Jacket rode up over holster at a Wedding, escorted out by five police officers

[mrbatchelor]

Originally Posted by Strafer Gott

You might have hurt your girlfriend's networking, definitely not good for business.

Originally Posted by Chris Van

I also work for the federal govt (dept of defense) with security clearances so I must keep a clean record.

Just tell 'em you work for the Pentagon and can't talk about it.

[David White]

Originally Posted by Holartic

I am guessing the numbers of people who really try to carry a handgun mostly everywhere are few.

Maybe where you live but not where I'm from (and live).
I carry 24/7/365 everywhere at all times. There many many more like me than you obviously know about.
If I'm wearing pants, I'm armed... Period.

Oh, your girl will not call you back because when she asked you if you were carrying a gun, you lied to her and said no.
That and you embarrassed the heck out of her at a social gathering with people, or person, she worked with.


I guess I am confused here. You said that your "P7" was exposed during the event you attended.
Later you say that your "P7" was in your car.
Did you not bring the weapon, a P7M8 or P7M13, into the wedding? You said that the "Groom" told you it would not be allowed in the event building.

All and all, I hate to say it but I'm calling BS on his story. Too many inconsistencies with his follow up postings.

[lcpiper]

Oh, your girl will not call you back because when she asked you if you were carrying a gun, you lied to here and said no.

I didn't get this from his account. I got that his gun was seen, people talked and the groom came and suggested he leave it outside. I understood that he did leave it out in the car, came back in, and when she asked if he had it he said no, cause he had put it in the car, and she asked if he had it before and he replied that he had made a mistake, (either letting it be seen or bringing it to begin with is unclear).

I didn't get that he lied to her.

As noted, concealed means concealed.

I can't resist.

In Arizona, it just means your not being flashy. It's a common sense thing that I am hoping more of the country catches on to.

[zincwarrior]

Quote:
As noted, concealed means concealed.

I can't resist.

In Arizona, it just means your not being flashy. It's a common sense thing that I am hoping more of the country catches on to.

In Texas, it means keeping it concealed. Since Texas has better barbeque, its naturally the correct way.

Seriously though, while an accident, that would have kept this situation from occurring.

[lcpiper]

My view, I wouldn't expect the Groom to be thinking clearly so I wouldn't put so much on his shoulders given the situation. But someone, (like the Bride's Father, it is his show in a way), should have come and spoke with the OP, "Some folks thought they saw a gun on you but no one we have talked to seems to know you ..."

Simple;
Who are you?
Are you packing?
And if i may ask, why?

If Dad don't like the answers please leave, if he is satisfied, enjoy the show.

Dad says, "Folks, it's all taken care of, everything is fine, let's have a wedding."

No one even has to waste their minutes on the 911 call.

Sometimes a man needs to step up and deal with an issue, and put it to bed one way or another.

[zincwarrior]

On the flip side think about that just a hair. This is a stranger to the bridal party. The stranger has a gun. In today's age thats potentially very bad: psycho, ex husband, etc. etc.

If he was known to the party I don't think that would be an issue.

[shafter]

I have ALOT of experience with weddings and I can certainly say that I would carry to one if it was legal. I think this is a good situation for pocket carrying a snub or perhaps one of those tuckable holsters. It would be rough to have to keep your jacket on the whole time. Also, based on what I've seen at weddings sending 5 police officers wasn't unreasonable. They didn't know the circumstances and once they got there it seems they were professional about it.

You guys get over yourself. I wouldn't turn my back on my friends for someone I've dated 5 it six times, and neither would you.

OP chalk it up to stuff happens and learn from it. Cut the girl some slack and whatever happens happens.

Very sound advice.

[lcpiper]

Simple;
Who are you?
Are you packing?
And if i may ask, why?

I think this was clear enough Zinc.

This says he is not a stranger, he is known, was invited, and is either being asked to leave his gun outside, or just being asked to leave. The problem as I am suggesting is that this "issue" wasn't handled, it was pawned off onto the cops. Now, instead of being a small thing, it's now an ugly spot on the event all because someone didn't just deal with it.

[Holartic]

I did not lie to my date. After the groom said "I don't think they will let you take that in there," the P7 was promptly put into the vehicle. Her question to me was "do you have a gun?" and I said "no," because the P7 was now in the vehicle. She asked me if I had one earlier and I said "My mistake." The person that pulled her aside to talk to her must have said I "made a scene," and and all I did was mention my name to the groom and shake his hand.

Upon my return, the lady who wanted to know who invited me acted alarmed, this made me very uncomfortable. Hindsight, I think they already decided to make me leave shortly after they saw the P7/holster, and perhaps they wanted to see who I was with so they can be mad at them too along and bother the police with a 9/11 call. Also my fault for forgetting how worked up people get at weddings.

I wish they had asked me to leave right way, or that I made up some BS about arriving at the wrong church and left right after the conversation with the groom.

My previous positive experience with open carry and casual concealment falsely led me to believe that people in my city/state are not as uptight about firearms.

There is really not much to learn from this except that poor concealed carry habits from casual situations like getting an oil change can carry over to more important situations where complete concealment is crucial.

It is also important to practice concealment in a mirror and/or develop some technique with your hand or eyes to check that vests, shirts or jackets are not hanging or snagged on anything.

Lastly, it seems that few people see any value in open carry as a means to remove the brainwashed news media/television programming that "guns are bad and their owners too."

[lcpiper]

Had open carry in Arizona for quit some time and occasionally I see someone with a visibly holstered gun, usually the wild west types in boots, etc. I think some folks just look at them like they are an oddity, not like they are part of the real world of normal people.

Some I am sure have just accepted it which sounds good at first but I am not all that sure. Perhaps they just try to ignore it until such time as they get a chance to vote against it later on.

I am glad that Gov. Brewer and Arizona's Congress found it wise to allow concealed carry without the need for a permit. Anyone who can legally own a gun can carry concealed without any fuss at all as long as they stay considerate of shop keepers who don't want guns in their places, etc. It also means that their is no requirement to keep the gun actually concealed and thereby have an honest mistake like the OP's turn him into a criminal when no harm was intended or caused.

It's just unfortunate for several people that it wasn't handled better because it never had to get that far out of hand.


EDIT: And just to be clear, you don't see that many open carrying, and of course those who are carrying concealed are harder to spot still. So it's not like we have returned to the wild west and every man has a leg iron on his hip. But it does mean the real criminals must consider that they have no idea who has a gun or where because it's the ones they can't see that scare them the most.

[WiscBuckmaster]

Holartic, I think you handled the situation well. It was a mistake to not check visually if you were all good but when walking into a wedding by yourself not knowing anyone, can definitely put your head somewhere else, its intimidating and probably had you nervous and thoughts racing. Im sure looking back it would have been a better idea to leave the gun and holster in your car in the first place if you cant keep focused on the task at hand, which is to conceal your weapon. But it seems you kept cool and kept yourself from actually making a scene. Learn from the mistake and be happy you were level-headed enough to make it out on your own free will.

[sourdough44]

Sorry to hear. Some situations call for 'deep cover'.

[southjk]

Lastly, it seems that few people see any value in open carry as a means to remove the brainwashed news media/television programming that "guns are bad and their owners too."

I certainly agree with you. If everyone that carried could/would open carry it would go a long way to get people to be used to seeing guns without panicking and calling 911 like happened to you. As it is, we have to act like it is something shameful and keep it secret lest we be banished from whatever establishment we have decided to enter.

That said, I don't see that happening any time soon and you are at a tactical disadvantage and become target number one if a bad guy decides to start shooting. The bad guy knows you have a gun but you don't know his plans until it may be too late.

I wish everyone would open carry but I'm not intentionally showing my gun unless I'm about to shoot someone.

[North East Redneck]

Holartic,
You made a mistake and I doubt it will happen again. Chalk it up to learning experience. Life is all about awareness, and sadly perception. You need to be aware of your surroundings and also how those in your presence view you. Nothing wrong with carrying, but one needs to be mindful of how others perceive you. In the situation you describe, I can see how those not familiar with CCWs could be alarmed.
Just to be clear, I do not care what others think of me, and I'm not worried about the way I look, I know I'm rough looking (to some people). But when it comes to legal issues, stay below the radar. Better to be left alone than perceived as a threat.
Where I live, allowing your CCW to print can be viewed as brandishing the weapon. Crazy, but not to some LEOs and/or a court of law. You got lucky and nothing bad happened to you or your permit to carry. Lesson learned. If you feel the need to carry all the time, and many do, that's fine, a 442 or SP101 would be a great choice. (I like wheel guns!)
Few years ago, I parked the bike and went into a local watering hole, about 20 mins later a local cop showed up and asked me to step out and talk to him. He asked if I was carrying a gun, told him no. I had a liner lock knife and a leatherman tool. He frisked me and found nothing, asked him what is this all about, a woman had called the police and said a guy on a bike went into the bar room and she saw a gun on his belt. She most likely saw the leatherman holster, its all about perception, it may not be right, but again, be aware of your surroundings and what others may think.
I certainly support open carry, our world would be a better one if more people displayed their ability to protect themselves. However, if you can't OC, hide the gun as best as possible. Letting uninformed people see your CCW only hurts the gun owners cause.
Glad you had no further issues.

[JerryM]

Carry, but accept the responsibility of carrying concealed.
Jerry

[Dashunde]

Six capitol letters for your future wedding adventures.... LCP IWB

[lcpiper]

Where I live, allowing your CCW to print can be viewed as brandishing the weapon. Crazy, but not to some LEOs and/or a court of law. You got lucky and nothing bad happened to you or your permit to carry. Lesson learned.

Now hold up some. You say he got lucky but it sounds to me like he was perfectly fine as far as the law was concerned. Just some folks at the wedding got their feathers ruffled and wanted him to leave, the police were just there to check him out. If he had been a member of the family the whole thing would have gone differently. Someone might have still got their nose wrinkled up, but it wouldn't have gone farther then a minor butt chewing.

I think any State that doesn't leave some room for a concealed gun to be "noticed" without it becoming an offense is way too far to the wrong end of common sense. I know these states exist and that you guys who persevere must develop what you see as "best practices" to stay out of trouble. But it's because your State is unreasonable and not because those who live in other States are "lucky" to get away with something that shouldn't be something to begin with.

This wasn't a legal issue, it was a social issue.

[orangello]

Sounds like a good excuse to go shopping for a pocket pistol.


It also makes me think that a nationwide effort to promote open carry (where legal) would be a sad war of attrition involving quite a bit of hassle for those brave legal pioneers.

[Holartic]

I have tried open carry at the following places with no issues:

1. Texaco Station
2. Wal-Mart
3. Express Oil Change
4. Toyota Dealership
5. Cat Dealership
6. Barnes and Noble/Star Bucks

That is all I can remember for now. I had no issues, and in some instances people struck up conversations but there was no alarm and no police for any open carry thus far except for the situation described on my post.

The fellow at Texaco had gotten to know me a bit and wanted to know about CCW and get a handgun. The fellow at Express oil were quite a bit pro-2A. Toyota did not say anything. Cat dealership wanted to know who or why I was carrying. Barnes and Noble did not say a word, but the people in the parking lot looked at me funny. Open carry in the Wal-Mart pharmacy isle with people behind me they did not say anything. People views of open carry in my city is not all bad, but it does pose a serious tactical disadvantage.

I have never tried open carry until recently, but listening to my peers on TFL it seems the 2A awareness benefit is perhaps much smaller than I anticipated.

[orangello]

Cat dealership? Is that like a pet store?

[481]

I think the OP meant a Caterpillar Dealership. Excavation equipment sold there.

[dajowi]

I avoid carrying at weddings and funerals...I fact I just avoid weddings and funerals

[oldpromod]

My previous positive experience with open carry and casual concealment falsely led me to believe that people in my city/state are not as uptight about firearms.


Holartic

Did this happen in Alabama by chance?

[zincwarrior]

I avoid carrying at weddings and funerals...I fact I just avoid weddings and funerals

Now here is a man wise beyond his years.

[Texshooter]

what about the wedding gift, if there was one?

Did u buy, or contribute, to same?

If so there are obviously reparations to be made!

Trying to think what Costanza would do.