Personally I don’t open carry (even when permitted by law), but I get why some people choose to do so. In their opinion it normalizes guns, turns them from foreign objects to commonly encountered and “normal” accoutrements. I admit that there’s some validity to that strategy, but it only works if you also use the “killing them with kindness” approach. For one unidentified Georgia resident, the urge to be a douchebag took over and probably did more harm than good. [WARNING: Auto-play below] . . .
From the local news article:
Parents at a Forysth County park abruptly stopped a children’s baseball game after growing suspicions of the behavior of a man carrying a gun in a waist holster Tuesday night.
“He’s just walking around [saying] ‘See my gun? Look, I got a gun and there’s nothing you can do about it.’ He knew he was frightening people. He knew exactly what he was doing,” said parent Karen Rabb.
Rabb told Channel 2’s Tom Regan the parents grew so alarmed that they brought the game to a halt when the man declined a request that he leave a parking lot overlooking the baseball field.
“He scared people to the point where we stopped the game, took the kids out of the dugout and behind the dugout, and kind of hunkered down,” Rabb said.
The issue here isn’t that he was carrying a gun — the issue was the manner in which he was doing it. Instead of simply being a pleasant person, showing the crowds that there was nothing to fear from the people of the gun, he decided to make a big deal out of packing and make people uncomfortable.
I don’t think the parents would have been nervous had he just had the gun in his holster and was just watching the game.
The last thing you ever want to do is go out of your way to make people nervous when you’re already doing something that not everyone will be comfortable with. Going out of your way to point it out and be a douchebag isn’t going to win them to your side.
The level of douchebaggery on display here is so flagrant that I’m almost tempted to fold up a tin foil hat and call this a false flag operation. The very weekend after a law that Michael Bloomberg opposes becomes law, someone decides that this is the perfect opportunity to stick out their metaphorical tongue and blow raspberries at normal every-day folks? It sounds more like a PR stunt from the Moms Demand Action folks than something a gun rights supporter would actually do.
Either way, people like this Georgia man give gun rights supporters a bad name. We win when people realize that we’re just normal folks and not bloodthirsty mental patients. This isn’t helping.
There are bad apples in every bunch, and I feel that it is more likely a DB than a false flag, although I do like to speculate
Yeah, you’re probably right. Once a group reaches a certain size, you’re guaranteed to have a few d’bags and a-holes in it.
This was all over our local forums the day it happened. The former head of Georgiacarry.org called on that groups members to avoid open carry at that location for a while after the dbag bragged about the trouble he caused on their forum.
This very well could’ve been a false flag. Bloomberg is certainly capable, willing, and has a real history of doing things like this. Many of you I’m sure are familiar with the (FIRST) Anti-Bloomberg laws, states started to pass years ago, after Bloomberg ordered his cronies to go straw purchase “assault weapons” in neighboring states, then have them suddenly turn up at crime scenes, buybacks, and raids. The goal was to convince people that a federal AWB was needed because NY was being “violated” and all that bs…
It’s got FALSE FLAG written all over it. Nobody is that stupid, ergo he’s hostile, and being a dork about it. (albeit we do have a Constitutionally-protected right to be dorks.)
“This very well could’ve been a false flag.”
I agree 1,000,000% … this is almost certain to be a false flag operation.
Ya know, IF this really happened, the guy saying “Look see this gun…” could be arrested for Threats and Intimidation. I have a feeling this story got severely exaggerated after the fact. My guess is someone said, “OMG He has a gun!” and the guy said, “So effing what? I have a gun. It’s on my hip, and I’m carrying safely and legally. There’s nothing you can do about that. Now go away hoplophobe.”
20 parents call 911. The guy is not threatening, to the point that he can not be arrested. Not one parent takes pictures or video of the fellow and posts it on the net or can give it to the media….
Something smells bigtime.
Yup. Even a UFO would have gotten cell phone videos.
hmmmmm
The sheep mistook a sheepdog for a wolf.
Im just gonna coment before paul McCain starts talking about dangerous open carry zealots
I’m just gong to comment to say it wasn’t me.
I live on the South side of Atlanta and we don’t flinch at the sight of an armed citizen.
I was in a WalMart one day and some idiot drew his 1911 custom just to show it off to another person in line waiting for the one employee in the store that has the key to the ammo case. It is not my policy to unnecessarily handle a loaded (read all) firearm especially in public.
BTW WalMart has lifted the 3 box restriction on all but 22LR ammo. Just in time for me to be out of cash.
Then you’ll no doubt hate me for stumbling on a small pile of CCI Mini Mag .22 at a Walmart up here in NWGA – I too, was out of cash but for the $25 gift card WM had so kindly given me when I brought a new ST phone (first one was bad). But up until today, I’d been to Walmarts all over NWGA and metro Atlanta and had yet to spot a single box of .22LR.
Tom
Stopped in yesterday to get salt for the pool and checked out the ammo supply. They had one brick of 22 left after a guy bought his limit. The employee told me about the 22 and I said that I don’t have have a 22 firearm. So I did not get it. I know there are people that buy it up just to re-sell it. I don’t roll that way. I would have bought a couple 22s if it weren’t for the shortage of ammo. Maybe now that it is comming back I will get a conversion for my AR and a pistol and maybe a conversion for my Glock.
Saw footage of a fire today at an ammo facility. That can’t help matters.
Regardless of who he was or what his motives were, the best thing the community can do it roundly and categorically reject behavior like this as offensive and irresponsible.
Also, while I agree with your point about this douche potentially being a Bloomberg troll, I wouldn’t accuse him of it absent any actual evidence. Also, every time a person sees the term “false flag” they lose 100 brain cells.
Disagree. The best thing the community can do is get a license and be prepared to protect their children if there ever is a REAL threat, rather than plan on hiding behind the dugout. Because the police, soon enough, will not even respond to “man with a gun” calls, which is as it should be.
Actually, the local media FB pages with the story are full of comments from people, including lots of armed moms, who basically said, “so what, I carry all the time, you just can’t see it.”
And that’s why I love GA.
Except that Bloomberg has actually conducted real false flag operations in the past. Note the first set of Anti Bloomberg laws, against straw purchases, that he had his cronies do, then the guns would turn up in NY. The goal was to get more federal gun restrictions, and a new AWB.
False flag.
MDA said the kids were traumatized.
Unless the kids had a previous negative experience with guns, any trauma came due to the overreaction of the parents. Kids are typically naturally curious about new things until they have either enough experience that it becomes old hat, or the initial experience is negative.
I can imagine the kids were traumatized, by shrieking mothers running in circles crying for their dead and dying children, never mind nothing happened. Kids love guns, exactly what is supposed to have traumatized them?
This ^^^ right here…
The only reason these kids had reason to be frightened was because the parents reinforced their own fear onto the kids. My daughter (4.5yo) doesn’t think twice when she sees my gun on my hip, nor anyone else’s gun on theirs. She doesn’t fear an AR-15, nor a Glock. Children learn to fear based on the reactions of those around them. I blame the parents for that kids question to his mom that night about the incident that brought her to tears.
If it happened. She was clearly hysterical and making up stuff for the camera.
Toward the end of the clip she almost broke down. Clearly hysterical; possibly unbalanced.
Don’t be cruel, Jus Bill. The woman’s about to go into hoplophobic catatonia.
He could have been just as big an idiot with a machete. It’s not the gun or HB 60 at fault. It’s an individual causing mischief. That could have been dealt with.
Like with 3 or 4 parents exposing their own guns, without further comment.
Or like being charged with “Disturbing the peace.”
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Paper-Hat/
In case you really want a tinfoil hat, I found instructions. Just replace paper with aluminum foil.
And yes, no matter if this was real or false flag, total flagrant douche-ness. Not cool, bro.
MIT actually did a study of tin-foil hats, the results are interesting: http://boingboing.net/2012/10/01/tinfoil-hats-actually-amplify.html
In pa his actions coupled with his words are textbook harassment and disorderly conduct. His actions had little to do with OC and everything to do with causing public alarm and served no legitimate purpose.
Same here in Texas. While we do not have handgun open carry, we do have long gun open carry. Though legal itself, long gun open carriers here have sometimes been cited for disorderly conduct, the relevant element being whether the openly carried firearm was wielded in a manner “calculated to cause alarm.”
It’s a Class C misdemeanor, like a basic traffic ticket, but it’s special in that disorderly conduct will get your concealed carry license revoked. It’s abused as a charge when levied against legitimate open carriers quietly going about their business, or protesters peacefully making their point. However, such a law may serve a proper purpose against apparent jackwagons like this guy in Georgia.
Yeah, but isn’t it curious we don’t have a video of him actually saying such stupid stuff? Everybody carries a video camera any more, where is the proof?
That was my question. Was he just standing there watching the game when he was asked to leave, or was he actually getting in peoples’ faces and asked to leave because he was being obnoxious? I hate to say it, but if I was minding my own business in a public place where I had a right to be, and was asked to leave for no legitimate reason, I probably wouldn’t be very polite either. If he really was out picking a fight with people who were just trying to enjoy a little league game, then he’s just a jerk.
According to the article, either quoting or paraphrasing the police, “he made no threatening words or gestures.” The hysterical woman seemed to be projecting her thoughts onto his actions.
Still, on the face of it–not knowing why he was there–what he was doing seems inappropriate
You have a point. Bigfoot got more video than that guy.
And the TV reporter knows who he is, because he said he contacted him and he had no comment. This is getting an odor.
Same here in Ohio. He would have been arrested regardless of how legal it was to OC.
Not likely. If this is the story I remember, he didn’t do what the woman was saying. Besides, even if he was arrested here in Ohio, he would successfully refute the charge(s) if what he said happened was true.
Making a blanket statement that he would be arrested here in Ohio is bullshit.
I’m not sure I understand the places some of you live? Guns are prolific in Ky. Even liberals are quite use to them. But somebody brandishing a gun in a urban local, even innocently would be putting themselves in danger here. And the comment the one gentlemen made about his’ daughter not being alarmed when she sees someone open carry? Sorry, that seems like you are setting that child up for not being aware of her’ surroundings and letting her’ guard down in dangerous situations. Just because someone open carries and means no harm doesn’t mean others see it that way. I don’t believe that is the correct way to go about it. Let me put it another way. It’s not smart to show your’ hand when playing poker or carrying a weapon. Some of you have more faith in the judgement of your’ fellow man than I do. Seems naive.
The Daily Kos is wrong. HB 60 has no effect whatsoever on the LEO response, because it does not take effect until July 1.
This is the perfect case for policing our own. This man should be identified and either exposed as an infiltrator and instigator or publicly shamed and shunned by the gun community.
+1
The stuff he was reported to be saying makes it seem like a false flag.
Or an idiot.
Holy shit, never in my life have I seen a bigger group of shill lobbying communists dicksucks in the same area. You people should be ashamed of yourselves. How do you call yourselves Americans? Should I start calling the cops when I see someone talking too loud in public, because even though it’s their constitutional right to free speech it’s upsetting me because I’m such a massive faggot? Serious. You cunts are ridiculous. Stop being so afraid of inanimate objects and pay attention to your kids. Who’s really gonna fuck up your daughter, the patriotic American practicing his rights or that scumbag liberal tree hugging pussy excuse for a man that you married and let molest your daughter ever night?
YAY-uh!
That women traumatized her kid by over reacting then implied he had been “flaunting his weapon” with unclear language during the interview.
Or both rolled into one. Rocket scientists are seldom co-opted.
But tell me how you REALLY feel.
How this got by the free speach police, I don’t know but I am glad I got to read it first.
G W is just saying what everybody was thinking.
Georgia Carry has already spoken with the man and they have agreed that this “incident” was ill advised and not to do it again.
Good. If we can police our own, we should.
Really? Where is the report? Does he actually own a gun, or was it Airsoft? Inquiring minds want to know!
Leonard Embody???
Maybe Mullet Man?
That is the first person I thought of also
Yup. Everyone’s got a hole. Some have more than one.
Opinions — since we all carry here (or most of us, anyhow), would you have said something to the man, assuming the story is as reported? “Nice P226 X-Five. Do you mind not trying to cause an incident here?”
Yea I kind of wonder what might have happened had the reaction been differently. But even if some PoTG went out to talk to him, he could have just been dead set of being a doucher.
Yes, I would certainly have approached him and tried to explain the ill effects of his action as gently as possible.
While you’re at it, Policeman of the Gun, Gregolas, please explain these “ill effects” to me.
That would have been nice, especially if he was made aware he did not have the only gun there, in case he WAS dangerous. Also so we could get a report on whether he actually did say anything at all, or just “paraded” with a gun on his hip, ie was present.
I’m not so sure I would have engaged him. If he really was acting like it was reported, it occurs to me that he might not have been playing with a full deck and confronting him might have simply led to some very unpleasant results. What I probably would have done was to choose a place to sit where I had a clear line of sight so I could potentially act if something bad happened.
And, given the location, besides a clear line of sight, a safe background, right?
The kids were traumatized by their parent’s hysteria not by the sight of a man with a gun. These are the same kids playing Call of Duty and Gears of War. They don’t care and didn’t notice until someone’s anti-gun parent made a show of it.
That being said…yes, most likely a DB who can’t discern between can and should and right and responsibility.
I wouldn’t put it past @napoleoncomplex and @guncontrolmomsinc to use shills like this.
I definitely agree with this. Kids these days aren’t afraid of guns until there is a negative stimulus attached to them (i.e. anti gunners freaking out or causing an even bigger scene).
And I’m a huge advocate for “using common sense” and knowing the difference between can and should reasons for doing something, especially when he’s going to paint the rest of us in a negative light. I’d hope that if another person that is a pro-carry would say something should this happens again.
Perhaps. Then again, had the OC braggart been a spree killer taunting his soon-to-be victims, then after the attack everybody here would have cried “Why didn’t anybody say anything?!” That would have been followed up by the obligatory Monday morning Solomonic posturing, something like “I’m not saying call the cops or draw down on the guy, but just casually engage him and invite him to be cool about it and watch the game. It’s just part of situational awareness to try to assess someone’s intentions, after all.”
So I don’t know, man, there’s probably no perfect response to a jacked up situation, to begin with. Once someone violates the DBAD rule, the outcomes seem to range from bad to worse.
The “perfect response” is to ignore him unless he does something wrong. If that happens, draw and engage. What’s the problem? I don’t even see a reason to try engaging him in small talk, just leave him alone! If he worries you, keep an eye on him, stay close, definitely do not hide behind the dugout, hide behind HIM!
His “statement” was out of this woman’s imagination.
Exactly. We have one mom claiming that he was walking around showing off his gun and making provocative statements. No one else seemed to witness that particular behavior.
I call BS on this.
That is what I am saying. I have no proof, neither does she. But that is what I’m saying. If he had been anywhere near as offensive as she described, SOMEONE would have trained an iPhone video camera on him, and the media would have THAT in their report. Did not happen.
Asshat behavior aside, this event took place the day before the bill was signed by the GA Governor and the law does not take effect until July 1.
Hm. Maybe it was intended to produce even MORE terrified hysterical reports, in hopes of influencing hose events!
Absolutely.
“The level of douchebaggery on display here is so flagrant that I’m almost tempted to fold up a tin foil hat and call this a false flag operation”
The thought does cross one’s mind.
It’s either this or he was drunk or deranged, or both.
I’m going for both.
you are mistaken, but given your past posts, seeing you make such absurd assumptions comes as little surprise.
If it even happened.
He was a plant. It is so obvious anybody can see it.
The MDAers and their ilk have proven beyond all doubt that they are willing to do anything, including lying, to push their agenda. That being the case, I think it’s highly likely that this incident was planned and executed by the Mommy Cult.
If Shannon doesn’t don’t like guns, she shouldn’t buy one.
My thoughts, too. It’s perfect gun-controller, agit-prop, political theater. We can probably expect more of this. I wonder how often they can run this kind of scam before it gets discredited? I’m surprised there wasn’t an armed parent following this guy around in order to keep an eye on him.
I would like to know the person’s name. Someone clearly does. The behavior was public. I don’t need to talk to him to find out what his affiliations are.
Where I live anybody “just hanging around in the parking lot” during youth athletics at a public park gets questioned, for obvious reasons.
The hysterical woman was beyond silly. It almost appears like a tag-team false flag, actually.
The incident does seem to share some characteristics with Wrasslin’, not that you mention it. All that’s missing is the hystical woman hitting the open carrier over the head with a folding chair.
I suspect that there’s more truth in Wrasslin’ than contained in that news story. 😉
Hilarious visual, BTW. Bravo!
Yeah, unlike in that story, wrasslers really do get hurt.
KAYFABE, baby!
I call false flag. It is just too convienient that this happened immediatly after the law was passed.
In saul alinski’s book ” rules for radicals” he advised student radicals to dress in klan robes and carry supportive campaign signs at televised campaign events for conservative canidates. To make them appear racist.
same diffrence
Probably a lib trying to scare people into demanding that HB60 be repealed. Liberals are dangerous with guns, 99.9% of all mass shooting are committed by registered demonrats.
Too bad it was already Legal to carry in a Park PRIOR to the Full on Panic
This guy and the ones in Texas walking around with ARs does nothing but hurt the rest of us.
If someone wants to OC, then be my guest. They better be a model citizen while doing so! This type of pro gun people who give the other 99.5% of us a bad reputation are probably more damaging to our cause than MDA.
Agreed 100%. I support those among us that Open Carry.
What this guy did was not JUST open carry, though. He was bothering people and potentially (in some eyes, I’d bet) threatening people if this report is accurate.
Exactly. ONE person raved about all manner of BS that apparently no one else in a large crowd was aware of, and guess who was interviewed extensively. The guy called 911 did not mention anything except he was there and had an exposed gun. ie, no story.
The police didn’t seem to think so. So the cops were mistaken and a shrieking hoplophobe was right?
I disagree with your math. If there are 11k murderous gun owners out of 90m total gun owners (assuming each of 11k homicides are committed by one gun owner), then there are 89.989m non-murderous gun owners. (89.989/90)×100%=99.988% of gun owners aren’t murderous.
Since these acts of stupidity are reported even more rarely than murders (and let’s face it, every stupid gun owner these days gets a headline), then the percentage of non-stupid gun owners is even higher.
The more you know™
Proof please. Where’s you data that people are en mass swayed by OC in a negative way? That is…people that are not already pre-disposed to think “guns are evil” anyway…
Or, are you just projecting since YOU don’t like OC?
silly question, but has the “Guns Everywhere” law actually taken effect?? I thought it took effect July 1. Also, which PD did the parents allegedly call, and with whom did they speak? I want name. I think we can prove FALSE FLAG and call bloomy on his BS!!
EDIT: http://www.gpb.org/news/2014/04/15/capitol-confusion-when-does-georgia%E2%80%99s-gun-expansion-begin
Bill does not take effect until July 1. So unless and until MDA can produce names of parents who calle and names of the PD officers they spoke to, I CALL BULLSH!T on BLOOMY
HB 60 doesn’t go into effect until July 1st.
Yet, somehow, people keep blaming it for things going on now, usually that are totally unrelated.
Like this incident. The guy could have done that at any time, as he has a permit. (Here in Ga, it’s one permit, concealed, open, guns, knives, swords, trebuchet, whatever.) But HB60 doesn’t change a thing about this. It’s already legal. In fact, HB60 wasn’t signed until the day AFTER this happened.
We have a lot of OC folks around here. I see them at the grocery store, my wife has them as patients at her office. If you don’t go toting an AR into the mall, or do what this assbag did, nobody really cares.
This guy should count himself lucky he didn’t get the woodshed treatment over it.
Who verified he had a permit? I missed that in the story.
I want to OC my Trebuchet, but they told me I wasn’t allowed to have it loaded with a cow.
The hysterical woman in the video just kills me “Mommy. did that man want to kill me?” She shrieks.
I would have replied “well son the sheriffs are coming, but you aren’t a dog so you’re probably OK.”
Kudos to you mom for raising a son who will soon be asking you “when will I get my period?”
“Any day now.”
Okay, so I live here, and I heard the radio traffic that day Not ONE word was said about the man saying anything threatening or intimidating. In fact, it went like this:
Dispatch sent out the call
Another officer came on, said he’d spoken with the man the day before and he was good to go.
A supervisor came on, confirmed that it was the same person, told the officers to go to the park, but that they did not need to interact with the man unless they saw something that caused them concern.
They went, saw no cause for concern, so they left him alone. He was basically strolling around the park, and these people went nuts.
All of this nonsense about him saying “Hey look, I have a gun, and you can’t do anything about it” came from one woman who also tearfully told the camera that here little boy asked her that night “is that bad man with the gun going to come and kill me?” Seriously, she was that OTT.
No one else that I’m aware of corroborated her statement that he said one word to these people.
So you’ve turned him into a d-bag based on the word of one hysterical mother.
What’s funniest is the number of women who have posted on local media sites about the story saying that they don’t go to the park without a gun in their purse. Had he tried anything, it sound like he would’ve been facing a dozen armed moms.
This clarifies it for me. Thanks! The story smelled like sensationalism for ratings.
Excellent. Thanks for the clarification.
You made my day.
I’ve had this happen to me too. The paper interviews a dozen people, disregards the eyewitness accounts that confirm the man was just minding his own business and puts slant on it. This time they had a busybody anti to quote. Same BS different day.
Thank you for that!
Unfortunately Shannon is probably spreading the “made for TV” version of events as we speak.
Can we keep this series around? Pretty please?
It seems like the guy open carrying was either really excited or just a tool.
I don’t really advocate open carrying in major urban areas as personally blending in is a larger priority for me. But when I go out to the mountains in open carry, I’ve actually open carried in the Boulder area before and nobody said a word, which was cool.
Did you read the above?
So they rounded the kids up and sequestered them in the dugout? Great strategy there. Their biggest problem was that none of them had any way to defend themselves and their kids against a potentially dangerous person.
The proper response? “Please go away, you’re scaring people. If you even touch that gun here, ours are coming out too.”
I read somewhere that they have baseball bats at baseball games. And that you can break someone’s face with a fast ball. Just sayin…
Does anyone have any cellphone video of him making these statements? Watch the news report, she never actually says he said those things.
Right. She’s raving nuts, but even then, she did not say those words were his, I got the impression she was all wild about her own imagination. And it wouldn’t surprise me if *her* son really is terrified of his own shadow, actions like this should be prosecuted as child abuse.
His behavior shows some signs of mental problems.
Would a man with a gun showing signs of mental illness around a gathering of children make me uncomfortable.
Yes.
My hand would be under my shirt and ready.
My bet is you wouldn’t have even noticed him, because he was doing nothing unusual.
Kinda makes the case for concealed carry doesn’t it? An entire game hunkered down because no one else was armed. Just ask a CHL parent to stand or follow behind the DB.
James Yeager should interview this guy!
Yeager advises against OC.
While certainly ill advised, this guy was open carrying in the same park where just the prior week, a Forsyth Deputy tried to (illegally) criminally trespass another Georgia citizen that was open carrying in the park. The latter had gone to the park for legitimate reasons. Not to make a statement.
This part of the story is conveniently left out. There is a full thread over at Georgia Packing dot org.
This is the first time I have ever heard anybody say the guy flaunted his weapon and said “see my gun” to anybody. I’m thinking you have boarded the train of sensationalism.
From a report above, this may be the SAME guy involved in the previous incident you refer to, and he may just keep on until the police cease responding, as they should, he is not their concern.
My understanding is that it is not the same guy. YMMV.
What does “tried to (illegally) criminally trespass another Georgia citizen that was open carrying” mean?
“(illegally) Trespass” is usually an attempt by an officer to cite you for trespass in attempt to get you out of the area (in this case an area where OC is legal but some people were “scared”), they often find a trespass charge easy to “create”. They can simply claim they talked to a person in “Parks and Rec” and “they said” you should leave. Many state gun laws allow a person “in control” of a property to ask someone armed (although apparently that does not apply to the cops) to leave and failure to do so results in a trespass charge.
‘Aight. Thanks.
All it takes is one douche bag or one mentally unsound person to parade around children with a gun and it taints the atmosphere for all of us. Concealed carry is a great idea in this case. Wouldn’t one of the parents of the children have a gun in the vehicle or a concealed carry permit and be carrying?
Why do you call yourself “Southern Patriot”? Are you heavily into irony?
If the guy was actually going up to people, getting in their face, and showing them the gun on his hip, isn’t that essentially brandishing? But per the responding police, the guy was not making any threating statements or gestures. Are we sure that some parents did not overreact to a guy who just happened to be there and are embellishing to save face? The police can arrest people on really nebulous charges of disturbing the peace and what not and that did not happen with the man, so I have to wonder if this was a mountain made out of a molehill by hysterical parents.
Sounds like, if it were true, somebody should have been rereading the “brandishing” definitions to me. Meanwhile, don’t you wonder how long everybody hid behind the dugout? Embarrass yourself much?
While the relevant laws may differ in your jurisdiction, around here, so long as it stays in the holster, it’s not brandishing.
In Maryland a Pop Tart can be brandished. YMMV.
Way to convenient. Call me Mr. Tin foil hat if you like, but we all know how libs will go to no end to push a cause(IRS, benghazi). It wouldn’t take but a few people to coordinate something like this. I open carry a lot and in all the years I’ve been doing it I haven’t had any where near this kind of reaction. Honestly as complacent as the general population is it wouldn’t supprize me if they didn’t knotice.
It must be nice to be able to believe in an alternate conspiracy whenever something happens you don’t want to believe.
But there are d-bags in every movement. I see no reason to believe differently of the gun one.
Actually, you seem EAGER to believe the basically unbelievable.
Libs? IRS? Benghazi? For how long have you had this difficulty in comprehending the world around you?
Come on Nick. Here’s a case where you are mimicking the typical “Moms” crowd by believing … a news article????
1st – Even though you and others don’t like open carry, it’s practiced a lot down here in GA, especially in the more rural areas. I live in a suburb county of Atlanta, and see it quite often even here.
2nd – You have no clue what the guy was saying. Police reports don’t show that the man was being belligerent. This is what one woman is reporting that she heard. This hit close to home – I was on my way to a range so open carrying when I stopped at my local Costco. They have no signs stating anything about not carrying. The greeter saw my pistol as I walked in and told me that they don’t allow firearms in their store. I asked if it was a corporate policy, then when he said he didn’t know that he could get his Manager, I told him no problem and that I would take my pistol to my car. When I returned the manager was there and rudely told me it was a corporate policy and he’d be happy to refund my membership. I told him I was okay with it and wanted to keep my membership, and asked him if I could still shop, and he agreed. When I got to the check-out, a Gwinnett police officer came up and asked if everything was okay, and I told him it was fine, and asked if the manager called them. He said yes, and said that they had to respond, and that I was being belligerent. Whatever, I was not. We talked about what range I was going to and then we all departed happily.
Please do a little more research before calling someone out like this.
sam’s club follows local law so if OC is ok, then no concerns.
Costco had no signage, yet was obnoxious and called the damn POLICE? YGBSM!
Officer I walked out with told me to just conceal, which I agree. I often speak to the Costco employee manning the fuel station – he’s pro-gun and says the one manager hates guns and is that way. The other managers are pro-gun.
Please forgive Nick. He’s a Yankee. Yankees don’t move to Texas. They move to Austin.
Sure… blame the gun – instead of the douchebag.
Everyone calls the guy a d’bag. There wasn’t enough information there for me to conclude that. I’m a concealed carry person, but if the guy likes being armed openly while taking his usual walk in the park, fine. If he paused to watch a few minutes of the little league game on his way back to his car, fine.
The hysterical mother’s utter nonsense isn’t worth news coverage. It was a non-story. I have to assume the TV station owner/manager is the actual d-bag in the matter.
There are idiots on both sides. One of the reasons I’m apprehensive about open carry.
So, while the Kos crowd is saying he was “stalking” the game and the news is sensationalizing the behavior, what is getting missed is that no one was hurt.
An ordinary citizen was carrying a gun and it didn’t magically go off and kill or even injure anyone.
These stories are always much ado about nothing and while I wouldn’t defend d-bag behavior if it took place the focus really should be “Do you guys see how ordinary citizens with guns are not a threat to other ordinary citizens?”
Misinformation. In Georgia, it has been legal to do what this guy did since 2010. The so called “guns everywhere” law doesn’t go into effect until July AND it didn’t do anything to change this already legal activity.
BTW, HB 60 doesn’t go into effect until July. State law already pre-empted county and local law. Open carry in any and all public parks is perfectly legal in Georgia. The Daily Kos is about as factually inept as Think Progress {spit}
I think you just coined a new term which identifies the real problem to be solved: blood thirsty mental patient or BTMP as opposed to OFWG.or NRA.
What are the facts??
Entering the park, walking to the ball field, sitting down to watch. The ball game being the primary focus, eating a hot dog secondary, having a gun tertiary
Not a problem
Strolling around? Without aim or destination? Repetitive? Being noticed? Drawing attention to one’s self? Accenting that you are an outsider, with no child in the game?
Your gun is the focus and not the Little leage game.
This is a problem.
Which scenario is closer to the facts? Any thing that drifts at all away from the first is concerning.
Then you need some counseling. It is a park. It is there for people to wander aimlessly around while enjoying the park!
I see the anti-gun nut jobs have been successful in creating a nation of milquetoast wussies afraid of the sight of a gun. Grow a spine you ignorant morons. My God, there must be a run on Xzanax during hunting season.
+1
“Personally I don’t open carry (even when permitted by law), but I get why some people choose to do so. In their opinion it normalizes guns, turns them from foreign objects to commonly encountered and “normal” accouterments. I admit that there’s some validity to that strategy…”
I DISAGREE. If you open-carry in 99% of the US — you are simply a BAD WILL AMBASSADOR.
Open carry is legal in VT — but in 15 years — I have *never* seen it. So it *cannot* be normalized — because it was NEVER “normal”. Looking through history books — I see no pictures that show VT residents open-carrying in the past — or recently. Introducing open-carry to an environment that never experienced open-carry simply hardens opponents and frightens whoever was undecided. Most people would see it as aggressive and threatening and assume that open-carriers were NUTS.
I have NO IDEA how many people carry concealed in VT — or have guns in their vehicles — let’s keep it that way. There IS such a thing as bad publicity — especially someplace as safe as VT.
The above to the contrary notwithstanding — I support our open-carry laws — as it prevents harassment of someone whose gun becomes visible under clothing — or someone carrying on their own rural property or someone walking around in the middle-of-nowhere — miles from cell-phone coverage or police.
You should get out (of VT) more.
If you open-carry in 99% of the US — you are simply a BAD WILL AMBASSADOR.
Open carry is legal in VT — but in 15 years — I have *never* seen it.
So, you’re assessment of the situation in the entire country is based on a sample size of 1?
Or maybe you could just STFU and let people carry the way they want to within the bounds of the law in their respective states?
Your personal experience is nothing more than anecdote. Anecdote cannot build a cogent argument. Therefore, you have no argument. Try again.
False flag. LOOK AT THIS BABY
This does reek of BS. That being said there a lot of people who shouldn’t carry open or concealed. I’m NOT advocating gun control in any way. And I’d love to open carry in Illinois. After I get concealed carry. People don’t seem to realize how good they have it.
Could be a false flag, that honestly never occurred to me. Maybe some aspiring journalist could look into it more.
Unfortunately as so many people have already pointed out, there are too many POTG who behave in ways that damage the cause that you cant just write this guy off.
Like not all guys who own a diesel pickup are obsessed with rolling coal all over Prius drivers, just for kicks and giggles. For some black smoke is a byproduct of working hard, but unfortunately its the asshats who put a 12″ lift, smoke tune, Semi wheels with spikey lugnuts, and a train horn just to tool around in traffic and roll coal for the hell of it who are the nails who stand proud of the wood and attract the attention from the hammer, ie all the idiotic emissions crap diesel trucks have to go through now.
Why the diesel anology? because every hobby has its black sheep and people who bring bad press, and if we are not careful when we are in public you run the risk of being the one who triggers unwelcome regulation. What can we do about guys like this? Maybe they can take a leaf out of the Robert Farago playbook, kill em with kindness as the saying goes, maybe the NRA should sponsor open carry rallies where they teach people how to respectfully answer questions to police and concerned citizens without being total pricks. Look at all the open carry videos on youtube. Its always some 20 year old with manboobs and some crappy AR he just bought at Dicks or Academy trying to be a dick to some cop before he has even received reasonable provocation. The worst are the ones where they are almost trying to force the cop to do something wrong even after he has been completely cool.
If the NRA wants to win some public support maybe they should announce an “open carry do’s and dont’s: how to react when people ask you about open carry edition.”
I think that would be huge. Why is it that the anti’s get to claim the “gun safety grassroots movements”. Why cant we form some pro-2A gun safety action groups? Go around have some sponsored speaking tours to show people who to safely and respectfully open carry. Hold workshops on how to use a proper retention holster if you OC, and another on what to say to a cop to prevent infringement without coming across as trying to tell him what to do, or how to respectfully confront an anti who asks you why you are carrying a rifle or handgun and explain to them why they shouldnt be afraid.
I’m like Robert, I’m not against open carry, I’m against Open Douchebaggery
Just thought I’d throw this in after reading your Diesel analogy.
I listen to “Car Talk” every Saturday morning. One time a guy calls in and says he just bought a big diesel pick up, and that he just loved it.
One of the guys on the show asked him what he loved most about it, the fumes or the noise!
I call bullsh!t, at least partially. Open carry – which I think is far more honest than concealed carry – is not a license to be a tool, or disturb the peace.
In MO, you can post a no guns allowed sign, so open carry is going to get you into hot water at a kids ball-park, but I find it hard to believe a cop did not respond once his behavior was being described. I am not a cop, but it sounds like disturbing the peace to me.
The cops did not respond because it was a lie.
And you know this….how?
Would TTAG staff please make sure the embedded videos do not “auto play”?
Wow. I’d like to thank those 911 operators for actually knowing the law, and rather than sending half a dozen patrol cars to investigate the “man with a gun”, telling the idiots that he wasn’t breaking any laws by open carrying (even if he was being a jerk about it).
Reading this article, I’m afraid that the high water mark has been reached, folks. The “can vs should” argument sounds eerily like the anti-gun zealots, if you move the goal posts. It’s a difference of scale, not kind.
I OC in Arizona constantly, and nobody notices or cares. Why can I do this? Because some pioneer endured stares, hysterical parents, and warrantless police responses. This man is another pioneer. If I were him, I would thank the police and then do it again tomorrow and every day until the stupid stops. You have to break misbehavior of “society” in the same way you break the same in a miscreant toddler – repetition, firmness, and consistency.
Shame on you, TTAG.
I agree with you in general, but the question here for me is whether he was literally telling people he had a gun and getting in their faces.
“He’s just walking around [saying] ‘See my gun? Look, I got a gun and there’s nothing you can do about it.’ He knew he was frightening people. He knew exactly what he was doing,” said parent Karen Rabb.
Notice the brackets around the word “saying.” That was added by the reporter. Karen Rabb may have been attributing motives and thoughts to the guy. Not like that has never happened before. Now, if the guy really was out to stir up trouble with people that just wanted to watch their kids play baseball, and if he really was actively calling attention to his firearm and disrupting the game, then he was in the wrong.
I agree with you, EP. Besides, except for specific organized protests and rallies, I simply carry my firearms. Sometimes that means they are concealed (usually only slightly) and most of the time they’re in the open. I’m not inclined to worry about concealing my firearms. I’m not ashamed and really, it’s not that big of a deal for them to be in the open. I just don’t worry about it when I’m carrying, openly or not. I’m just a guy going about my daily business; armed like any other free individual. IMHO, it shouldn’t be this difficult, not in the USA.
“It sounds more like a PR stunt from the Moms Demand Action folks than something a gun rights supporter would actually do…”
Yeah, because nobody on the ‘gun side’ would ever do something so ridiculous (/sarc – Embody)
Instead of being so snotty, why don’t you prove it?
Oh this man was a plant.
It was so blatant, if he had a permit then why would he act so childishly NOW?!
Also many anti-gun groups have been whining and being crazy about Georgia’s new law which gives them motivation.
Im calling it, SET UP! It was a false flag and the man was a plant.
Nick, i think this article is a little to quick to come to a conclusion without doing more digging. It sounds like that hysterical mother was putting words in the mans mouth, and no one else reported threatening behavior or douche baggary language.
The main reason I object to CC is that it is nothing more than yet another TAX (in states that actually issue permits). If my state were to repeal the fee/tax I would be the first in line for a CCW permit. Even with the manditory training requirement (wether needed or not). Until then I will OC everywhere, everyday, because…. that’s why.
Like most here have said, show me some proof this dude was showing his ass and I would be more inclined to give the story more than two seconds of my time…
The story is likely to be bullshit. If you look at the news report, it says:
“He’s just walking around [saying] ‘See my gun? Look, I got a gun and there’s nothing you can do about it.’ He knew he was frightening people. He knew exactly what he was doing,” said parent Karen Rabb.
Note the brackets around the word “saying.” The brackets show that the word was never said by the witness. The writer put it in there. The “journalist” made it up. The so-called journalist.
The story goes on to say “Forysth County deputies questioned the man, and found that he had a permit for the handgun. Authorities said since the man made no verbal threats or gestures, they could neither arrest him nor ask him to leave the park.”
So I’m calling bullshit on the OCer saying anything. So what does that leave us? Just this — a guy with a legal gun walked around and a bunch of soccer moms got scared.
Oh the horrors!
What Ralf said [before I said it]. Not enough (reliable) info to come to a final conclusion here.
Twenty 911 calls isn’t definitive, but it’s smoke. I bet there was something here, and D’baggery sounds about right.
For those of you interested in the thread over at Georgia Packing dot org, the forum for Georgia Carry, you can find it here:
http://www.georgiapacking.org/forum/showthread.php?t=259136
I believe the guy actually participated in the discussion and was rather remorseful over the whole incident.
It’s not clear to me that the man said anything or did anything wrong. The comments ascribed to him by the sissy girl appeared to me her interpretation of what his carrying openly said to her in her sissy little mind.
Screw open carry organizations that tell people not to carry openly. People need to stop being sissies. If you don’t like it when someone is carrying a gun and you think they’re a threat, then make sure you have your own gun to ensure that he behaves.
And shame on TTAG for calling this American a foul name for exercising his rights.
Does anybody know who won the game?
They all won. This was not competitive baseball or they would not have stopped the game.
The kid that struck out four times and did not catch any balls hit to him got the game ball and ice cream.
This guy is just some preening idiot who is very impressed with himself over the fact that he has a gun and can now display it in public. The fact that it’s a gun is just coincidental to the mindset of this type of jerk. I remember back when cb radios became all the rage, there were people who were very impressed with themselves because they suddenly had a 2-way radio in their car and thought this conferred upon them some sort of image of authority. For this douchebag the gun is the same thing. He needs to walk around and impress people with his “importance.” Unfortunately for the rest of us he gets the press and becomes the face of gun ownership to the rest of the public.
do you say the same to people riding fixies, or playing their music too loud? or talking politics you disagree with?
Weer you the guy who called it in?
No Rick, I’m a guy, probably like you, who carries concealed because I don’t need to communicate to the world that I’m carrying a gun, because I don’t have my ego tied up in showing everyone how powerful and important I think I am for having a gun. Unlike the preening idiot who needs to have everyone notice him. That jackass is the type of person who feeds into the worst fears of the very people we’re trying to convert to not fearing guns in the hands of responsible, law abiding citizens.
What the Hell, man?!?! Do you really believe that people who open carry do so because they want everyone to think they are powerful and important? What are you, an anti? You certainly sound like one. What is wrong with you? It sounds like you are projecting like a drive-in theater! Notice that I don’t call you an insecure coward because you conceal? That’s because I realize that there are good reasons behind concealing. There are also good reasons for open carrying. Fortunately, I’m not stuck in an erroneous mindset and projecting inner insecurities to the world like you are.
I rarely open carried before Ohio’s concealed carry licensing law (circa 2005ish). We carried concealed just fine before that. After the licensing law, the licensed privilege of concealed carry was split off from the right to keep and bear arms. Open carry became the exercise of the right. The Ohio Supreme Court said same. I now half-heartedly conceal and usual open carry. However, except for rallies and protest, I don’t really even pay all that much attention to if my main sidearm is concealed or not. I go about my life doing as I see fit and my main sidearm is usually uncovered.
I bet the same “anonymous” georgian both isn’t from the area, and calls in “unowned” minorities too. And anyone making more money than him.
I call shenanigans. I’m getting my broom.
All this hysteria about the gun, but the moms have no problem watching their children play with highly lethal baseball bats?
Not sure what the fuss is all about, either from parents or some comments here. There is no proof, so far,that OC guy said anything to anyone. My dad used to say “believe half of what you read and none of what you hear” In this day of audio/video enabled cell phones, no one recorded it? Right now I’m looking for a way to mount my Mossberg Pink Cameo Shotgun in the rear of my Honda Element. Why? 1) shotgun better SD in some circumstances. 2) It is my birthright as a citizen of Texas. I am proud of Founding Fathers for giving us the 2nd Amendment and cherish the right to keep and bear arms.
If open carry becomes legal in Texas, will I open carry? Yip and will encouage other gun gals to do the same. I grew up seeing long guns mounted in pick up trucks and really miss seeing them much any more.
FTR, “mounted” generally is understood to mean “affixed”, as in permanently, or at least semi-permanently. A bear head is mounted on a wall, not just hung there, but affixed.
A shotgun or two in a pickup rack is not “mounted”; you can pick them up and use them. Which is the general idea.
I watched the video a couple of times to make sure, but it doesn’t sound like the guy with the gun actually said, ‘See my gun? Look, I got a gun and there’s nothing you can do about it.’
It sounds like that’s the lady-in-hysterics interpretation of what his walking back and forth was meant to be.
what an outrageous success for the gun haters. millions of views of press coverage it will probably on youtube forever.
Watercoor talk nation wide on “can you believe what aZZholes /nuts” these gun nazis are! ” .
and to top it off half of us are playing ” holier than thou ” panic name calling with each other.
whether it was a planned false flag, of just a hysterical hater talking to a very sympathetic reporter,
it is disgusting to see us putting tinfoil hats on each other.
It seems pretty clear that the woman was telling the reporter that his presence with the gum made her feel like he was “saying” those things.
I couldn’t agree more. And, for the record, I suspect it was a false-flag event, possibly instigated by the reporter himself, or his employer.
I wonder, the first weekend that Colorado de criminalized pot, did anyone get high and then act like a douchebag? I’m betting there was at least one.
Yes, but the panic over weed passed some time ago.
somebody look into who this db is, i bet you will come up with something fishy. this smells fishy.
Is there any actually evidence to this man actually taunting those around? I don’t really buy what the media/ people interviewed are saying. I’m sure they are just over-reacting to the presence of a firearm, and the guy was just there, not doing a damn thing.
False flag with certainty. It was interesting that the article put the word “saying” in square brackets when the woman who was interviewed didn’t say he said the words out loud but that he was saying that figuratively, It seems like a very well put together false flag too with the one woman getting hysterical about her child’s fear (did the child really say that?) and the other woman saying that it would have been OK if he had just watched the game.
If a person actually said those words, the police would likely have had enough to at least give him a ride to the station. If the hysterical woman really felt that way, she would have certainly signed a complaint. So, I call BS that the event even happened.
You can’t say that it was a false flag, and then say it never happened! NOT ALLOWED. Both things cannot be true.
Actually, if you read the article critically and watch the video, you can call it a false flag where the man with the gun didn’t speak a word to anybody. In fact, it would be fairly easy to believe no man with a gun was present unless there were videos. However, I see from some other comments that there likely was a man present who checked ahead of time with the police that it was OK. Still, the reactions from the two women were very suspect and seemed choreographed. Those same two women could have enlisted others to call 911 to make it seem worse.
I read most all of the 300+ post on the Georgia packing blog and appears this whole thing was blown way out of proportion. Folks there did quite a bit of research (with comments from the man himself) with 911 audio and sounds like your run of the mill open carrier that was more or less pseudo swatted.
Two different cops talked to him. How is that ANYTHING-swatted?
Because there was no legal or moral basis for the reaction. Did you read the blog?
Which reaction? There is nothing inherently wrong with the police talking to the guy.
Beyond wasting tax dollars? IDK, but I took the post to mean the reaction of the TTAG article and some of the comments.
As an aside… it would be different if officers could walk up, start talking, and we could walk away. It doesn’t always work that way. There is sometimes an attempt at intimidating the person simply exercising their right to bear arms. When we can routinely walk away, without being compelled to say a blessed word, from an officer in these situations without major jack-booted reactions from officers, then I will agree that officers speaking to someone about openly carrying is no reaction.
Well, it says that two officers talked to the guy, separately, and both concluded that the guy was not doing anything wrong, or endangering anyone.
I don’t see any error in that.
Perhaps or perhaps not. IIRC, he got kinda steamed at one of the officers. Did he reasonably believe himself free to go without saying a word to the officers or did he reasonably believe that arrest or violence upon his person would occur had he not said anything? We don’t know but until there is a reasonable expectation that a person openly carrying a firearm can simply ignore the officer and go on then there is a problem with officers “merely” approaching. But, I already explained my reasoning in the previous comment above.
When there is no crime committed or reasonably suspected of having been committed, we have a right to be left alone.
Isn’t that brandishing?
Isn’t WHAT “brandishing”?
By reaction I mean the dozen or so calls to 911, and huddling of kids in a dugout, and the emotional vomit of a mother that thinks she saw something that didn’t happen.
From what I can tell it was guy exercising on a walking trail at a park with no other mischief or malice other than being an open carrier.
Matt your right on that and Nick I don’t want to be call a douche,,You have no clue what happen there sir I was the guy carrying,,I was there to walk the park to lose weight and be left alone,Karen Rabb lied I never even talk to no one there but I still will Open Carry what gives you cause Nick to write something like this have you heard of slander laws.
Matt your right on that and Nick I don’t want to be call a douche,,You have no clue what happen there sir I was the guy carrying,,I was there to walk the park to lose weight and be left alone,Karen Rabb lied I never even talk to no one there but I still will Open Carry legally which I was doing ,,But nick you really didn’t do more fact checking you should have pulled a open records act then take the media at it’s word…So nick I would hope that you correct your statements.
I do hope that your name gets cleared in a retraction here. Thank you for open carrying, sir. Carry on.
It’s HOAX! If the report had been “real” every whining Liberal in attendance would’ve pulled out their cellphone and recorded the “incident” they didn’t because it NEVER occurred. Why might you ask are there no photos or videos? It’s because these anti-2nd Amendment Bloom-BOIG sycophants don’t have their own handguns with which to stage an “encounter” with an armed individual. You all know damn well that frizzy-headed sista has an Obama-phone.
Missed Opportunity…
Why didn’t one of the parents of the children of the game step up? Could have said, “listen the guy is obviously a jerk, let the kids play ball and let the cops figure this guys malfunction out. If he threatens anyone, I will take care of it along with the other half dozen others who are carrying as well. If he makes a threatening motion towards the kids before the cops arrive, the cops won’t be able to take his statement”
As far as a false flag…. We see countless people trying to make Youtube infamy by posting videos of cops violating their civil rights. And as far as the cops…. one would have thought that the police would have gotten the clue a long time ago and actually learned what the laws were in their area, talked about them in morning report, and realized that there are cameras everywhere.
Having only heard the one side of the story, there’s no evidence that the guy was being a douche or anything – what’s especially telling is the choice of the word “stalk” by the pants-wetter. How in hexx do you “stalk” a little-league game? It’s just sitting there in the open, for heaven’s sakes! And, “The Daily Kos?” Like my Dad [RIP] told me when I sniveled about being taunted, I’ll just consider the source.
There is plenty law enforcement could have done…the “Guns Everywhere” law does not go into effect until July 1, 2014.
Not a week goes by that my wife accuses me of saying, “XXX” when in fact I did not state, “XXX” but “ABC.” I suspect Ms. Rabb is doing the same thing, that is, projecting her FEELINGS onto another person. I believe she is using an incorrect interpretation of body language and translating that into, as the story says, [saying]. It may have been implied, or imagined, but certainly not said. Shame on the news for perpetuating this lie and not following up to clarify, and shame on TTAG for overreacting.
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