San Diego Open Carry MEET!

To all concerned patriots, free men and women of able mind and body,

You are cordially invited to represent Calguns.net, Opencarry.org and your beloved Constitution at yet another San Diego Open Carry Outing!

Let us see some support out there! Here are the details.

-When: Saturday, Feb 28, 2009 at 9:30AM
-Where: The main lifeguard tower at the end of Grand Avenue, on the boardwalk between the showers and the big pelican. You can't miss the pelican! This location is in San Diego in Mission Beach!
-PLEASE RSVP! Email me, PM me on Calguns, leave a comment on this blog, just let me know if you're planning to come and what forum you are a member of!

-Details...

1) The really cool and pro-RKBA detective from the first San Diego Open Carry Lunch at El Indio will be attending our outing in plain clothes. From what I know he is a good man and he knows the restaurants in the area so we will have fun and good food as well.

2) The film crew that will be filming us is not a news station or anything official, it is actually a married couple that are friends with Chris (gir007) and will probably be making a documentary video for us. From what I hear they are really cool people and are doing this for free so for those that can chip in for their lunch it would be much appreciated.

UPDATE 2-16-09: Chris has informed me that the film crew will not be available as he will have to go out of town that weekend. I am looking to pick up another film crew, probably a group of students in need of a film project. I will keep you guys posted!

3) Dressing the part (UPDATED 1-26)... This is, above all else, a chance to create good public relations with those less knowledgeable about firearms and firearm laws and to dispell the common myths that hold gun owners in a bad light. As such, it has been imparted to me by those wiser in such matters (Liberty1) that dressing the part is essential. Therefore, it is requested that those attending this outing be nicely attired. (CHANGE HERE)--> Since slacks to a beach function is almost silly, I say that we dress in what is comfortable but also looks nice, as open carrying is already hard enough as it is and we shouldn't have to dress up the occasion as well.

A suggestion though is to not have t-shirts that could be used against us in a stereotype, e.g. smiley face with bloody hole in the head, etc. While fun amongst gun owners, it is not the best PR with those not in the gun community so lets keep it clean cut.

4) We are going to a restaurant somewhere on the boardwalk, though the restaurant has not been revealed to me as of yet. Our good detective is taking a look at a few of them and Sam has had some suggestions but I must admit I am not familiar with the area myself so I will keep you all posted as this develops.

5) While it is legal to open carry an unloaded shotgun or rifle on your person in the state of California, the carrying of long guns is ill-advised, at least for the moment. The issue of muzzle discipline and weapon control is too complicated even for the seasoned open carrier so we are requesting that all guns brought to this outing be handguns.

6) UPDATED 2-12-09: WE ARE NOT ENTERING INTO THE LIFEGUARD TOWER!

PLEASE READ HERE TO CLARIFY!

HERE ARE PHOTOS OF THE RENDEZVOUS POINT!

-School zones, other rules, etc.

1) There are no school zones in the area we are gathering and walking but there are two in the area that will be of concern for those parking, packing and walking from farther distances, so plan your routes appropriately. A map of school zones is listed near the bottom!

2) I may be wrong on this (correct me if I am) but I do not believe that we can go onto the beach while we are strapped since it is a "park." However, it might be fun to stand on the boardwalk wall and have a cool photo taken, HAHA!

3) As usual, make sure nothing can cover your holster, print out a few information pamphlets and carry your voice recorder!


-For all those that are new at this...

For all those that are new, fairly new and are trying this out for the first time, this is a GREAT opportunity to "cut your teeth" on the Open Carry Movement, meet fellow California gun owners, Calguns.net and Opencarry.com members and other citizens of like mind. Please do not be afraid to contact me with any questions regarding this outing or to attend, the more the merrier!

At the request of a fellow Calgunner and OC watchdog (Liberty1), I am going to include the following PSA:

1) If you are loaned a pistol by anyone you know, you need to have a valid HSC (Handgun Safety Card) on your person.

2) Read the memos, particularly the SDPD memo. Look at the links to the right in the "Essential Open Carry Links" to find it. Read all of the California Open Carry FAQ for a more succinct version.

3) If you are unsure of the law in any way, DO NOT BRING A GUN! Wear an empty holster, a cool t-shirt, come to support us, but when in doubt, don't bring it out.

4) IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF THE SCHOOL ZONES (SEE MAP AT THE BOTTOM) PLEASE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS!

A) At home: place unloaded pistol in FULLY enclosed LOCKED case (soft or hard). Place loaded mags into exposed mag belt pouch on belt.

B) Carry case to car and place in trunk.

C) Drive to parking area, put on empty holster.

D) Remove locked case from vehicle (important to complete exemption in 12026.1a if carrying concealed).

E) Open case, place unloaded handgun into holster.

We do not want people getting any 626.9 (school zone) or 12026.1a (concealed weapons) violations coming to this meet but if you follow these rules you will be 100% OK. Remember that there are several K-12 schools on the way to the meeting place so be damned sure you are not within 1000' from the EDGE of the school before strapping on after parking! IF you are unsure of the locale, are navigationally challenged and want as little fanfare as possible, DO NOT TAKE THE GUN OUT OF THE LOCKED CONTAINER UNTIL YOU GET TO THE MEETING AREA!

5) Do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions! For select cases I will converse over the phone. I am committed to making this a successful venture for all the attending open carriers, both greenhorns and veterans.

6) PLEASE RSVP! Email me, post a comment on this blog, PM me, post on the Calguns.net thread (listed below), just let me know.

For those interested, my email address is pullnshoot25@hotmail.com and my Calguns.net handle is pullnshoot25.

Here is the Calguns.net thread about the outing.
Post of photos from the first Calguns.net Open Carry Meet
My writeup and photos from the second Calguns.net Open Carry Meet
A thread on "web diplomacy" for those spreading the word about Open Carry!

THERE WILL BE AN UNLOADED CHECK! However, you are not obligated nor required to voluntarily submit to it. Rather, the police are required to demand the 12031 unloaded check via POLICE ORDER. DO NOT COOPERATE by handing over your gun (thus waiving your 4th amendment rights) but COMPLY with the order given and only when given!

Email sent to me from our good Detective explaining the procedure.

Nate, I spoke with Capt. Zimmerman. If people show up with their firearms in a condition officers can clearly tell they are unloaded that will be fine. She does not want people handling their firearms around the officers, the public, or each other. The officers will approach a member and explain they will be conducting an inspection on the member's gun. The officer will then give the person instructions on how the inspection will be conducted, what they want the member to do, where to stand, etc. Should go pretty quickly.

-List of forum populations invited

Calguns.net
Opencarry.org
Rimfirecentral.com
Thehighroad.org
Thefiringline.com
Leverguns.com
Taurusarmed.net
TTORA.com
Customtacos.com
Yotatech.com
Scandiego.com
Socaleuro.com
AR15.com
Glamisdunes.com
Glocktalk.com
Gunrightsradio.com
Sigforum.com
Gopednation.com
Gunsnet.net
XDtalk.com

-Invited Meetup Groups

San Diego County Colleges for Ron Paul Meetup Group
San Diego Libertarians Meetup
San Diego Liberty Circle Meetup

-Gun rights groups invited

United States Gun Club
San Diego Gun Rights Committee
San Diego NRA

-Gun shops invited to this event (Owners, employees, patrons)

Turner's San Marcos (Thanks for getting it out there, Mike!)
Turner's Kearney Mesa
Discount Gun Mart
Duncan's Gunworks
Iron Sights (Thanks for posting in the lobby!)
Royal Loan and Pawn
Southern California Gun
American Shooting Center
El Cajon Gun Exchange
Ranger Doug's Shootists' Emporium (Can't come due to SASS event but I think he posted it up)
The Shootist
Faith Armory (Owners cant come but they might attend another outing!)
Hi Pass Sports
Precision Arms (Trying to change his mind to support this event)

-Ranges invited

Escondido Fish and Game (emailed the President)

I am looking forward to this outing!

Map of meeting place and NO-GO ZONES!






PICTURES OF MEETING PLACE!


CARRY ON!

Sincerely,

Chris (gir007), Sam (elsensei) and Nathan (pullnshoot25)

List of people attending or planning to attend thus far

1. gir007 (CG)
2. pullnshoot25 (CG)
3. elsensei (CG) (+3)
   
4. Enthusiast (CG)
5. flintlock tom (OCDO)
6. tube_ee (THR/CG)
7. Mike (Turner's SM)
8. Dave (Turner's SM)
9. BTF/PTM (CG
10. Mulay El Raisuli (CG)
11. CmpsdNoMore (CG)
12. Theseus (CG) (Depends on court)
13. bplvr (CG) (maybe)
14. VW*Mike (CG) (depends on work)
15. hotfire (CG)
16. AEC1 (CG)
17. Alleyehave (CG
18. siebler +friend (potential) (customtaco)
19. miguelitro (TTORA)
20. Regan (San Diego Liberty Circle)
21. Joey H. (San Diego Liberty Circle)
22. Mike Benoit (+1) (San Diego Liberty Circle)
23. Craig (San Diego Liberty Circle)
24. wolfenstein (+1) (OCDO)
25. agentfr0st (CG)
26. bornInSD (CG)
27. bajaguy (CG)
28. Mike (+GF)(+Friend) (Friends of Mine)
29. SOneThreeCoupe's Fiancee (OCDO)
30. Decoligny (+friend) (CG)
31. Hawk84 (CG)
32. oneisnone(XDTALK) (+2-3)
33. botsdots (CG)
34. Josh (San Diego Liberty Circle)
35. Blackwaterops (CG) (CAMERA!)
36. NoHammer (CG)
37. USN CHIEF (CG)
38. tuna quesadilla (CG) (potential)
39. JustinStrife (CG) (contingent on shooting trip)
40. Liberty1 (CG) (potential)
41. giaking70 (OCDO)
42. dave1947 (CG)
43. Twitchalot (+4) (potential) (Might even bring his Mom!)
44. GenLee (CG) (+wife)
45. PTMatteson (CG) (+wife)
    
46. Acoghog (CG) (+wife)
47. Grammaton76 (CG) (+wife) (CAMERA!)
48. gvasquez (CG) (+wife) (CAMERA!)
49. Mykal (OCDO) (+3)
50. Nomadd (CG) (+1)
51. Macadelic4 (CG) (+1)(potential)
52. bondmid003 (CG) (potential)
    
53. Oldtimer
54. Dann the Libertarian (+2)
55. MEPDtoUSPD (potential)
    

Rolling total: 84, with 20 potentials and 64 confirmed. Several will be filming or not OCing and there will be at least two police officers, if not more.

Duncan's, Washington Mutual and Lowe's

I took a trip back to Duncan's Gun Works today to get my friend's Colt SAA fixed again, as it wasn't locking up properly. While there, I had the Tracker with me and I perused some of the guns (deciding between a Beretta 92, CZ-75, BHP and a Glock 17) while waiting to be helped. Eventually, the topic of conceal carry laws in various states and California arose between Hugo and two customers (typical of a gun shop) and I chimed in with my open carry schpeal. After a discussion on open carry, OLLs and other such gun topics, I invited them to the next open carry outing and told them to check my blog and calguns.net to better inform themselves of the law. I also gave Hugo my blog address and an invitation to go down to the next OC outing as well, so I hope he shows up :)

After the SAA got fixed (100 year-old mainspring finally went :( ) I left and went over to Washington Mutual on Twin Oaks to make deposits for my sister and I. I was in the bank for about 15 minutes for the entire transaction and I heard not a word or gasp.

Getting back on the freeway for home I remembered that I had forgotten to get some Loctite at Home Depot so I could finally install my new 10/22 Tech Sights so I decided that a detour to Lowe's was in order.

While asking for directions to the Loctite, the hardware counter employee looked a little nervous and while I was leaving for the Paint aisle, the following conversation ensued...

-Hey, you know you're carrying a gun, right?
-Oh yeah, I know.
-Are you law enforcement?
-No, I am a normal citizen.
-That is legal?
-Yes it is *insert legalities here*
-Wow, that is so weird that no one stopped you, as we've had some problems with armed robberies at some other locations.
-Oh thats lame. Yeah, just here to pick up some Loctite *smile*

We had a talk about some more firearm stuff and I left him my blog address in case he had any more questions on the law and whatnot.

Another day, another great experience. Off to study some O-Chem!

CARRY ON!

-N8

New OC outing in the works!

Stay tuned here, on calguns.net and opencarry.org, a few Calgunners and I are cooking up a pretty cool OC outing. Once details are a little more settled in we will be posting it up and letting everyone know.

CARRY ON!

-N8

To the Westfield Corporation

Dear Westfield,

I have a blogtracker and have noticed that you have accessed my page several times in the last few days, with one view sustaining almost 24 hours. Please do not take this blog post as me being disgruntled, for I find that your fanfare of my blog is pretty nice.

I am sure that you guys have a lot of questions concerning the OC movement and how it relates to you and as such I invite you to feel free to contact me at my email address, pullnshoot25@hotmail.com, so that I might answer what questions you guys may have.

CARRY ON!

Sincerely,

N8

OCSD Training Bulletin!

Looks like the Orange County Sheriff's Department has issued an Open Carry Training Bulletin. Looks to be a little more accepting of the OC movement than the past memos, though not everything is entirely correct or kosher, as usual.

Link HERE!

CARRY ON!

-N8

New SDPD Training Bulletin!

Looks like we are getting some notoriety around here, WOO HOO!

CLICK HERE!

Aside from the fact that I am now considered a tactical threat for walking down the street and that I am being called a "subject" instead of an "individual" or "citizen", this memo seems to hit the spot.

Eventful Open Carry Experience

So Chris (gir007), his brother Raymond, my brother (elsensei) and myself all went to the Westfield UTC last night at 5:00 to check out the various stores and help Chris pick out his new Ipod. After having Raymond go to Sears to pick out a belt so he could carry my Makarov (He didn't know he was allowed to carry being under 21 and I had an extra gun with me, just in case) and Sam met up with us at our cars, we all walked into the mall near Sears and the adjacent parking structure.

As we walked in we met (by chance) some of Sam's friends, Kevin and Lisa, who subsequently joined us on our little adventure and went to the Apple store. Once inside, Chris went up front and started his Ipod purchase while the rest of us hung out at the back of the store, talking and checking out the various Macbooks. About 5 minutes in an employee came up to us and asked us about why we were carrying guns and asked the usual "do you have a license?" question, etc. We then explained some of the laws and had Raymond fetch a pamphlet from Chris to give to him. Very cool guy and seemed very open to the idea of it. (It probably helps that he is a former Missouri resident.)

Meanwhile, Kevin noticed that a plainclothes security guard (he saw the earbud and ID necklace lanyard) had entered the store and was coming progressively closer by "checking out" each laptop by tapping keys on the keyboard (while typing out nothing, haha!) but this was as we were leaving anyways so we just left.

Walking across the mall towards Nordstrom's we encountered a security guard talking on a cell phone and did not notice that we were packing. This was pretty unusual as he was positioned on our strong-sides.

Walking into Nordstrom's and shopping was yet again eventless. Chris said one lady asked him if he needed help and then said "never mind" and turned around but that seemed to be the extent of reaction. I noticed a few heads being turned myself but no one said anything (at least audibly)

After Nordstrom's we went into the dance store to see if Lisa could pick up a pair of swing shoes for last night's lesson. The saleswoman didn't say anything and was very nice. We half thought about trying on leotards but thought better of it :)

After that, we walked over to Starbucks and on our way there we actually had a security guard walk IN BETWEEN US and not even raise an eyebrow. We thought that was pretty funny overall. It got even funnier once we got to Starbucks, however, for as we stood there in a circle talking about what to do next a security guard passed by and went into an adjacent store. A few minutes later another security guard passed by, saw us, stopped, turned around and walked right behind a mall map and began radioing people. The first guard came out of the store and began radioing the second guard from about 10 feet away. We all had a chuckle about this because it was totally audible and they didn't know what to do about us doing NOTHING at all.

Eventually, we all figured out what we were going to do and then walked towards our original entry point. Along the way we noticed a guard trailing us by about 50 yards and using his radio at frequent intervals. Near the mall map near Sears I said goodbye to Sam, Lisa and Kevin as they were going to their respective dance lessons while Chris, Raymond and I had decided to go to Chilis. After reaching our cars and packing up everything to go into my car, we saw our trailing security guard standing on the sidewalk in front of Sears watching us leave. The time was 6:05 when we exited the parking lot.

Heading up the 805 lead us to Chili's Mira Mesa and was an excellent experience. We all sat at the bar and no one made issue with us carrying but one guy came in when we were about halfway finished with our food and looked surprised. During the meal he kept looking at Chris' magazines attached to his belt on the back of his weakside hip (Chris didn't see because Chris was facing me and the gentleman was sitting to Chris' weakside.) While discussing politics, video games and eventually (nay, inevitably) firearms, our newcomer pardoned himself and asked us about the gun laws and explained that he was a Nevada CCW holder but did not have one in California and was confused on some of the gun laws here and that the Sheriff up in Santa Barbara was not very helpful in clarifying the law for him so Chris and I educated him on some of the laws, (e.g. it is legal to have the gun and magazines in the same case, etc). Chris gave him a pamphlet and we wrote down our usernames for him in case he had further questions and he seemed very enthusiastic about our conversation. No doubt that he will be joining calguns.net sometime in the near future.

After swapping some stories and paying our bill we left and went back to the mall where we noticed a stronger-than-usual police presence in that area with two patrolling cruisers. It might just be cooincidental but we thought that it was unusal to see cops patrolling an area approximately 1.5 hours after we had left the area.

After utilizing Sears' facilities (unstrapped) and saying our goodbyes, I went to the AMC 12 to try and catch Doubt for my film class. The mall was nearly empty when I was there at 8:15 so no real issues there. As it turned out the movie had started at 7:30 and the next showing was not until 10:00 so I decided to go another time and left.

On my way out, however, I stopped into a luggage store to inquire about repairing my sleeping bag. Since there were 2 guys ahead of me I stood and waited my turn but one of the customers began asking me about the laws concerning open carry as he was unaware of them (no surprise here) as he already had a CA CCW permit (big surprise there). As it turns out he is an auctioneer with his own company and travels a lot so that is how he got his. Now that I think about it, I did forget to ask him what county he got his permit in... crap! I wrote down my blog address on the back of that store's business card and handed it to him on his way out.

After I inquired about my sleeping bag repair with the salesman and was on my way out, he also asked me about the law here concerning open carry. I turned around and gave him a quick rundown of the laws and he told me about his life in Tuscon and how it was like the "old west." Nice guy and obviously pro-gun. I also wrote down my blog address for him as well as Calguns.net. With that, I stashed the Tracker and headed up to my friend's house.

FINALLY, my writeup is done! I am sitting here in the computer lab at the Price Center with another 3 hours to go before class starts. I think I shall now utilize this time for furthering my understanding of Genetics and O-Chem.

Corollary Calguns.net thread for this post here

With that, fellow brethren in arms, I shall depart. Until my next adventure...

-N8

ETA on Jan 20: Word on the grapevine has it that the cops were called on us while OC'ing at Westfield UTC, which explains the police presence at the mall while coming back from Chili's Mira Mesa. Only one call was made and it was probably made after we had left the area... freaking hilarious.

P.S. GO NORDYKE!


Added Jan 18- VIDEOS!

Meet and greet in the parking lot.



Walking over to Nordstrom's



Walking out of Nordstrom's

LASD Memo!

New memo released this morning. Check it out HERE!

Shooting Trip and Jilberto's

So my friends and I went this morning to meet up with some Calgunners for a shooting trip up in Valley Center and we had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we didn't get to shoot as long at the longer distances that we wanted since the fog was so bad but we still did a decent amount of shooting regardless. Our group burned through about 1000 rounds of .22LR and I tried out my brother's BHP to see if I want to make an offer on it (I'm leaning towards it, but I just found a broken part in the gun when stripping it so I am now wondering... :( )

After shooting for 4 hours or so, we all decided to go down the mountain to Jilberto's for some Mexican food. As usual, I was open carrying and I hoped all the other guys would do it too but only Mario (USNChief) passed muster and joined me. No issues while there, though I did get the usual looks and such.

Good shooting trip fellow Calgunners! When the weather smiles with greater favor upon us, we shall have to do it again.

-N8

ETA: Right after the last of our shooting group left, the Sheriff showed up! We think that someone called the cops on us (meaning myself and possibly USNChief) because we were open carrying... LAME! Here is how I imagine the initial phone call to the cops...

"Umm, yeah, there is a guy here with a gun on his hip and he is ordering a burrito"
....
"Yeah, he is ordering it with extra carne asada. We don't know what to do!"
...
"We're so scared, he is sitting down and eating it! Holy crap, the gun isn't going off like an automated killing machine!"

I would love to call the station up there and ask them why they came out. I heard a few of the punks out there make mention of my gun as I came in and as they left but that was it.