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njeske
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| Location: | Reno, Nevada USA |
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Posted: Mon Jul 7th, 2008 05:50 pm |
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Sorry... this is kinda long.
For the July 04 holiday, my wife and I both oppen carried during our day long trip to Virginia City. We got there at little after noon just in time to see the first vehicles in the parade coming to their finishing turn off. We stood at that corner for nearly an hour before a Storey County deputy who had been directing cross traffic that whole time finally noticed our guns. As soon as he did, he asked us we had permits for them. I stated that no permit was required for OC, but he insisted we had to have one and directed us to go down one block to talk to his seargent. He was firm, but wasn't rude and made no attempt to even approach us let alone disarm us. We got down to the seargent and began our conversation with him. He also insisted that we had to have a permit in Storey County in order to open carry due to a local county ordinance. I started to talk to him about the new state preemption law and about how we'd heard that Storey County was no longer enforcing that ordinance and was working to change it. The seargent remained professional and calm, still no attempt to disarm us or act hostile in any way. Rather than continue to debate with me, he gets on his phone and calls his lieutenant. Thankfully, his lieutenant was up to date on his information and told the seargent the same thing we'd just been saying and also informed him that the only people needing OC permits anymore were the gunfighting actors that wander the city for the tourists. By the time the phone conversation ended, another deputy had pulled up and had just been calmly watching what was going on. The seargent informed us of what his lieutenant had told him, made sure we knew that if we unholstered for any reason it would be considered brandishing, and asked us to go over and talk to the new deputy that had just shown up. He asked if he could have the deputy run our IDs to check for felony or warrant status. I know I didn't have to agree, but in the interest of expediency and returning the courtesy that we had been shown so far, I agreed. We handed our IDs to the deputy, and while he ran them, he chatted with us about how he had heard the radio chatter and decided to come over because he was sure we weren't doing anything wrong. He knew about the new state preemption law, and knew that Storey County wasn't enforcing the OC rules. He was really nice and we had about a 10 minute conversation with him about laws and guns. He was definitely more informed than either his seargent or the originally deputy that started this whole thing. After we were cleared, I asked for cards from the deputy and the seargent. That way I could name drop if we were bothered by any deputies later that day. This whole event took about 20 minutes out of our day. It's unfortunate that the Storey County Sheriff's office isn't up to date on the laws, however they treated us professionally throughout the encounter and never made any attempt to disarm us. The seargent even hinted that if his lieutenant had told him we were violating the law, that we would simply be allowed to put our guns in the car and continue about our day.
All in all, we had a great time in Virginia City. We got some weird looks and bug-eyed glances a few times, but no comments and no more hassles. None of the shops or saloons told us to leave when we walked in to look around. The encounter was unfortunate, but it ended well and we had an opportunity to educate some people about the law.
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Vegassteve
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Posted: Mon Jul 7th, 2008 09:05 pm |
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| Interesting how all the anti OC people think we are freaking out the public. yet it is the LEOs who are the problem. I wonder how much possible real crime issues they missed, these 3 guys, by being a hassle to you?
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njeske
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| Joined: | Tue Sep 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | Reno, Nevada USA |
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Posted: Mon Jul 7th, 2008 09:14 pm |
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| At least none of them claimed I was freaking people out. I was prepared to have to deal with that statement. Also, the last deputy to arrive knew very well that we were perfectly legal and told us so.
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bobernet
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Posted: Mon Jul 7th, 2008 09:23 pm |
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I hate to be callous, but I don't really care if people are "freaked out." If I'm having a normal conversation with a friend about my view of politics and people "freak out" that's their problem to deal with, not mine.
I'm more than a little weary of Americans who seem to think they have a "right" to never be offended, uncomfortable, annoyed, or otherwise bothered by someone else's conduct.
I expect there are quite a few people "offended" by the wearing of burkas or turbans or swastikas in public. That doesn't mean the police should be responding to 911 calls that there's a "possible terrorist" or "possible nazi" on the loose.
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Vegassteve
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Posted: Mon Jul 7th, 2008 09:52 pm |
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bobernet wrote: I hate to be callous, but I don't really care if people are "freaked out." If I'm having a normal conversation with a friend about my view of politics and people "freak out" that's their problem to deal with, not mine.
I'm more than a little weary of Americans who seem to think they have a "right" to never be offended, uncomfortable, annoyed, or otherwise bothered by someone else's conduct.
I expect there are quite a few people "offended" by the wearing of burkas or turbans or swastikas in public. That doesn't mean the police should be responding to 911 calls that there's a "possible terrorist" or "possible nazi" on the loose.
I completely agree. I was just pointing out that many of the anti OC crowd meaning the rabid CC crowd seem to always say we are freaking the public out when that just is not the case.
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Felid`Maximus
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Posted: Mon Jul 7th, 2008 11:30 pm |
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I'm glad things turned out okay njeske. Too bad they hassled you.
I ended up getting to Virginia City much later than this incident. Considering how close I got to the guys with the storey county patch on their shoulders on a repeated basis I think it would be unlikely if they didn't notice me carrying too. Maybe they didn't bug me as a result of their encounter with you. Although since it took them an hour to spot you, perhaps they are just very unobservant.
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njeske
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Posted: Tue Jul 8th, 2008 01:40 am |
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Felid`Maximus wrote: I'm glad things turned out okay njeske. Too bad they hassled you.
I ended up getting to Virginia City much later than this incident. Considering how close I got to the guys with the storey county patch on their shoulders on a repeated basis I think it would be unlikely if they didn't notice me carrying too. Maybe they didn't bug me as a result of their encounter with you. Although since it took them an hour to spot you, perhaps they are just very unobservant.
I thought I overheard the seargent talking to either his lieutenant or another deputy over the radio about watching for people with holstered guns, but that it was legal. It's possible the later shift was notified before they came on duty.
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Loneviking
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Jul 8th, 2008 06:07 am |
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| Storey County just repealed their 'Dangerous Weapons' law on May 19th. I guess some of the SO's missed that briefing! In general, I've found the Storey County deputies to be very professional and fair.
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njeske
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Posted: Tue Jul 8th, 2008 06:16 am |
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Loneviking wrote: Storey County just repealed their 'Dangerous Weapons' law on May 19th. I guess some of the SO's missed that briefing! In general, I've found the Storey County deputies to be very professional and fair.
Are there meeting minutes, or a letter from the county attorney anywhere that I could have with me next time I go to VC? Also, if such documentation exists, I'd like to email the sheriff's office with a statement regarding what happened so that a training bulletin can be put out.
Edit: the county code in question is still listed on their website.
http://www.storeycounty.org/CountyCode/detail.asp?id=9%2E16%2E020
2nd Edit: found the minutes from their meeting on June 03, 2008. Code 9.16.020 was repealed by unanimous vote. You can find the minutes from the bottom of page 7 to the top of page 8. I guess it's time to draft a letter to the Sheriff's office.
http://www.storeycounty.org/clerk/Minutes/060308_Minutes.pdf
Last edited on Tue Jul 8th, 2008 06:25 am by njeske
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njeske
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Posted: Tue Jul 8th, 2008 07:04 am |
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Just sent this letter to the Storey County Sheriff's office. Will update if/when I get a reply.
Dear Storey Sheriff’s Office,
On July 04, 2008 my wife and I visited Virginia City to celebrate Independence Day. Due to the hot weather, I decided to open carry (rather than carry concealed) my pistol. My wife, who does not have a concealed carry permit, decided she also wanted to open carry that day. We arrived in Virginia City shortly after 12pm and parked in the parking lot at the corner of D St. and Mill St. We watched the parade from the top of that lot on the corner of C St. and Mill St. After watching and enjoying the parade for nearly an hour, the Storey County Sheriff's Deputy that was directing traffic at that intersection noticed our holstered firearms. He immediately asked us if we had a permit to possess our guns. I told him that I didn't think a permit was required in Nevada for open carry. He insisted that in Storey County a permit was required and directed us to talk to Sergeant Jeff Bowers who was directing traffic at the corner of D St. and Mill St.
My wife and I followed instructions and walked down the street to discuss matters with Sergeant Bowers. He also insisted that permit was required to possess a firearm in Storey County. I told Sergeant Bowers that it was my understanding that with SB92 (state preemption) having gone into effect on October 01, 2007 the Storey county code restricting firearms was no longer enforceable. He told me hadn't heard of any such law change. He then called his lieutenant to clarify the matter. While on the phone, Sergeant Bowers informed my wife and I that we weren't in any trouble. He just wanted to clarify the matter and that if we were wrong he would allow us to secure my wife's firearm in our car. I would be allowed to conceal my firearm and we could proceed with our day. Also during the call, Deputy Kiechler arrived and observed us from his vehicle about 20 feet away. Upon completing the telephone conversation with his lieutenant, Sergeant Bowers told us that his lieutenant had told him that only reenactment gun fighters were required to register with the county and receive a permit. According to Sergeant Bowers, his lieutenant was aware that there was a movement to amend Storey County's firearm possession code.
Since my wife and I obviously weren't gun fighters, Sergeant Bowers directed us to give our IDs to Deputy Kiechler so that he could check us to make sure neither of us were felons nor wanted. In the interest of expediency and courtesy, my wife and I gave Deputy Kiechler our IDs and he proceeded to call us in. While waiting for the results, we had a pleasant conversation with Deputy Kiechler. He told us that he was aware of SB92 being passed and going into effect. He was also apparently aware that Storey county Code 9.16.020 was going to be changed to comply with the new state law. After my wife and I cleared the check, Deputy Kiechler returned our IDs and we were allowed to continue about our day in Virginia City.
During this entire encounter, I'm happy to say that all of the people we interacted with were very professional and very polite. I'd like to personally thank Sergeant Bowers and Deputy Kiechler for their professionalism and courtesy while this matter was being worked out.
The purpose of this letter is to request that the Storey County Sheriff's office be notified regarding the status of county code 9.16.020. According to the meeting minutes on June 03, 2008, the Storey County Commission unanimously repealed county code 9.16.020. This can be found at the bottom of page 7 and the top of page 8 of the meeting minutes from that day. I've provided a link to the minutes below. I've also noticed that on the Storey County website, county code 9.16.020 is still listed and presumed to be in effect. It would be nice if the website could also be updated to reflect the repealing of this code.
Overall, my wife and I had a great time in Virginia City and will definitely be back for the Independence Day celebration next year. I do find it unfortunate however that about twenty minutes of our time and the Deputies' time was wasted over the enforcement of a county code that had been repealed over a month prior.
Sincerely,
Nick Jeske
Reno, NV
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wayneco
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Jul 8th, 2008 07:34 am |
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nice! closing the loop like this is a big help to all -- ourselves and the sheriff's office, paving the way for an even better time for the next guy.
thanks!
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varminter22
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| Location: | Fallon, Nevada USA |
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Posted: Tue Jul 8th, 2008 01:59 pm |
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Excellent letter, Nick!
Many thanks for taking appropriate action.
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Felid`Maximus
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Posted: Sat Jul 4th, 2009 12:49 am |
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It seems they still haven't updated their website after more than a year as Storey County Code 9.16.020 is still listed.
http://www.storeycounty.org/countycode/detail.asp?id=9.16.020
I'll be carrying a copy of this newspaper article with me tomorrow:
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080605/DAYTON/348957158Last edited on Sat Jul 4th, 2009 01:06 am by Felid`Maximus
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njeske
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Posted: Sat Jul 4th, 2009 04:43 pm |
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Felid`Maximus wrote: It seems they still haven't updated their website after more than a year as Storey County Code 9.16.020 is still listed.
http://www.storeycounty.org/countycode/detail.asp?id=9.16.020
I'll be carrying a copy of this newspaper article with me tomorrow:
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080605/DAYTON/348957158
Good luck carrying today. You may also want to bring a copy of the meeting minutes from June 03, 2008 showing the unanimous repeal of that county code. The minutes can be found at: http://www.storeycounty.org/clerk/Minutes/060308_Minutes.pdf
The relevant action is at the bottom of page 7 where they vote to repeal county code 9.16.020.
Last edited on Sat Jul 4th, 2009 04:47 pm by njeske
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Felid`Maximus
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Posted: Sat Jul 4th, 2009 05:42 pm |
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| Thanks njeske! I think I'll do that! Last edited on Sat Jul 4th, 2009 05:42 pm by Felid`Maximus
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njeske
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Posted: Sun Jul 5th, 2009 11:25 pm |
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| how did your day go in VC?
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Felid`Maximus
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Posted: Mon Jul 6th, 2009 04:33 am |
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It went great, and they had a good firework show! Nobody said a thing except a store owner who said, "I see you are dressed for the occasion!" I walked past Storey County officers a few times and they either didn't notice or didn't care.
I saw quite a few people OC'ing up there but other than the Storey County Sheriff Deputies everyone I saw had 1800's era single action revolvers and at least one person with a lever-action rifle too. They might have all been reenactors though.Last edited on Tue Jul 7th, 2009 04:23 am by Felid`Maximus
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