And have any of you tried to OC since their posting?
Target's "request" is just business as usual.
Have OCd in local Targets several times since the announcement.
jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
For myself I have avoided Target so far, but I also have avoided Starbucks and their products since their request. I have done the same with Chipotle. Sonic took care of itself as all of its local stores have closed recently. However, the more I see that other gun owners are giving them their business I wonder what the hell I intend to accomplish, even though each of these businesses have made their backhanded slap at me and my family. I also recognize too that staying out of these businesses serves to reduce the normality of open carry. It's a hard row to hoe and I'm not sure where I'll end up on it all without some more time and thought given to it.
Thinking back there have been numerous businesses and such, like Red Lobster that once wrote a letter to VCDL stating that they barred customers from carrying, but I never experienced any issue there, nor had my wife ever heard of any issue despite working for the company. I still went to RL and the other Darden restaurants and never had an issue. Heck I've even been to OC dinners at Olive Garden without issue. I've heard the same from Cracker Barrel after some of our most beloved folks here (okay, maybe some are old cranks) were asked to leave a few years ago. I have only been to one Cracker Barrel once since then, but others I know have gone without issue while OCing.
Thinking back there have been numerous businesses and such, like Red Lobster that once wrote a letter to VCDL stating that they barred customers from carrying, but I never experienced any issue there, nor had my wife ever heard of any issue despite working for the company. I still went to RL and the other Darden restaurants and never had an issue. Heck I've even been to OC dinners at Olive Garden without issue. I've heard the same from Cracker Barrel after some of our most beloved folks here (okay, maybe some are old cranks) were asked to leave a few years ago. I have only been to one Cracker Barrel once since then, but others I know have gone without issue while OCing.
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The Wolfhound
Regular Member
had ocassion to visit the area
Had to hit a family funeral in Madison Heights last week. Went CC for it but was OC for Tractor Supply and The Chinese Buffet (name unremebered) for dinner before hand. No comments.
Had to hit a family funeral in Madison Heights last week. Went CC for it but was OC for Tractor Supply and The Chinese Buffet (name unremebered) for dinner before hand. No comments.
jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
Sorry you had to come to town under such bad circumstances Wolfhound. I've only been in that Chinese place once and I OCed without issue then, and have been in that Tractor Supply store many times OCing without issue. Hopefully your next trip to Lynchburg will be under better circumstances.
jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
Still OCing around Lynchburg without any issue. The wife and I dropped by Walmart on Wards Rd yesterday and in the short time in there I noticed one guy with an empty holster (didn't ask why), another with a poorly CCed sidearm, and then another who was OCing like normal. It's not at all uncommon for me to see other OCers at any of the local Walmarts, so this was business as usual. With new Liberty University students coming in and back from all over the place I have received some googly eyes, like last night at dinner from a couple from Illinois, but I haven't had any issues and don't expect any.
jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
OCed as usual last week through this week. At the local Texas Roadhouse one of the servers stopped me and asked me what type of gun it was I was carrying. He thought he'd asked me before, but I don't recall. Turns out he carries a Glock of some sort and a S&W pistol too and shoots the Glock matches at the local range. Other than that it was OCing like usual with little or no notice.
You folks have been far too quiet for far too long.
Come on out http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?123500-Save-the-date-Sunday-Oct-5th and remind everybody that you are still around.
stay safe.
Come on out http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?123500-Save-the-date-Sunday-Oct-5th and remind everybody that you are still around.
stay safe.
nuc65
Activist Member
Response to Skidmark
I guess all in all there might be two reasons I can think of for the alarming lack of posting:
1) No comment on carry, not remarkable by most people so we are carrying and there really isn't anything to report.
2) I haven't been here, been traveling so nothing to post about Lynchburg, VA.
However this weekend I did have two interactions. The first one left me irritated because I was placing an order for food and somebody walked up to me and demanded to know if I was a security guard and why I was carrying. Don't know why people think they can interrupt and while I maintained a semblance of cool I was thinking about how exceedingly rude this person was. The other was in a restaurant where the waitress wanted to know the make and model of my piece and then informed me she carries a gl**k. I forgave her. Told her I was glad she carried. She said she doesn't see many OCers so was happy to see me carrying.
I guess all in all there might be two reasons I can think of for the alarming lack of posting:
1) No comment on carry, not remarkable by most people so we are carrying and there really isn't anything to report.
2) I haven't been here, been traveling so nothing to post about Lynchburg, VA.
However this weekend I did have two interactions. The first one left me irritated because I was placing an order for food and somebody walked up to me and demanded to know if I was a security guard and why I was carrying. Don't know why people think they can interrupt and while I maintained a semblance of cool I was thinking about how exceedingly rude this person was. The other was in a restaurant where the waitress wanted to know the make and model of my piece and then informed me she carries a gl**k. I forgave her. Told her I was glad she carried. She said she doesn't see many OCers so was happy to see me carrying.
Yes, it seems that most of us have been reduced to posting "I OC'd at X and nothing happened" or "I OC'd at X and somebody complimented my gun/complimented me for carrying." Every once in a while there is a post about some abrasive yahoo that is unarmed getting all up in the face of a complete stranger who obviously has a gun on their hip. (Never could figure out the logic to that.
)
At one time I shared your concern that since nothing bad happened there was nothing to report. Folks here at OCDO helped me see that posting the "nothing happened" events is really more important - it does show that we are winning and the ZOMG - GUNNNNS!!!Eleventy!! crowd is losing.
stay safe.
)At one time I shared your concern that since nothing bad happened there was nothing to report. Folks here at OCDO helped me see that posting the "nothing happened" events is really more important - it does show that we are winning and the ZOMG - GUNNNNS!!!Eleventy!! crowd is losing.
stay safe.
jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
My open carry experiences continue as normal as apple pie and Sunday church meeting, in Lynchburg. Some of the regular stop in spots include The Spot and Original Italian Pizza, La Caretta, CVS, and Walgreens on Timberlake Rd; Vinny's, Arosto Pizza, Five Guys, La Caretta, Texas Roadhouse, Bob Evans, Olive Garden, Sheetz, Radio Shack, Bed Bath & Beyond and various others on Wards Rd; Neighbor's Place in Wyndhurst; Blue Orchid Thai and Fresh Market on Lakeside Drive; Milano's, Monte Carlo, and Bojangles in north Lynchburg / Boonsboro; La Traditional Taqueria and Andy Chang's on 221 in Forest; Robin Alexander Bistro downtown; Homestead Creamery down in Burnt Chimney near Smith Mountain Lake; and the Krogers, Food Lions, Walmarts, Lowes, Home Depot and Best Buys in and around Lynchburg. There are various other spots that aren't regular-ish places we visit, but it is truly a rare exception to run across some place that is inhospitable to regular folks going about their business with a holstered sidearm on their side.
Since my last post I have learned that Sprint no longer trusts its long time customers like me not to come into their stores carrying like I would nearly anywhere else, and posted circle and slash "No Guns" signs on their corporate stores. The posting is not just judgmental and inhospitable, but is dangerous as it advertises that the employees and customers there will be limited in their ability to respond to someone that ignores the sign and decides to cause harm with a gun, knife, or even a crowbar. So after over a decade of doing exclusive business with the company, we're taking our business elsewhere. I don't ask for Sprint to pat me on the back and say "thanks for carrying", but I would expect the same level of accommodation provided to nearly any other person in society. I suppose some businesses just like to advertise their politics of discrimination and judgment, though. I have suggested that if the company truly believes in the effectiveness of signs, they should replace their locks and alarm systems with "No Stealing" signs and surely save millions of dollars in security costs.
Since my last post I have learned that Sprint no longer trusts its long time customers like me not to come into their stores carrying like I would nearly anywhere else, and posted circle and slash "No Guns" signs on their corporate stores. The posting is not just judgmental and inhospitable, but is dangerous as it advertises that the employees and customers there will be limited in their ability to respond to someone that ignores the sign and decides to cause harm with a gun, knife, or even a crowbar. So after over a decade of doing exclusive business with the company, we're taking our business elsewhere. I don't ask for Sprint to pat me on the back and say "thanks for carrying", but I would expect the same level of accommodation provided to nearly any other person in society. I suppose some businesses just like to advertise their politics of discrimination and judgment, though. I have suggested that if the company truly believes in the effectiveness of signs, they should replace their locks and alarm systems with "No Stealing" signs and surely save millions of dollars in security costs.
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jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
Quick Note: Headed back to work from lunch on Lakeside Drive today, I saw a young man OCing a large holstered pistol as he walked down the road minding his own business. Not someone I recognized, but that's not uncommon.
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jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
I had lunch today at The Blue Dahlia (Graves Mill Rd, Forest, down in the neighborhood beyond the rail tracks) where I've been an occasional customer since the place opened maybe 4 or 5 years back. I noticed no signage on the main doors in front and would not expect any, since we've had OC lunches there on occasion and I've dined there OCing more times, than not. The owners and management have never voiced the first issue with this, but this always occurs in the "restaurant" portion of the place during breakfast or lunch, or dinner for the short while they offered dinner in the restaurant. As I drove around the back on the way out, I noticed a list of rules that were only on the public entrance to the patio bar area. The last item on the list was a prohibition on any weapons.
For now, I take this list of prohibitions only to apply to the patio bar area, as there are no rules posted for the "restaurant" portion and the two areas are separated by doors. I'll have to return for lunch sometime OCing like normal, to see if anything has changed in the "restaurant" portion. I imagine nothing has changed for the inside, but figured I'd at least give folks fair warning about the patio bar area. My personal inclinations are to avoid the patio bar area anyway since it's small, noisy, cramped, caters primarily to those who are out for booze. I may say something to the general manager next time I'm in and suggest to him that the prohibition disarms those who aren't drinking and may only be there as a designated driver to keep their drunks from running amok in the neighborhood where they sit.
For those that don't know, The Blue Dahlia is broadly separated into 2 major sections, the interior restaurant (front) that is pretty much a homey feeling restaurant with breakfast and lunch offerings that I'd describe as general Americana. The other area, (covered and sometimes enclosed back patio bar), operates almost exclusively as a "bar" with a limited menu that serves the full scope of bar beverages and has bands and such every day but Monday.
For now, I take this list of prohibitions only to apply to the patio bar area, as there are no rules posted for the "restaurant" portion and the two areas are separated by doors. I'll have to return for lunch sometime OCing like normal, to see if anything has changed in the "restaurant" portion. I imagine nothing has changed for the inside, but figured I'd at least give folks fair warning about the patio bar area. My personal inclinations are to avoid the patio bar area anyway since it's small, noisy, cramped, caters primarily to those who are out for booze. I may say something to the general manager next time I'm in and suggest to him that the prohibition disarms those who aren't drinking and may only be there as a designated driver to keep their drunks from running amok in the neighborhood where they sit.
For those that don't know, The Blue Dahlia is broadly separated into 2 major sections, the interior restaurant (front) that is pretty much a homey feeling restaurant with breakfast and lunch offerings that I'd describe as general Americana. The other area, (covered and sometimes enclosed back patio bar), operates almost exclusively as a "bar" with a limited menu that serves the full scope of bar beverages and has bands and such every day but Monday.
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I bet that place is ghetto.....
Robin Alexander's downtown said they prefer I not carry there. However Depot Grill is very OC friendly
jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
That's strange about Robin Alexander. I OC there nearly every week for the past couple years and regularly talk to the managers. Heck, we've been going there off and on since they opened and I never had an issue. Who gave you a problem at RA, and how recently was this?
Heck some of the others here go down there on occasion too, and I see them there OCing.
Depot Grill has been posted for a couple months now from what I hear, but the owner has been talked to recently by Jero about the posting and why it puts off families out to eat looking to protect themselves.
Heck some of the others here go down there on occasion too, and I see them there OCing.
Depot Grill has been posted for a couple months now from what I hear, but the owner has been talked to recently by Jero about the posting and why it puts off families out to eat looking to protect themselves.
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I went to RA in July and this young spiked hair, plaid shirt wearing, multicolored socks having LC student waiter told me or shall I say advised me that it would probably be a good idea if I did not return armed. As for the depot Grille I eat there regularly once a month with co workers and I am usually open carrying never noticed the sign but also never looked for one
jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
Huh. Well ignore him and go on back, you're fine based on my many observations and years going there and talking to the management. The plaid shirt makes me wonder if it was someone only claiming to be server, because none of the servers regularly wear anything close to plaid. I can't even think who that would be unless it was someone who was only there briefly. I'll have to keep my peepers open for someone who looks like that. The management staff does tend to get rid of the problem staff in quick fashion. Some of the LU students I know that have worked there, are carriers themselves.
If the folks at Depot Grill haven't said anything to you, maybe they'll just pull down the tiny sign. The owner already knows he's lost the business of some here until they go back to the old policy.
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jmelvin
Founder's Club Member
The wife and I decided to try out a new place for lunch this past Saturday so we headed downtown for a meal at Al Ryan Mediterranean Restaurant. The food was very good and the gentlemen running the place we quite pleasant, but the place was a little chilly inside. After lunch we took a walk down Main Street toward US 29 and then back toward the car. We stopped in a few shops including a little book store / coffee shop, a gallery building that had several small shops inside, L. Oppelman Pawn Shop, and Cao Artisan Chocolates.
I had my openly carried sidearm at my side the whole time and nobody seemed the least bit bothered. When we came out of the gallery building with multiple shops, a gentleman who was walking down the sidewalk with his daughter asked me what kind of pistol I was carrying so the wife and I stopped to talk to him. He said he worked downtown and had a pistol of his own, but was thinking about getting a CHP to discreetly keep it on him while at work. Fortunately I had some VCDL Firearm Carry cards and gave him one and told him a bit about the organization.
While at Cao we decided to try some of their goodies so we ended up with a box of 4 truffles for later, a milkshake, and hot chocolate. All of these are made with their chocolates that they make right there and were downright delicious, if a bit expensive. If you find yourself downtown I'd certainly recommend Al Ryan Mediterranean, but if you have any love for chocolate, I highly recommend you find your way to Cao Artisan Chocolates for a treat.
Other than these visit to some new spots, we've been hitting up the same old usual spots with no issues at all.
I had my openly carried sidearm at my side the whole time and nobody seemed the least bit bothered. When we came out of the gallery building with multiple shops, a gentleman who was walking down the sidewalk with his daughter asked me what kind of pistol I was carrying so the wife and I stopped to talk to him. He said he worked downtown and had a pistol of his own, but was thinking about getting a CHP to discreetly keep it on him while at work. Fortunately I had some VCDL Firearm Carry cards and gave him one and told him a bit about the organization.
While at Cao we decided to try some of their goodies so we ended up with a box of 4 truffles for later, a milkshake, and hot chocolate. All of these are made with their chocolates that they make right there and were downright delicious, if a bit expensive. If you find yourself downtown I'd certainly recommend Al Ryan Mediterranean, but if you have any love for chocolate, I highly recommend you find your way to Cao Artisan Chocolates for a treat.
Other than these visit to some new spots, we've been hitting up the same old usual spots with no issues at all.