While at the gun shop an older patron commented on me open carrying. I politely asserted that it's my right, and I choose to do it because I think more people should.
Patron: Well you probably shouldn't, because you might get the cops called on you and you'll be arrested for disturbing the peace.
Me: Actually, I open carry everywhere, and haven't had a single problem. What I'm doing is not disturbing the peace.
Patron:Well, if someone is afraid then you're causing a disturbance, and the cops would have to question you.
Me: No, if someone's afraid because you're doing a lawful activity, that is not disturbing the peace. What's a cop going to do to me if I'm not breaking the law?
Patron:Well, cops already have a hard job, so what are you going to tell them when you're making their job harder?
At this point, my friend the behind the counter (who doesn't care for cops much), chimed in; "You can tell them to get a job that doesn't involve hassling people who aren't breaking the law all day."
Patron: Well, you shouldn't say that, I'm a retired with 30 years on the force.
Ahhhh, that explains why a random guy in a gun store was getting on my tits for open carrying.
Patron: You may be able to do that around here, but you just try that downtown, and see what happens.
Me: Thanks for the tip, I will.
With that as a preface, I had a business event downtown that I did NOT carry to. The only reason for this was because I wanted people to talk to me about my business, not the thing I was doing that was not socially normal. Though it might be a good way to drum up business for a firearms training program...
After my business was concluded, I walked across the street and holstered my XD before getting into the car. About to get into the car, I remembered what that former cop had said, and remembered a sandwich place right around the corner. It would be a short jaunt, but I could still say I did it. Well, the world won't change unless individuals are willing to change first!
So I open carried in Downtown Lexington, for about 200 yards down Main street to the Jimmy Johns sandwich place, ordered, sat in a booth going over my notes from the meeting, then walked the 200 yards down Main street back to my car. Done. Nuts to that guy.
Fayette Mall is a small indoor mall in Lexington with a few major department stores connected to it. I open carried into the Macy's and throughout the mall and a number of establishments. I expected some eyeballs from mall security, or to be asked to leave by them, but I didn't even see them.
Someone finally acknowledged that I was carrying outside of the gun shop! In the Wet Seal one of the workers talked to me after I asked her a question about their clothes.
Worker: Are you a cop?
Me: I'm sorry?
Worker: Are you a cop? *Gesturing to gun*
Me: Oh no, I'm just open carrying because I want to make it more normal.
Worker: I get that. It kind of seems less sketchy that you're not hiding it.
Me: Actually, it used to be like that. Everyone carried openly, and people wondered why you would want to hide it.
Worker: Oh, I didn't know that.
Neat.
Read more about my experiences open carrying here!
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