Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Source of AB1934

I've had to hold this in for almost two years but now the case is settled so I'm free to post. The city of San Diego coughed up $35,000, which is a shame since all I wanted was for them to instruct their officers that mere presence of an open carried gun was not necessarily indication of a crime, and that there had to be SOMETHING, ANYTHING additional to provide reasonable articulable suspicion that a crime had been, was in the process of, or was about to be committed before they could draw their weapons and wave them around screaming like lunatics. They refused, so we proceeded. I believe that following the arrest and my claim against the city of San Diego, some factions at SDPD conspired with Saldana to cobble together AB1934, (a so-incredibly-unConstitutional piece of legislation that it boggles the mind) which spectacularly failed at the last minute.

It's kind of ironic that, as I mentioned to the federal judge during initial talks, that 1. if we're really that concerned about officer safety, we ought to be stopping and searching every person who is NOT open carrying, because any one of them could have an illegally concealed weapon and 2. the only people waving guns around threatening to shoot innocent civilians that otherwise peaceful November day, was the police.

It wasn't all bad though. Some cops got educated, Saldana got put in her place, and best of all The Responsible Citizens of California ( responsiblecitizensofcalifornia.org )was founded.

Here's what happened, written the same day:

I made an appointment to meet my friend Dennis at the Coaster Saloon in Mission Beach for breakfast. They have terrific steak and eggs. We’d agreed to meet at 9:15. I arrived and parked in the Belmont Park lot at 9:07 right across the street from the Coaster. Then I got out of the truck, and slipped on my glock 17 on my right hip and my magazine holster with 2 loaded magazines on my left hip. Then I strolled out to the boardwalk to check out the waves since I hadn’t surfed that day. The water was nice and glassy and there were some fun-looking small waves coming in. The lifeguard was getting set up further down the beach. I leaned against the sea wall and called another friend of mine and got caught up with him while I wandered around waiting for Dennis.

Then Dennis appeared in his Mercedes, parked, and greeted me and just as we were about to cross the street to the Coaster, up pulled two patrol cars. I figured they’d probably contact me and do a 12031 weapons check. I strolled nonchalantly towards the street and suddenly heard, “You in the kilt! Freeze! Don’t move! Get your hands up! Keep them where I can see them! On your knees!”

As I heard this I turned and saw two officers, one partially hidden behind a palm tree, with guns drawn and pointed right at me coming at me from two different angles. I had my hands up of course, and turned away from them as ordered and got on my knees. They were yelling from my buddy Dennis to get back away from me. There was a lot of yelling and super-testosterone charge in the air. “Hands on your head! Lace your fingers!” I was calm as could be. Next thing I knew my hands were tightly cuffed, first my left then my right, left inside of wrist to right back of wrist.

Both officers were behind me so I couldn’t see what they were doing, but next officer Knisley was on my right side tugging at my Glock. He was having trouble pulling it out of the holster. “How does this comes out?”

“Just pull straight up. It’s not loaded. I assume you’re doing a 12031 loaded weapon check?”

He pulled it out and drew the slide. “Do you have identification?”

“Yes but I’m not required to provide it unless I’ve committed a crime. Unloaded open carry is legal.”

“Do you have a permit for this?”

“There is no permit required. I am not carrying concealed.”

“Where is your identification?”

“In my wallet in my back pocket but again I am not required to provide it because I haven’t committed any crime.”

Then I felt the officer fishing around in my pocket for my wallet. He took it out and at this point they hauled me to my feet.

“Why do you have a gun? What’s the idea?”

“I’m a citizen and a human being and I’m carrying a gun for protection. As long as it’s not concealed and not loaded and I’m not a minor or a felon and not knowingly carrying within 1000 feet of a k-12 school, it’s perfectly legal. Open carry is legal in California.”

Much grumbling from the police.

“Do you have any warrants for your arrest? Do you have any felony convictions?”

“No, I don’t. But you can’t do a check on me unless I’m being accused of a crime. Am I under arrest?”

“No, you’re being detained while we determine if you’ve broken the law.”

“Well, yeah but detainment is just a term of art. If I were just being detained, I wouldn’t be in handcuffs.

“I understand that you have a job to do officers, and under California law I’m telling you you can contact me to determine if I’m carrying a loaded weapon. That does not normally include either handcuffs, brandished weapons or an identification check. You’re violating my Constitutional rights, specifically the 2nd amendment, and now you’re going further with a 4th amendment violation of my right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Your searching of my pockets and subsequent ID check I see as a 4th amendment violation.”

More glowering from the police.

“Why do you have a gun?”

“I already answered that. I don’t have to have a reason. I am a citizen and I know my rights and I’m sure you’ve seen that we are slowly losing our rights in this country. If we don’t start exercising the little we have left, we’re going to go fully fascist and it’ll be a mess.”

Cop nods.

“What’s your social security number?”

“I don’t give that out. Am I required to provide it? Am I being charged with anything?”

“What’s your phone number?”

“I don’t give that out either, unless I am required.”

“Don’t you have a cell phone number or something? Can’t you just give me that?”

“No. Not unless I have to.

Glowering from police.

“You just can’t walk around with a gun. Especially down here.”

“I understand you don’t like it and that’s totally up to you. You don’t have to like it. That doesn’t change the fact that I haven’t done anything wrong and you are illegally detaining me. I don’t expect you to know every nuance of the penal code, even though I am required to know it as a citizen, so I don’t mind educating you guys on open carry. I am loosely affiliated with an open carry group that has done a few lunches at the El Indio Shop on India street. 30 or 40 guys show up, strapped, and we have lunch and hang out. They love us, we tip about 60%. Anyway, first time the police stopped by and checked everything out, after that they left us alone. I thought there was a memo that was supposed to go out. Didn’t you get it?”

“No.”

Well, I appreciate you guys have a job to do but I also know that the Supreme Court has ruled that the police are not required to give protection to any individual person but only to society as a whole. If some thing goes down where I’m at, I understand that you’d like me to dial 911 and hope to God you guys get there in time. But you and I both know that you’ll probably only arrive in time to file a victim’s report. Sorry, but I’m not going to rely on you guys for that. I’m not going to trust you to defend me from whatever real criminals there might be.”

“Well, you can’t carry a gun, especially down here.” At this point I was being searched, my pocketknife unclipped from my pocket and put on the hood of the car, other pockets rifled through. Car keys removed, cell phone found but left in pocket.

“We’re going to have to agree to disagree on that, since it seems I can’t change your mind by showing you the facts. I understand that you don’t want someone running around on the beach, waving a gun and shooting people. Nor do I. But if that did happen in my presence, I’d rather rely on myself than on you guys. You are making a mistake, I’m telling you, and you’ll figure it out sooner or later that I have not committed any crime.

“So what do you carry?”

“Sig-sauer.”

“Sig is a nice gun.”

“It’s never jammed on me.”

“My Glock has never given me any trouble either. What’ve you got, 17 rounds?”

“15.”

“Oh. Have you had any other interesting calls today?”

“One where a guy escaped from the sheriff, jumped out a window or something. We’re looking for him in the area.”

“Oh, is he armed?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t either. But if I met up with him, I’d be glad I had my gun, wouldn’t you?”

No comment from Knisley.

“So did this dude escape from a bus or something?”

“All we know is he jumped through a window. Plate glass. Headfirst.”

“Oh, so he’s probably all cut up?”

“I imagine so.”

Pause.

“So let me ask you something. As an officer you took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever read it?”

Scoffs. “Yes, of course.”

“So you know that the second amendment protects from any infringement the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Do you know what ‘infringement’ means?”

“No. I’m not a lawyer.”

“That’s ok. The great thing is, the Constitution was written for regular guys like you and me to easily understand, not for lawyers.” I indicated with a glance the 5-feet of space between us. “If I took half a step in your direction, that would be an infringement of your personal space. I don’t have to charge at someone or bowl them over or physically contact them to infringe on their space. Same thing with our Constitutional rights. An infringement is any licensing, any restriction, any erosion. I’m sure you’d agree. Now you know we’re going fascist or socialist in this country, especially in the last several years, and you guys are supposed to know better. There shouldn’t even be any concealed carry permits or anything of the kind. And you certainly shouldn’t be charging out of your car with gun drawn screaming at a citizen who is exercising what’s left of his Constitutional rights.”

Other officer was checking my ID for warrants or priors. “Are you still at this address?”

“Yes. You found that I have no priors, right? I’m just lily-white!”

“Yeah, no priors. But what were you thinking? I’m a cop and I can carry off duty and even I don’t do it.”

“Well, that’s your right and you can choose to exercise it or not. And I should be free to do the same. So am I being charged?”

“We don’t know yet.”

“Any chance I could get out of these cuffs in the meantime? Obviously I’m the calmest guy here and reasonable and pose no threat to you.”

“No. They are on for your protection and ours. But you can lean against the car if you want.”

“No, I’m OK standing. But could you push my sunglasses back up on my nose? They’re bugging me and of course I can’t reach them.”

Knisley complied. What a relief.

Another car pulled up. I thought this must be the duty sergeant and he’d have a better grasp of the penal code. I should have known better. He talked to officer White, then approached me. I smiled and said good morning as the sergeant, Kries, walked up.

He didn’t like that. “What’s with the smirk?”

“I beg your pardon? I just said good morning.”

“What’s with the gun? Do you have a permit?”

“No permit is necessary. It’s not concealed.”

“What about your buddy? Is he carrying a weapon?”

“Not that I know of. I doubt it.”

White goes to hassle and search Dennis. I didn’t see or hear that exchange.

“You have to have a permit to carry a weapon capable of being concealed.”

“No, you’re wrong. You have to have a permit to conceal a weapon capable of being concealed.”

He gets in my face. “Are you trying to tell me the law?”

“Look, obviously if I’m walking around with a gun on my hip I’d know the law forwards and backwards. The code reads that it is unlawful to conceal without a permit a weapon capable of being concealed.”

“Why are you carrying a gun?”

“I already explained that to these other two officers.”

“Well, tell it again to me. I want to get it right from the horses mouth.”

“I’m carrying because I want to. I’m an American citizen and a human being and I have the right to self-defense and I’m within the limits of the law and you know I’ve done nothing wrong. I believe that we have to exercise our Constitutional rights because I’m sure you’d agree we’re losing them and the country is on the slide because of it.”

“I still don’t get it. Why do you feel you need a gun? You’re a big guy.”

“That’s irrelevant. I could say the same thing about you, and you carry a gun.”

“I’m a cop. We’re supposed to stop people like you from having weapons.”

“No, you’re supposed to support and defend the Constitution and bust criminals. I am not a criminal. I am not carrying loaded or concealed, I am not a felon, I am not a minor, I am not within 1000 feet of a k-12 school.”

“What, is this some political thing?” Kries sneered. “Is that it? You’re making a statement and trying to get arrested so you can have the ACLU defend you?”

“No.”

“What about the NRA? Think they’ll help you?”

“Ha! No chance. The NRA is the biggest gun-control organization on the planet.”

“Well, you have to have a permit to carry a weapon capable of being concealed.”

“No, you don’t. You’re mistaken. You’re misreading the statute.”

Now cop is getting angry. “Are you trying to tell me the law?”

“I’m trying to tell you you’re making a mistake. I don’t expect you to know every nuance of the law, even though I as a citizen am required to, but I would expect that you had heard of the open carry group active here in San Diego. We’ve been having open carry lunches fairly regularly at El Indio on India Street and I’ve been open carrying myself for a while now. There was supposed to be a memo that went out to SDPD. Didn’t you read it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have to have a permit to carry concealed.”

“It’s not concealed. It’s unloaded and visible from three sides. The magazines are visible from three sides and are on the other hip. You’re telling me this is concealed?”

“I’m telling you you have to have a permit.”

“Look, obviously we’re going to have to agree to disagree.” Big pause. Pregnant pause. The morning sun slid further across the sky. A couple waves crested and broke. “So now what happens?”

“Have you ever been to jail?”

“Never.”

“Well, you’re going. You’re under arrest for carrying a concealed weapon.”

Ah, time for a logic break. The only way they knew I had a weapon was because someone saw it and called it in. They knew it was me because they could see it. So how could it be concealed?

Officer White started getting me ready to transport. He took off my rings, emptied my pockets of whatever else I had, took off my holsters, and removed my belt. “This is a brand-new belt. Did you buy it just so you could carry a gun?”

“No. You’re making a mistake.”

“You’ll get all your stuff back after you post bail. Do you think you’ll be able to post?”

“Depends on how much it is. When do I get my phone call?”

“After you’re booked.”

I was now towards the rear driver side of the patrol car, Knisley and Kries were at the front passenger corner examining my weapon and magazines. Kries cries, “Hey, this is a 17-round mag! You can’t have this! These are law enforcement only!”

“They are no longer legal to purchase or offer for sale in California, but pre-ban magazines already possessed are legal. I’ve had that one for years. It’s legal.”

“No, you can’t have this, this is another violation.”

“Ok, again we’re going to have to agree to disagree and let the courts sort it out.”

Kries to Knisley: “Can you believe this guy? He’s got a 17 rounder with 13 rounds and a 10-rounder with 8.”

As if it’s inconceivable that I would actually deign to carry bullets, of all the horrible things.

They sorted out all my stuff and figured out who was taking me where, and then it was Knisley and I in his car headed downtown, after they loosened the cuffs a little bit since my hands were swelling. Apparently I was to be processed with some paperwork then taken to jail. I heard Kries smugly claim that “We’ve got him now, the rest of his day is shot.”

Knisley and I drove off towards our destination. We talked a bit, and I could sense his hesitation about the whole thing. I said, “Look, officer, you know I didn’t break any laws. Why your sergeant had such a hard-on for me is a mystery to me but you know you’re making a mistake.”

“Well, I have to do what he tells me to do.”

“Well, I guess I can’t change your mind. But I’m one of the good guys and it doesn’t matter whether or not I’m carrying a badge. As one American to another, I’d defend your rights and you as a police officer have a greater responsibility than to enforce laws that you know are un-Constitutional or misapply laws that you know are not relevant. You know I wasn’t carrying a loaded weapon or a concealed weapon and you know your sergeant is wrong.”

“Well, we have to stop and get your paperwork done and then take you downtown to jail. You’ll get a receipt for your weapon at the jail.”

Then I sat back and relaxed. There wasn’t much else I could do. Those cuffs and seats sure aren’t built for comfort.

We ended up downtown on broadway I think, in some underground park-and-process area. I was told that I would have to remain in the car while paperwork was done and my stuff inventoried. I asked Knisley to loosen my right cuff again, and he was nice enough to do it because my hand was starting to swell again. Then I sat and mentally prepared myself for jail.

After 20 minutes or so Knisley had gotten to the point of his report where it was time to count out the cash in my wallet. He took me out of the car and sat me in a chair at a desk. He sat opposite. Some dark-haired officer at the next table looked over and sneered, “What were you thinking?”

“That’s beside the point. I was not carrying a concealed weapon.”

“Well, you’re going to jail.”

“Look, I understand you don’t like that I was carrying. You absolutely don’t have to like it. But you not liking it does not make it illegal.”

Knisley started peeling off hundreds from my wallet, then 20s, 5s, and ones. $564 in all. I said, “Hey, you know, this is kind of silly. I mean, you’re counting this out so I can be sure no one took anything. But my wallet has been passed around between 3 cops so to do a count an hour and a half later seems a little ridiculous.”

He finished the paperwork he was working on, put the sheet in front of me and asked if I was right or lefthanded.

“Right.”

“OK, I’m gonna uncuff your right hand so you can sign the inventory sheet.”

“OK.”

Right hand released. Again, what a relief. “Let me have a look at this. $564, three rings, glock, mags, iPhone, belt, all appears to be in order. Can you hold the sheet down?” He did. I signed. “ What am I being charged with?”

As he’s recuffing me, “Um, 12020 and 12025. Carrying concealed weapon.”

“Can I read the code sections?

“Sure, let me get the book.”

The book is produced. 12020 turns out to be a definition. He was trying to cite me for a section that defined what a gun is. There was no violation listed in that section. So he scratched that one out and we went on to 12025, which of course read, “…carrying concealed a weapon capable of being concealed” blah blah blah.

I had him turn back and forth from that to 12031 which lists carrying a loaded weapon as an offense. I said, “Officer, look, if it was illegal to carry a weapon capable of being concealed, concealed or not, then we wouldn’t need 12031 which makes a distinction between loaded and unloaded carry. I mean give me a break here. I know what your sergeant said but he is obviously wrong. I wasn’t carrying concealed, I wasn’t breaking the law. That’s why a concealed carry permit is called a concealed carry permit, instead of just a carry permit.”

At this point I noticed another officer standing nearby, who seemed to have taken an interest beyond the rest of the ‘don’t mess with me, I’m THE MAN’ officers in the room. He drew Knisley off to the side and had a conversation with him. I kept sitting in my chair, reading the code sections and trying to turn the pages with my nose. I have to laugh at myself now.

Knisley disappears into a back room. I keep reading, and engage the new officer in conversation as we both read the penal code. We covered legal possession, concealed carry, loaded vs unloaded, high-cap mags, everything. Knisley reappears and announces that they “got clarification” and proceeds to tear up the arrest sheet.

“Great. Now get these cuffs off me.”

“Um, we need to have you sit in the patrol car.”

“Fine.” I get in the car, and Knisley goes around to the other side to remove the cuffs. Third great relief of the day. I ask to exit the car but he says, “We’re taking you back right now.”

The door closes and I’m back in the little back seat prison. So I wait. A lightbulb goes on in another officer’s head, as it is determined that the magazines were loaded. Here we go again. Another 5 or 10 minutes passes while they try desperately to figure out a way to arrest me. No dice. I call out to dark haired bad attitude officer to let me out of the car. “Hey, I’m not under arrest. I haven’t done anything wrong. Let me out of the car until we’re ready to go.”

“No I can’t do that. This is a secure area.”

“I’m not even supposed to BE HERE!”

“I can’t do anything. Just wait.”

Unfortunately I didn’t get that officer’s ID number.

Finally Knisley reappears, gets in the car and we head out.

“Officer, you know what really sucks? You guys just spent 2 hours trying your best to get something to stick, when you all knew damned well I hadn’t done anything wrong. Especially your sergeant. He was the worst. He was totally trying to screw me over and he lied to do so. All because I was exercising my Constitutional rights. I of course want the contact information for you, the other officer and your sergeant.”

“Oh, yes, you’ll get all of that when I drop you off.”

For the rest of the ride, we talked politics, gold standard, the economy, the bailout, the war (he’d just gotten back from Iraq, 20 years in the navy) and the fallen and ignored Constitution. I put in his head that he’d better buy some gold and silver and that he has a responsibility to not enforce laws that he knows are un-Constitutional. He was pretty much in agreement with everything, and we were on a first-name basis by the time we were halfway back. He apologized several times, and pulled the old, “Well, we get a weapon call, we don’t know what to expect” routine.

“I understand, but here’s how you ought to do it. Walk up, say hello, ask to check if the weapon is loaded. I’ll comply, present you my hip, you do your check and wish me good day. That’s it. No drawn guns. No screaming. No handcuffs. No ID check unless I’m being accused of a crime, an actual crime.”

“Well, I don’t know if you’re legal or not. I don’t know who you are. I get weapons all the time off guys who are felons.”

“Yes, Jody, I’m sure you do, but I’ll bet you a million dollars you’ve always found CONCEALED weapons- without a permit- while doing a legal body search AFTER contacting someone who has committed another crime. No crook in his right mind is gonna open carry. So therefore the very fact that I’m open carrying means I’m one of the good guys. Right?”

“Yeah…”

“You know I’m right. Do me a favor and read up on the Constitution again and remember that you have a responsibility to not enforce laws that you know are illegal, and you have a responsibility to stand up to your sergeant when you know he’s wrong.”

With that, Knisley gave me all my gear back. I got re-assembled, put the rings and belt back on, the holsters, checked the chamber and the mags, knocked the bullets back in the mags and slipped everything into their proper places. I got the badge numbers for White Knisley and Kries and an incident report number and Knisley apologized again. We shook hands and we parted.

9:15-11:15 am 11/21/08.

Officer Kries, even though during your deposition you repeatedly lied under oath and said we never even talked that day, I'm going to take this opportunity to say once and for all, YES, I AM TRYING TO TELL YOU THE LAW. To me, you are just a state-sanctioned thug and as such, you hate an armed populace for the same reason every other tyrant does- it's a threat to your power. I have zero respect for you either as a police officer or as a human being and I'm sure that if I someday end up dead under suspicious circumstances, it'll be because of you or one of your thuggish contemporaries.

Officer White, while I think that you suffer from some of the same poisoned thinking as Kries, you aren't nearly as far gone as he is. There is hope. I appreciate the fact that you told the truth in your deposition while the other two lied their asses off. However, if your answer under oath to the question, "if there is a live round in the chamber and the safety is off and you pull the trigger, will the gun fire?" is "I don't know, I'm not a firearms expert," then maybe you ought to rethink your career choice.

Officer Knisely, I hope you took to heart my advice to stand up to your superiors when you know they are wrong. I doubt you did though, judging from all the CYA lies you told in your deposition. You probably also ignored my recommendation to buy gold and silver. Gold that day was about 818 and silver 10.27. Today they are 1311 and 21.94. It's not too late though, since most of what the rest of the world believes about investing is lies, I still say get in while you can.

See you all on the street.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

You gotta buy this.

AN UNBELIEVABLE OFFER!
Read on:

As you may know, I just got back from defensive handgun training at Front Sight in Nevada. I have been a liberty junkie for as long as I can remember, and history shows that unarmed people end up slaves. Or worse. Therefore, I've always been a big proponent of firearms in the hands of the common man.

In April, Front Sight was offering a 4-day defensive handgun class, plus a one-day 30-state concealed carry class, plus a stainless steel knife, a belt, hat, shirt, training manuals, armorers mat etc, for 1199. Plus, you got a free new-in-box Springfield XD pistol in 9mm, .40sw or .45. The gun alone is $600 anywhere you go and it comes with a speedloader, a holster and two magazines with their own holster. So it seemed like a pretty good deal to me for 1200 bucks so I bought it.

The gun is absolutely terrific (I got it in .45) and the training was the best I've ever seen. I graduated #1 in my class of 36, ahead of SWAT team officers and active duty and retired police officers. Mind you, I'm no gunslinger but the training was that good.

That course and gun offer is now on their website for 1500 bucks. https://www.frontsight.com/free-gun.asp

On Monday, Front Sight sent out an email offering anything you've purchased from them for half price. That's right, I can buy those gun and training deals for $600! The gun ALONE goes for six hundred dollars! If you've never fired a gun before, once you train you will be totally competent and knowledgable. If you have some experience but haven't been to Front Sight, you will be amazed at how much you didn't know that you didn't know. If you think you're a pretty good shot but haven't been to Front Sight, I bet I'm better than you. So go get trained!

Anyone who wants in on this deal, it has to go through me. I'm not getting anything out of this but a better armed better trained citizenry, which I already stated is key to a free and safe society. Plus, the knowledge that I am pissing off socialist par excellence Obama and the rest of his statist pals.

Contact me if interested and hurry up because Front Sight said they can pull the offer at any time.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Greetings from Colorado

Another short video of Sam in Colorado! Notice the lack of kittens dying.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

A Nevada pit stop

this is really just a poke at Lori Saldana and her hysterical claims. Just a video of me on my way to FreedomFest, safely across the border in Nevada, WITH A LOADED GUN oh my GOD the humanity!!! ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=338PHqGL8KE

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Catfish Club Debate

Just thought I would let you all know that I will be a panelist for a debate over AB1934 at the Catfish Club this coming Friday. The details are in this link.

http://www.catfishclub.net/LuncheonCalendar.html

CARRY ON!

-N8

Thursday, July 15, 2010

FUD at Turner's Kearney Mesa

So I stopped by Turner's in Kearney Mesa today to see if anyone decided to pawn off any cool rifles that I could snag on the cheap. While there I chatted with a sales associate about my 5.11 Select Carry pack. I told him about it, showed him the Makarov I was LUCCing in the chest pocket and when I told him about Lori Saldana's goons at the Lafayette debate, things began to go downhill. I am just going to itemize the FUD that he spewed forth.

1) He said that the cops in Lafayette could have demanded ID from me. This sparked a $100 bet on whether or not California has a stop-and-ID statute. More details on this later.

1) He said that if you drove somewhere in a car, got out on foot and were stopped by an officer that the officer could compel ID.

2) He said that my LUCC'd Makarov was a violation of the law and store policy. He only mentioned this after he had Googled the law for a few minutes, went into the back room to discuss something with a manager then got all huffy when leaving to attend another customer. I had to let another guy check my Makarov (it was cool, it sparked a talk on Makarovs for a bit). Also, I do not feel that I violated store policy and neither do the other sales guys. I will be asking corporate tomorrow.

3) He said that there is a length limit on knives in California. Another $100 bet was levied on this but I believe he backed out of it.

4) He said that his buddy down in Harbor Patrol has "run the OCers out of his area" and that he would do the same to me if I showed up in the Harbor area. Looks like I have a new challenge and yet another way to spend by Thursday nights (while single)

5) He challenged me to give him my license plate number so that he could call his SDHP friend and harass me while I was LUCCing/UOCing a pistol. It just keeps getting better.

6) He tried to school me on private property law and how he was a nice guy for not telling me to leave. Yeah...

As for the bet, I left him my email address so he could Gunpal the money when he figures out that he the loser. I am not holding my breath though, he looks as dishonest as the day is long.

On the bright side, I got recognized by a guy in the store whose brother was inspired by the Reader article and OC'd his shotgun in San Bernadino for a school project. He ended up getting detained for 1.5 hours, having his gun disassembled to check for loaded status (even though he had a safety lock through the action) and was eventually let go. Not necessarily a good story, but kind of a cool school project.

I also educated the same guy on concealing fixed blade knives. He showed me his two fixed blades under his jacket and I quickly corrected 10 years worth of misinformation. I also gave him advice on covering his rear legally in terms of reading and knowing the law.

Such was my day at Turners. If anyone stops by there at all, feel free to nag him about the bet. I don't know his name but he is a late 30s-early 40s guy with gray hair and moderate build.

Back to Anatomy.

CARRY ON!

-N8

Monday, July 5, 2010

St. Bridgid's Parish

I carried during mass at St. Bridgid's Parish on Cass Street after my Independence Day activity. I had one gentleman ask me if I was an off-duty cop and the two people with him were all smiles when I told them "Nope, I'm just an ordinary guy" and "Happy Fourth!" No one else in church seemed to care.

Let freedom ring.

CARRY ON!

-N8

Sunday, July 4, 2010

FOURTH OF JULY!

Happy 4th of July!

We are heading into some dark times but I trust that the flame of liberty will not perish.

That said, despite dire predictions on behalf of some Calguns members, today was pretty much just another day in the neighborhood. Here is how it went...

Since most people had other plans for the 4th, we had a very small group of individuals carrying today. We started out at Kono's for breakfast. Kono's is very popular and the hour-long line was halfway down the block. While waiting, my group spoke with two very nice Nevada residents and discussed the nuances of Nevada and Kalifornia gun laws. It turned out that they were pro-gun but not carriers but we helped them realize what a privilege shall-issue concealed carry is, and they said' they'd apply for their permits. Hopefully, they preserve that lovely Nevada "outlaw" culture.

After breakfast, we strolled the boardwalk, taking in the view. As we walked we were stopped by a promoter for Shen Yun and we had a good but slightly disheartening chat with him. Here is the recording. Immediately afterwards, we were accosted by two police officers. I have to laugh at the opening line; it was like asking if the sky was blue.

We then decided to put to rest Lori Saldana's hysterical claim that open carriers, obviously the most law abiding people in Kalifornia, are somehow a drain on police resources. So to test that theory, Sam called in a "man with gun" call on himself via the non-emergency SDPD line.

The dispatcher did not seem concerned, correctly assuming that the OC'ers (us) were legal. We waited a while, and eventually went on our way. Both our internal and external information sources were monitoring the police airwaves and promised to alert us to any MWG calls. No notification ever came, just as no police ever arrived. We can safely assume that our phone call ended with dispatch.

Lori is lying again. \sarcasm\ Who would have thought it possible? /sarcasm/

After wandering about for 3.5 hours total, we all went home.

Now, a debriefing.

1) There was A (singlular) firecracker the whole day and it sounded like one of those Mexican jumping beans. No one freaked, no one laid down suppression fire, no cops pulled their weapons.

2) No one ran around accusing us of shooting our guns off.

3) There were three cops that we saw THE ENTIRE TIME. Only two contacted us and only one made the mistake of opening his mouth.

4) We heard A LOT of positive comments and support.

CARRY ON!

-N8

Friday, June 18, 2010

Lafayette Memorial Debate on AB1934

Wow, it has been a long time. Unfortunately, not much has really been happening so I will spice things up a bit with a new blog post.

So I drove up to San Francisco to attend the debate between the Responsible Citizens of California , the Brady Campaign and Lori Saldana, the author of AB1934 (the "Anti-OC" bill) but due to extraneous circumstances (getting lost in San Francisco and dealing with the HORRENDOUS traffic), I was only able to catch the last 1/2 of the debate.

Despite the fact that I missed most of the debate (will catch up on the broadcast in a bit), I did have a few morsels of laughter at the expense of the police officers in Lafayette. Here is the story...

Since there is a school within 1000' of Lafayette Memorial Hall and I would be damned if I did not show up without a gun, I decided to LUCC (Locked Unloaded Concealed Carry) my Browning Hi-Power to the debate. The problem was that as I was about to enter the Lafayette Memorial Hall, I noticed that no ammunition was allowed in the building per building policy (must have been just for this event). Since I had a loaded magazine in my backpack and I didn't want to be in violation of building policy, I went to my car and put it away. Because of my honesty, I had to deal with two police officers before entering into the debate room. Here is a recording of my encounter with Lafayette PD and a member of Saldana's security detail.

A couple of things that I could have done better or should not have done at all.

1) I was tired from a whole day of dealing with San Francisco traffic and I let my guard down to procure some cheap, tired laughs (albeit internal laughs.) DON'T DO THAT! I should have NEVER offered info to those cops, even though I was completely in the legal clear. My shenanigans caused this conversation to be about 4x as long as it should have been.

2) Sam and I have discussed the usage of asking "Am I legally required to answer that question?" to an official and we are of the opinion that it is not really a good idea to ask that in a conversation, reason being that these cops probably don't know the law anyways so they will just automatically just say "Yes." In addition, it prolongs the conversation unnecessarily, which increases one's chances of tripping up, etc.

Instead, asking these three questions...

Am I under arrest?
Am I being detained?
Am I free to go?


...are your best phrases for getting out of dealing with the police.


3) I didn't get a name or badge number, that is no bueno. I must not forget to do that in the future.

On a side note, it was very funny to see these officers tracking my every movement inside of the debate room. If you look in this video at 2:18, you will see one of the officers that I dealt with standing directly behind me. He apparently had his hand on his gun for a good portion of the time as well. Seems like that may be brandishing but then again...

Sam and I REALLY need to start making some more videos to expound on the BUSTED video (a MUST SEE and an EXCELLENT primer to your Constitutional rights.) I will get on him about that next week.

Chicago v. McDonald is coming out within 11 days. Keep your fingers crossed and get ready for a wild ride.

CARRY ON!

-N8

Monday, March 15, 2010

France24.com Open Carry Interview

Hey everyone!

I was asked to do an interview for France24.com on the issue of Open Carry but I had to hand it off to my brother, Sam, because of finals week down here at UCSD. Apparently, a lot of French people are curious about American gun rights and the right to keep and bear, especially since this most recent Starbucks flareup.

Click here to see the France24.com news segment!

CARRY ON!

-N8

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Interesting documentation from Sunnyvale Police Department

So bad_ace has uncovered some pretty good documentation from Sunnyvale Police Department that indicates that many of the officers are disgruntled by the fact that OCers are a law-abiding crowd. I guess that simple and impartial enforcement of the law is not an option anymore.

A summary of the documentation from bad_ace (shamelessly copied from his post on OCDO)

1. It seems SPD has a collaborative effort to stifle open carry activities.

2. They know it’s legal so they’re spending time finding ways to arrest for other things. (guilty before proven innocent)

3. SPD actively monitors opencarryradio.com, my youtube channel, and OCDO

4. They are informing neighboring departments when we have meet ups their.

5. They desperately want to arrest us for “failure to ID” (as if that’s a real thing). They know PC148.9 is bull, so they look for other tactics.

6. SPD wants to start a “Public Information Component” to educate the public on Open Carry. (Ministry of Truth?)

7. An off duty officer has called 911 on open carriers in Sunnyvale.

8. SPD is building a GIS maps database of school zones.

Links to the documentation

Document set 1
Document set 2

Now, I am going to go on a little bit of a schpeal here...

While it is NOT recommended that people OC at this time, (even I recommend not doing so at this moment) due to imminent political and legal issues (there IS a bill that has been drafted to ban UOC and it appears like it has been drafted so that it will invariably get a lot of innocent people arrested for even harmless transport) as well as the fact that we have no "legal teeth" so to speak (since the 2A is a PRIVILEGE at the moment, not a RIGHT) AND Calguns Foundation is NOT protecting OCers at the moment. I hate to admit it, but OCing right now is, OVERALL, not exactly the best idea. This argument has been hashed out many times over on OCDO and CGN so I will not rehash it here too much. I know it sounds weird coming from someone like me that has been so vocal in the past and has been published, but I know that the standing and expertise of the great members of the Calguns Foundation have not erred yet and so I am inclined to generally agree with them.

Once the 2A is incorporated AGAINST THE STATES via McDonald v. Chicago, we will get our prayers answered via Nordyke v. King and then we can really have the tools we need to win this emotionally draining fight for our rights. Yes, we do have to wait another SIX months but trust me, the juice is definitely worth the delayed squeeze on this one. We have the best men in the country working on this case and while it hurts to wait, that is just what we must do... WAIT.

Now, should one decide to open carry at this time (I am not your mother, I can only advise), I would like to warn you that cops getting much wiser about open carry and they are looking to up their game. The evidence presented above shows me that many police departments are evolving and are coordinating in an effort to simply arrest an OCer, ANY OCer, so that an OCer can be made an example by the State. They don't want that one 74 year-old guy in San Jose, they want one of the frequent posters on OCDO/CGN, anyone that is very experienced with the subject matter OR someone that is younger. DO NOT GIVE THEM THAT OPPORTUNITY! DO NOT LET YOUR DEFENSES FALTER! If it smells like a skunk, then it is a skunk and you need to act accordingly.

With that, I must depart for class.

CARRY ON!

-N8