| Author | Post |
|---|
surfj9009
Regular Member
| Joined: | Tue Jan 8th, 2008 |
| Location: | Spokane, WA |
| Posts: | 640 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 05:32 am |
|
Dave The Welder wrote: just_a_car wrote: Yeah Dave, my first thought when I read that with how it's written and in the context it's in was "Gee, he should pay more attention to where he's running." *chuckle*
The way it should have been written was, "backed into the fully loaded, and ready for a riot, Whitman County SWAT van while trying to pick Dave up in front of the police station." The police officers could hardly stop laughing
Oh my god you guys are too funny. I seriously need to come down for a day or two to OC.
|
just_a_car
Regular Member
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 05:56 am |
|
Dave The Welder wrote: just_a_car wrote: Yeah Dave, my first thought when I read that with how it's written and in the context it's in was "Gee, he should pay more attention to where he's running." *chuckle*
The way it should have been written was, "backed into the fully loaded, and ready for a riot, Whitman County SWAT van while trying to pick Dave up in front of the police station." The police officers could hardly stop laughing
 
|
Dave The Welder
Regular Member
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 06:12 am |
|
ShyPanda gave me a call while I was at WSU studying today and told me that while in ShopKo, which Kevin and myself OC in all the time, a manager approached him and told him the they have a written policy against openly carrying firearms. I'll leave the details of this encounter, the OC events of the day, and him backing into the SWAT van, for his post and just focus on my reaction to ShopKo.
The first thing that I did was contact corporate via the 1-800 number on their webpage. I asked the lady what the corporate policy was concerning the legal carrying of firearms in their stores by civilians and she initially responded by saying that it was illegal, period. I politely asked her if she knew that all of their major competitors (Wal-Mart, ,etc) had policies of mirroring state law to allow legally carried firearms and if this was a written policy. She said that now that she thought about it, she didn't know and would check "the handbook". She tried looking it up but couldn't find anything barring firearms. She gave me the number of Washington loss/prevention and told me that I should call them with the question. She was very professional and polite throughout the conversation. I assumed that with her giving me the number to the Washington branch, my dealings with corporate would be done. I was wrong as you'll read below.
I called Washington loss/prevention and asked him the same questions. I further stated (I was feeling brave) that I was a member of OCDO, who we are, our public education efforts with the gun rights pamphlets, that their competitors allow open carry in their stores, and that I loved shopping at ShopKo and really didn't want to see a misunderstanding with a local manager prevent me from doing any future business with them. He must have been a gun person because he seemed to really become interested when I told him about our efforts to educate the public and correct the piles of misinformation out there. He also couldn't find anything baring us from entering the store while legally carried firearms but said that he'd inquire further and give me a call back.
About an hour later, I got a call from corporate. It was a man from Utah (I missed who he was but he had something to do with security) and he told me that, as least in Utah, there was no policy that he was aware of that banned firearms in their stores and further stated that if the state licensed/trusted us with openly carrying firearms, then so would ShopKo. He said that I should contact Washington loss/prevention to be sure that they didn't have anything and I informed him that I already had and was awaiting a call back. We talked for several minutes and I gave him the same speech on OCDO to which he also seemed really receptive.
It's too early to tell, but I think that we have this one in the bag as a misinformed manager. I was surprised though at how nobody seemed to know an answer. I would have thought that there would have been a big book of ShopKo rules which they could just thumb through to find it, but apparently it either doesn't exist, or (as I think is going on) three people have now looked in it and found nothing but wanted to ask somebody else before giving me a final answer. I'll let you know when I hear back from loss/prevention.
|
just_a_car
Regular Member
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 06:56 am |
|
Good stuff Dave. That specific store will stay on the Watch List, as you guys requested, until we know that the manager there has been 'retrained' by corporate that OC is legal and allowed (if they do, indeed, affirm it is allowed). Hopefully they don't do something stupid like say it isn't allowed at all and I have to move them to the DNP List.
|
surfj9009
Regular Member
| Joined: | Tue Jan 8th, 2008 |
| Location: | Spokane, WA |
| Posts: | 640 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 09:57 am |
|
yeah man. Were rockin the east side. Keep up the good work!!
|
Shy_Panda
Regular Member
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 05:50 pm |
|
Ok, so I am in a better mood today after my computer almost flew out my window. So here it goes again.
Yesterday after taking one of my finals and stopping by work just to find out that I didn't need to go in until thursday I came home and hopped online to see the goings on of OCDO. I quickly came across the recent incident over on the west side which irked me off just enough to feel the need to take care of some errands that I have been putting off, OCing the whole time obviously. So before I have a chance to even start the car a friend calls and ask us to pick him up(at this stage it is me and the roommate) cause he had to take his rig into the shop. I agree and head on out to Ace Hardware here in Pullman to pick up a few things for my dresser, no issues there whatsoever, figure its going to be a good day (although slightly odd that the checker didn't bag my purchases, i think she was a little freaked by my sidearm). On to Shopko, and this is where the day becomes interesting.
So upon entering the building we head straight back towards the electronics section because ironically enough I was planning on buying some rechargable batteries and a mic for my voice recorder, it sucks without one. On our way i notice an employee stareing at my gun as I walk past continuing our conversation. After grabing the batteries i move onto the next isle and start looking for a mic. Not three minuites after being in the store a manager and an employee walk up to me and aske me to leave because weapons were not allowed in the store. Somewhat caught off guard due to the bluntness I aksed if it was company policy or not, taking note of his nametag. I noted that the last word on it was manager and also made sure to note his name which is Derek (sp?) before continuing the conversation. He said that it was against policy to allow weapons in the store to which I replied 'is that written down anywhere?' he said that it was in their handbook and as such i would have to leave.(note: due to the fact that my recorder was still sucking something fierce at this point, I can not say verbatum what the conversation was, merely an approximation) I asked to see it and he said that he didn't have one on hand (ironic for a handbook). I wanted to confirm that he was a manager since I couldn't get a copy of the information so I asked if he was the manager which he did in fact confirm. I, not wishing to be tresspassing, asked if he prefer I should place the items back which I was planning on purchasing or just hand them over, his suprise to this question was somewhat humorus, and after a few seconds said that he would take them, so I did and then left. The whole situation shocked me considering I have had multiple occasions OCed in the store and even had conversations with the checkers late at night just before close while obviously OCing, even mentioning the fact. But no matter. Once outside, just like always I remembered all the things I should have asked and mentioned, the thought even crossed my mind to send my roommate back to ask for the manager to come outside so that we could talk and I wouldn't be tresspassing, but I figured that it could easily be interpreted as intimidation.
Somewhat irked about that situation my roommate mentioned that Radioshack would have a mic, so we went up the block to check. At first we were the only ones there and I asked the employee if they had any mics, at this point Dave called to explain the current situation with Tri-State managment and I broke in and told him about what had just happened at Shopko, somewhat rudely to the employee I realize now. He pointed to the mics and I thanked him, all while talking very loudly about OCing. After the conversation with Dave was over I grabbed the mic and walked around the store alittle asking about battaries, which he pointed at as right infront of me . I thanked him and started looking as he explained the differences, while this was taking place two wannabe gangstas walked in and noticed my gun right off the bat. They proceeded to walk way to close for comfort and so I proceeded to spring up and have my arm resting on or outside of my holster. They were almost using their other as a method of distraction as the other walked by from behind, again way too close at which point I shot them both a stern glare. As I went up to pay for my item one of them walked over to the counter and then walked back. Both me and my roomie swear that we heard them say "Yep, its a Serpa." which is in fact my holster which freaked me out  and put me on edge even moreso than I already was. I paid for my mic and left, feeling much better about the encounter at Radioshack and feeling quite strongly that they deserved our business despite the fact that I saw no written policy or talked to management. I have a feeling that the employee went into the back and talked to someone about it though, which does not meen that he even once gave me anything but a friendly smile and amazing service (not convinced it was Because i was carrying).
After having picked up a new mic, which works swimmingly, we went and picked up our buddy with the car troubles, and then off to get Dave at the WSU police station. When I drove into the parking lot which is not much bigger than a couple packs of gum, I realized that all the spots were full and attempted to turn around. As such I was backing up taking full note of the Whitman County SWAT van that was parked directly behind me. I even mentioned that hitting that thing would make a bad day even worse... little did I know. So as I threw it into first and let out the clutch I ROLLED into the front bumper of the SWAT van . Needless to say that it took little convincing to get me to head on in to notify them that I just ran into the SWAT van and didn't want any hit and run charges following me arround. I went in and got the kid behind the desk to get an officer so that I could clear things up and Corporal Hahn (nothing but respect implied in using his rank as opposed to 'Officer,' this is merely what his card says). We talked about the whole situation and I explained that I was trying to turn around and as the clutch went in the back of my car went into the front of the van. He was making sure that neither vehicle was damaged, when Dave came strolling around the corner eyes like saucers and all of the police came out of the station to take a look at the moron who ran into a SWAT van. Thankfully it was nothing more than point and laugh for the most part. I gave them my phone number and licence information and I got a nifty card (I'm sure it will come in handy later seeing as how the Corporal was great). That issue being settled for the time being we decided to be on our way.
We stopped by Dave's house for a short stint and proceded to go downtown and pick up an insane amount of pizza, buy one get one free 26" monsters. The order wait was about 30 min, during which time Dave called Shopko corporate and proceded to get the run around from my perspective, all the while making headway. He will obviously have more on that later. Seeing that we needed some soda to go with our pizza we went back across town (not really saying that much for Pullman) and get buy 3 get 3 free 2L pepsi products. Shoping completed here we picked up the pizzas and ended up at my house talking about the days events and other related-ish items. That is about all that I am willing to put up considering that if my computer doesn't post this again, I am seriously going to throw it out the window. Hope that this makes it an you all continue to see my posts on here, even though some of you undoubtedly wish this were not the case.
|
Shy_Panda
Regular Member
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 05:50 pm |
|
YES!!!
|
just_a_car
Regular Member
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 09:16 pm |
|
Shy_Panda wrote: As I went up to pay for my item one of them walked over to the counter and then walked back. Both me and my roomie swear that we heard them say "Yep, its a Serpa." which is in fact my holster which freaked me out and put me on edge even moreso than I already was.
The above is scary... really scary. I mean, maybe those guys were just pro-gun guys that liked to wear 'gangsta' clothing and are actually responsible law-abiding citizens... BUT, if they really were BG's, then knowing not only that you're carrying a gun, but also how to disable the retention systems on your holster (by knowing what kind of holster it is) is just disturbing.
I'm confident that if someone were to try a gun-grab on me without knowing about the finger-lever on the Serpa that they'd only end up giving me a wedgie and getting them some serious beat-down in self-defense (I know, I've given myself a wedgie trying to get my unloaded gun out of the holster or to just pull the holster off without depressing the lever). But if they know the retention features of a certain holster, that means they can devise a way to distract you (which I'm not saying will work, as we all try to be alert and aware, but this was two against one) and then slip in and pull your firearm.
That said, it sounds like you did really well in keeping alert and aware. One way you might have defused any situation was to strike up a conversation with them about it such as "Oh, were you interested in getting a Serpa?" and get to talking to them. You'll find out pretty quick what their intentions are and you'll have them in front of you where they can't surprise you.
----------
As for the long posts, what I do before hitting "send" is right click in the message window, click "Select All", then either press Ctrl+C or (right click, copy), then hit send. That way, if the internet Borks on me, I can just go back, click "reply", press Ctrl+V or (right click, paste) and it's all right there again. It's almost like carrying a gun... I rarely ever need it, but when I do, it's nice to have done it. 
|
Shy_Panda
Regular Member
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 10:46 pm |
|
So yeah, I started doing that because of the missing post.
|
Dave The Welder
Regular Member
|
Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 05:44 am |
|
I have to admit that after reading some of the posts on the board, I'm surprised that SteelcoreAP and I haven't been stopped yet. Both of us OC every day whenever we leave our houses. I just can from studying with him in a coffee house downtown. We sat in the middle of a huge room amidst a sea of Apple computers with probably close to 100 people in the building and nothing. Some people noticed our sidearms, but after a glance didn't care. One table saw mine and Kevin could see that they talked about it for a minute before going on with their studying. One army looking guy wearing a Blackwater shirt saw our pistols and glared at us (it kind of looked like this:  ), but other than that, nothing. Not that I'm complaining about not having any encounters, it's just that we study the law, read up on other people being stopped, equip ourselves with voice recorders, and then nothing happens. A cop car even drove by us the other day and the cop looked right at three of us carrying pistols downtown and just drove on. Pullman really is the town to OC in. So far we've had nothing but positive encounters.
|
just_a_car
Regular Member
|
Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 06:40 am |
|
I really am glad to hear that, Dave. But remember, the first time I actually had an encounter with police was the Seattle PD encounter last month at Denny's. I've been OC'ing for about a year now, maybe a little more, and it took that long just to have a simple encounter with a cop. Plus, that was after he didn't notice for 2 or so hours and I had to get up from the table (after sitting strong side to him that whole time) for him to notice. I felt like those cops were in Condition White while in that Denny's, like they were in a "safe zone"... or, maybe they thought Denny's was a "Gun Free Zone". 
|
Shy_Panda
Regular Member
|
Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 06:54 am |
|
Basically all of my encounters have happened with employees/managers and during lunchish time. Mabey due to the fact that it is finals week they assume that the crazy student with a OC pistol is going to just freak out at seeing the price of printer cartrages and 'pop a cap in someone's arse' as it were. Any future encounters will be much better seeing as how I now have my mic... provided by RADIOSHACK, your local OC friendlyish electronics store . Who knows, my ex always told me that I intimidated her and was just all around intimidating... which I just don't get, but hey she had a not-me perspective. Am I the scary looking sort of person? Are shy pandas really that terrifying?
|
Dave The Welder
Regular Member
|
Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 07:45 am |
|
Shy_Panda wrote: Am I the scary looking sort of person? Are shy pandas really that terrifying?
That came up while I was studying today with SteelcoreAP. He asked me (because I OC with you a lot more than he does) if you did something to get all this attention. I said that you didn't and must just be scarier than the two of us. I know, it's because we both carry "safe" looking 1911's with unscary hammers cocked back and you carry that scary all black Beretta.
|
400HP
Regular Member
| Joined: | Fri Apr 25th, 2008 |
| Location: | Arizona |
| Posts: | 66 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 08:00 am |
|
Shy_Panda wrote: Seeing that we needed some soda to go with our pizza we went back across town (not really saying that much for Pullman) and get buy 3 get 3 free 2L pepsi products. Shoping completed here we picked up the pizzas and ...
Brings up memories of Pizza Pipeline and having our friend "Richard Noggin" order for us!
|
Dr. Fresh
Regular Member
| Joined: | Thu Mar 13th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 371 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 09:56 am |
|
Shy_Panda wrote: Basically all of my encounters have happened with employees/managers and during lunchish time. Mabey due to the fact that it is finals week they assume that the crazy student with a OC pistol is going to just freak out at seeing the price of printer cartrages and 'pop a cap in someone's arse' as it were. Any future encounters will be much better seeing as how I now have my mic... provided by RADIOSHACK, your local OC friendlyish electronics store. Who knows, my ex always told me that I intimidated her and was just all around intimidating... which I just don't get, but hey she had a not-me perspective. Am I the scary looking sort of person? Are shy pandas really that terrifying?
I dunno, which one are you in the pics?
|
Shy_Panda
Regular Member
|
Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 04:06 pm |
|
I dunno, which one are you in the pics?
In the first photo, I am the one wearing the white shirt and the extra blue jeans, the latest group photo I am the one wearing the black WSU hat and the green shirt that says "Peace Through Superior Firepower"... I am quite obviously not making any sort of political statement about anything I am wearing that day.
|
Dr. Fresh
Regular Member
| Joined: | Thu Mar 13th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 371 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 10:18 pm |
|
Shy_Panda wrote:
I dunno, which one are you in the pics?
In the first photo, I am the one wearing the white shirt and the extra blue jeans, the latest group photo I am the one wearing the black WSU hat and the green shirt that says "Peace Through Superior Firepower"... I am quite obviously not making any sort of political statement about anything I am wearing that day.
You don't look much like a panda.
|
Shy_Panda
Regular Member
|
Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 11:14 pm |
|
Dr. Fresh wrote: Shy_Panda wrote:
I dunno, which one are you in the pics?
In the first photo, I am the one wearing the white shirt and the extra blue jeans, the latest group photo I am the one wearing the black WSU hat and the green shirt that says "Peace Through Superior Firepower"... I am quite obviously not making any sort of political statement about anything I am wearing that day.
You don't look much like a panda.
Here is a better picture of me...
Attached Image (viewed 301 times):
|
Trigger Dr
Regular Member
|
Posted: Fri May 2nd, 2008 04:17 am |
|
| You must be OC on the left side... I don't see the gun and you still don't look like a panda
|
Shy_Panda
Regular Member
|
Posted: Fri May 2nd, 2008 06:08 am |
|
Trigger Dr wrote: You must be OC on the left side... I don't see the gun and you still don't look like a panda
That really hurts! Are you saying I'm not Panda enough for this site? 
|
|
|
