Posted on 08/06/2007 5:45:15 PM PDT by Dada Orwell
Below is a video of my August 5 open carry incident in New Hampshire. It starts audio-only then the video picks up a minute or two later when our pro photographer runs to the scene.
Basically I'm a liberty activist here; I wear a holstered pistol in public roughly once a week. It's legal in New Hampshire but not that common south of the notches. Cops sometimes ignore, sometimes harass you for doing it. When that happens to me, I don't get angry but use the chance to educate police about the open carry rights of NH citizens.
I was walking 50 yards from my car to the monthly Free Stater meeting at Murphy's Taproom in downtown Manchester. I usually open carry to that meeting.
I was noticed by a state trooper, but I noticed him too and called the Free Staters' emergency hotline before he got to me. In the video you hear my call realtime, as I report my situation and try to explain to our listeners what's happening.
Folks inside the bar also came running out to support me. Police thought it was pre-planned it happened so fast, like they'd been set up or something. But this is just how our guys react when they're nearby. I appreciate the fact that the police were able to maintain calm and respectful demeanor despite some of the anger directed against them by the crowd. But of course look I forward to the day when they don't make such stops in the first place.
Note that I am able to lawfully refuse them when they ask for my "papers" and personal information. If you think this is a better outcome than you'd get where you are now.....move your ass up here and share our freedoms!
Visit www.FreeStateProject.org
Thanks to all who showed support during and after this incident.
Hopefully this video will remind people New Hampshire does allow open carry, that officers here do handle themselves better than in most states, and that the Free Staters are continuing to improve level of support which is available to freedom lovers when police take exception to their responsible exercise of rights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXnK5UyRI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fnewhampshireunderground%2Ecom%2Fforum%2Findex%2Ephp%3Ftopic%3D10019%2E45
Excellent!
We just forwarded your video on to many others!
Absolutely. He was behaving like a jerk.
You might not make it to that day. Look, I applaud what you're trying to do here, but don't you ever worry that some rookie will gun you before he has all the facts? I like pork chops, but I certainly wouldn't hang one from my nuts right before I walked through a pack of Rottweilers.
There has got to be a better way of educating the cops than this; not to mention the fact that they may be needed elsewhere while you're making your point.
Again, I applaud your stones, but WOW!
Bull. His presence could have gotten people killed. The guy in the striped shirt was just itching for an escalation, merely to make a point, and he was doing all he could to make the situation worse.
The guy carrying seemed calm, and ok, and rational.
Stripe shirt guy is a true liability. One day, he will do like the Libs, which is create an incident to whine about, in order to prove his point. That idiot will get somebody killed one day.
The arm waving in front of the one cop proved it. I would have loved to see the cop grab his arm, twist it behind his back, and snap it at the elbow.
And believe it or not, I generally don’t like the chips that many cops carry on their shoulders, and I support right to carry. I don’t support irrational idiots attempting to create the thing they don’t like, to justify their hostility. His shoulder-borne chip was much bigger than most cops.
Barneys are the same all over, they all have the god complex.
Oh we're gonna nip this thing! Nip it!
The "friend" was a jerk to be sure. Without a camera, it could have gone down like this in court:
Cop: As I was talking to his "friend" he got more and more belligerent and in my face. I remained calm and tried to diffuse his anger. At one point my kneecap started to itch and as I lifted my leg to scratch my knee, he violently forced his testicles down upon my kneecap. I arrested him for assaulting my leg.
Judge: Guilty!
Sadly, this is no longer your Grandfather's world of pre-emptive surrender pattycakes. People DIE when they do not defend their liberties. Ask Mary Carpenter.
Virginia Citizens Defense League has undertaken a similar education campaign with great success and the example of these bold men have informed all of us of *a better way to do things*.
I salute them.
Best regards,
The video kept nothing in check The guy was carrying was wrong when he said you don’t see this below the notches. He means an area here in NH about 2 plus hour drive from Manchester. It is not unusual to see open carry around the Concord area 15 miles from Manchester.
That must have been in the days before written CALEA standards.
In the interim, Public Safety Officers have learned not to inflame a situation by engaging in colleratal disputes with bystanders.
Perhaps I missed it, but none of the Officers gave any warnings to anyone,except possibly toward the end when the Officer objected to the camcorder, which was itself outside his authority since this all occurred on a public street in broad daylight.
Best regards,
Yeah, I noted they detain this guy, and after their supervisor comes out, and sees the cameras, people talking on cell phones, and they figure out the detainee knows the law here... And then they pop up with "blocking the sidewalk" law, and start citing the ordinance in this regard.
Too funny.
I'm sure these LEOs are real nice guys, just doing what they think is their job, but I suggest they stay far away from any real mean streets.
It all turned into a pissing contest L0L
They had to save face L0L
ping to self
I live in New Uork State, where I’m pretty sure they’d arrest me for openly carrying even a photgraph of a gun.
Geez, I hate all the cruddy liberals here.
Yeah, when the supervisor told him to lose the camera, I had to laugh...Even that was a questionable order or request. Interesting what affect cameras have in incidents like this.
Isnt it interesting that they all want to film us, but they get real squirrely if we film them
5.56mm
So youre saying, had it been you, It would have never escalated to this level?
Mr stripey shirt would have never gotten agitated because you would have never agitated him.
BTW mr stripey shirt could have got his pal shot.
I’m all for compliance with the police’s demands. If Im wronged I’ll work it out in court.
Always Pony up that CCL when you get pulled over.
Some coppers get real nervous when they find out youre packing
Pings, and maybe a ping list ping?
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