Posted on 08/16/2014 4:15:52 AM PDT by marktwain
I was on a mission of mercy. A close friend needed a lady and her goods to be transported cross country. I found myself hauling a good sized trailer on I-40, looking for a gas station with easy in and out. I stopped at Meteor Crater rest stop to give everyone a break.
As I came out of the facility, I asked a gentleman who was uniformed as staff, where the next truck stop was, because I was hauling a good sized trailer. He graciously told me that there was one at exit 255, about 20 miles further east.
Then he said, you are not supposed to have that here, indicating the Glock on my hip. Why not? I asked. I followed him over to a sign with a long list of rules for the stop. One of them said: Firearms must remain in vehicles.
I recognized it. It was the same bogus rule that we had fought against back in '98, and had removed from the Arizona rest stops. This one must have been missed, or perhaps it was a sign that was in storage, and had replaced one that was damaged. I informed the polite gentleman of the situation, gave him my card, and said that he could probably find the details if he looked up Sacaton open carry on Gun Watch. He said he would have to check with the Department of Public Safety, which I said was an excellent idea, as they would have to fix it.
From an earlier article:
It took activism by Arizona gun owners to have the signs removed. An open carry picnic at the Sacaton rest stop on I-10 near Tucson was organized in 1998. Rick Destephens, who was there, writes about it:
Have you noticed that there are no longer any signs at Arizona rest stops that read, "Keep all weapons in your vehicle"? That was Brassroots and S.A.F.E. combine effort back in 1998. We staged a forty-man protest at the Sacaton rest stop and five TV cameras showed up. We then got three hours of time on Bob Mohan's show on KFYI. That resulted in Hull's, ADOT's and DPS's phones melting down for two weeks. The signs came down later that month.
AZCDL is the best. I am a life member.
Meteor Crater is private property. The company is allowed to make its own rules regarding open carry.
The nearby rest stop on I-40 is almost certainly not private property. From the text, I’m reasonably sure that’s where he was at, and not at the crater proper.
Sounds like folks with the same mentality of some LEO departments in Mississippi after the open/concealed carry issue was rectified. They hand carried small “No Weapons” decals to many businesses and “requested” that they post them. Such signs are supposed to be readily discernible from at least 10 feet and the 4” x 4” stickers are often lost among other signs/advertisements on windows that might not be right adjacent to the entrance. Easy to claim you didn’t see it and leave if someone notices/mentions your weapon.
Just heard that there’s asteroid headed for Earth
Have to be ready when gets here (supposed to be here 2018)....
True. I may have misunderstood where he was.
The Current FReepathon Pays For The Current Quarter's Expenses?
When I approach a business I am unfamiliar with I look for no firearms signs because they tell me if I want to do business there or not. However, some places have literally dozens of stickers and signs littering their front facades. In that case I just go in after a cursory glance. If it was that important to them they would do something to make it stand out. Though I do feel bad if I am supporting an anti gun idiot.
Does the state run Arizona stops? A lot of the Texas rest stops are operated by a contractor out of Tennessee.
“Just heard that there’s asteroid headed for Earth
Have to be ready when gets here (supposed to be here 2018)....”
*****************************************************************************************
Not to worry....It will simply create another Meteor Crater tourist stop. Just, this time, it will be in New Jersey instead of out west.
More like 3 or 4.
I OC frequently when I’m visiting AZ, usually around Phoenix, Sedona or Prescott.
I make sure to dress nicely, fresh shave, haircut, etc. I also try to be judicious about where I OC. For example, I recently visited the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. I was pleased to not find any “No Guns” signs, but thought OC might make visitors on the group tour uncomfortable, so I flipped my shirt over the G19 I was carrying. Really enjoy having the choice to do either in AZ.
No real problems so far.
I’m also a member of AzCDL. They do great work.
thought that was a GLOCK in the picture. looks like a BLADETEK holster too. i use that holster at the house w/ my 19. usually ccw with a 26. a year ago i wasn’t carrying, now i’m recognizing handguns and holsters. what a gun geek.
anybody got a good recommendation for a magazine pouch that is stiff but not too bulky.
“but thought OC might make visitors on the group tour uncomfortable, so I flipped my shirt over the G19 I was carrying. “
Anyone who puts a bullet through a 24-inch refractor will have to replace it,,,they’d better bring their checkbook! ;)
Shouldn't matter. If it's a subcontracted state function, it should be under whatever limitations would apply to state personnel directly.
It is a Fobus holster. I got a couple of the green ones. They were supposedly overruns from a military contract.
I certainly hope that AZCDL does not “rest on its laurels’ but continues to brainstorm and advocate gun liberty issues.
Some of my personal favorites:
1) Intelligent zoning of gun ranges in city areas, as well as encouragement of juvenile gun training and practice for families with kids. That is, both “adult” and “family” gun ranges.
2) Encouragement of high school rifle clubs and intramural competitions, as well as state marksmanship trophies.
3) Streamlining regulation and reduced taxation for gun and ammunition manufacturers who produce “state made for in-state use only.”
4) Court provision of guns, ammunition, and self-protection counseling to “vulnerable persons” who have been given court orders of protection against others who are considered a threat to them. Plus some source of funding for the courts to do this. Likewise, a bench order requiring them to be armed when in public.
5) Public service recognition awards for citizens who thwart felony crimes.
6) Formalize the Common Law posse comitatus at state level, so that the county Sheriffs can ‘conscript’ (voluntarily only) “All adult persons of good character in the county in keeping the peace.” This is a crafty way of making county ‘Kennesaw’ laws, technically ‘conscripting’ all adults as lawmen, so that they are “required” (with no penalty for non-compliance) to keep guns and ammunition.
This goes against any federal efforts to confiscate guns and/or ammo, as to do this, the feds would have to confiscate it from all lawmen in the state, since every adult in the county would technically be a lawman.
It wouldn’t need to go into effect immediately, just when a Sheriff felt it necessary to protect the public from gun confiscation.
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