Northwest activists debate Oregon open carry incident

Seattle Gun Rights Examiner ^ | Dave Workman

[marktwain]

Open Carry activists in Washington and Oregon are currently debating a five-minute video of a police encounter in Klamath Falls involving a man carrying what appears to be an automatic weapon down the street, and a very cool-headed cop.

They’re talking about it on Open Carry.org in the Washington section, and on Police One, a law enforcement forum. The debate got so heated on DefensiveCarry.com that the moderators locked the thread. The chat is still open at SeattleGuns, and The High Road. This is the second high-profile officer-activist video encounter that has gone viral in recent memory, the other one being discussed here. Klamath Falls Police, open carry Video: Klamath Falls Police, open carry

Calling himself “Markedguardian,” the chap responsible for this video does this quite a bit, evidently to see whether he is in “a safe environment for Constitutional/Liberty loving individuals.” He's posted this video in two different venues at least, and he has other videos about his adventures, so his activities go well beyond just being another armed citizen.

Open Carry is not a new phenomenon, and it is legal throughout the Pacific Northwest, as well as in many other regions. That those who carry openly have a rather successful forum with reports from all the states speaks volumes about the O.C. movement.

[marktwain]

The fact that the officer did not call in backup, was polite, and did not make an arrest shows how far the open carry movement has gone in normalizing the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms.

We still have a way to go until we get pictures similar to those commonly seen of Israeli babes with arms.

[zagger]

Seems to me the cop did his job professionally and appeared to understand the laws and the gun he inspected. The cop also had enough confidence in his own abilities that he wasn’t afraid of the video recording - very different from the typical thugs employed by police departments.

[BibleGunClinger]

I did watch the latest video.....and I had a couple reactions to it. First of all, the Constitution gives us the right “to keep and bear arms”. Doesn’t say what type. But to open carry with a “black gun” semi-auto rifle just to get a reaction from the cops......stupid! But then when the guy making the vid tells the cops about searching without a warrant, I do think the guy had a point. The cop could have asked the guy to detach the magazine and cycle the action without having to take the weapon from him. I carry all of the time in my state, concealed. I could easily open carry my AR and stroll into the local Wal-mart all I want, but where does that get me? Don’t get me wrong, I am all for open carry, thing is, you should be smart about it, and judging by this video, this guy was not too smart!

[SampleMan]

I respectfully disagree. I see no problem at all with having a gun store in the middle of a crowded mall with people carrying guns openly to and from said store.

I presume your issue is that this guy is giving people a reason to be scared, and that works against the cause. Ok, point taken, but rights should not have to be exercised out of sight or below the radar screen.

Its just a matter of conditioning. The people who are scared silly of a man with a “black rifle” don’t get upset when they sit next to policeman at Denny’s or park next to a police car with a black rifle in a vertical mount. Why? Because they have been conditioned to accept that its OK for the policeman to be armed.

I grew up in Missouri where everyone could and did drive around with loaded rifles hanging openly in the back windows of their pickup trucks. It was the most common thing in the world and no one thought anything about it. During deer season, people might even bring their rifle into a cafe.

When the police start answering frantic telephone calls about open carry with, “So?” Then we will have secured the ability to actually practice our rights, which aren’t of much use in the theoretical.

[marktwain]

Very good post. You understand what has been happening. In the 1950s, people carried shotguns and hunting rifles openly in New York City. Nobody complained.

It shows how far we have been conditioned by the constant delegitimization of armed citizens, that this is even an issue. We need only look to Switzerland and Israel to see countries where the carrying of long guns is routine and legitimate.

[generally]

I agree. Thank you for posting this.

I think it is obvious that the guy who is making these videos is “making a statement” or “testing” or whatever you want to call it. I think this is needed. If people find open carry frightening or unusual, or they are unaware that it is perfectly legal, then banning it becomes easier.

I think if we want to maintain our rights, we need to exercise them once in a while.

[zeugma]

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