Monday, March 9, 2009

A whole mess of places

Well, I covered quite a bit of ground tonight due to some varying circumstances but rest assured, no one was spared the generous helping of 2nd Amendment cheer!

So here we go...

At around 5:10 I left my house for Chili's 4S Ranch to give a severely belated Christmas present to one of the bartenders and to see some of the regulars I know from my days of working there. I was there for approximately 40 minutes and had no issues, though the place was pretty much dead so that contributed greatly to it. Would have been fun if someone had called since the Sheriff's sub-station is right around the corner.

After leaving Chili's I walked across the parking lot to Ralph's and picked up some celery. No issues there, I was in and out in about 3 minutes.

After I walked back to my car and dethroned the Tracker, I realized that I needed to go to Ace Hardware to get a torx head for my pocket knife clip (I found my Spyderco Endura!) so I drove over, holstered up and went in to see if one was available. Several sales associates and some customers saw I was carrying and made no commotion about it.

On my way out of the shopping center, I got a call from my Mom that my sister was sick and needed to be driven to the hospital, throwing a small wrench in the works for hanging out with my friend for a short time before going back to my studies. On the way to pick up my sister I coordinated with him to meet me at Palomar hospital and check on his GPS to see if there were any schools within 1000'...

After picking up my sister, getting to the hospital and parking the car, I walked up to the door of the Radiology area but I saw the surveillance camera sign and backed down. While no laws would be broken carrying into a hospital, I think that the situation would have escalated unnecessarily, being that it is a hospital and I would rather have a visit than get my face cracked for a stay. My friend Chris (LA Sheriff) left his gun in the car as well (gave him the complimentary "friend tap reacharound" to check :) )

After checking in my sister to the Emergency Room, Chris and I went to his car, drove by my car to pick up my gun and then went down Grand Ave to find a place to eat. We eventually ended up at Miller's Field since it was a new place for both of us and proceeded to have a mediocre dining experience at best. Overall though, an eventless session. The bartender's eyes got a little wide when he saw my gun but nothing followed it.

Eventually we went back to the hospital where we parted our ways and I went back into the hospital to wait for my sister to finish up so I could pay the bill and get over to a pharmacy. Since the only one open at 9:00 was CVS Pharmacy on El Norte Parkway, that is where we went.

This is the spot where I have my only issue for the entire night. While Kat and I were waiting around for her fungal metabolites to be processed, a few customers apparently complained about me carrying a weapon. Here is how the conversation went with Jerry, apparently the only male on staff at CVS Pharmacy at the time...

Jerry: Excuse me sir, umm... I need to see a license for that gun.
Me: Uh, there is no license needed for open carry.
Jerry: Pardon?
Me: There is no license needed for open carry
Jerry: No license?
My sister chimes in: There isn't a license, it is actually a law. It's you're able to carry as long as...
Jerry: I didnt know you were allowed to do that in like this state, I know that Arizona and a couple other states...
Me: Oh yeah, its totally legal.
Jerry: Well, I need you to cover it.
Me: I can't do that, that is a misdemeanor.
Jerry: So you can't conceal it?
Me: If I had a permit I would conceal.
Jerry: So you don't have a permit for this gun?
Me: No, I need a permit to carry CONCEALED, open carry does not need a permit. (Just to clarify, the capitalization is for the purpose of inflection to emphasize the difference)
Me: In any case, we are leaving right now so are there any issues?
Jerry: Well, some customers came up and made it an issue so I have to follow up.
Me: Oh, ok, that's fine. Have a good night.

Nothing like getting the good ol' "permit question" every time you get a curious yet severely misinformed participant.

Well, that concludes the eventful portion of my night. I shall retire for in the morn I must arise early.

CARRY ON!

-N8

2 comments:

elsensei said...

i can't wait until someone asks me to conceal mine! Haha! That would be a good time to tell them to pressure the sheriff to issue CCWs. Maybe have the sheriff's phone number on a card you could hand out, with a script on the back. "Sheriff I support the second amendment like all good Americans should. And some people aren't comfortable with the sight of guns, so why don't you start issuing concealed weapons permits to these fine citizens who want to carry? And when is your re-election coming up?"

McCrevasse said...

How comical.Individual who is exercising his Second Amendment Rights,within confines of the current law,accused of breaking the law,by a citizen ignorant of the current law.With complete ignorance of gun law,ignorant citizen asks OC'er to commit felony,or "conceal" weapon,without appropriate permit.I can only hope that more of us will be out there,exercising our OC rights,acting within guidlines of our State,or Fed Laws,at All times.Great job! Keep up the great work!