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OpenCarry.org - Discussion Forum > Stories From The States > Kentucky > Guns And Garbage - Lexington Open Carry Event
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| OpenCarry.org - Discussion Forum > Stories From The States > Kentucky > Guns And Garbage - Lexington Open Carry Event
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| Moderated by: jpierce | ||
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member 
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We're back! The Central Kentucky Campaign For Liberty has adopted the two miles of Richmond Road just outside New Circle Road as part of the Adopt-A-Highway program. We'll be open carrying on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM while picking up litter on the side of the road. Please come and join us in promoting Open Carry in particular and our right to keep and bear arms. Please tell all the pro-2A people you know and ask them to tell their gun rights friends. This needs a lot of grassroots word-of-mouth advertising to succeed. I'm giving up on the subterfuge and I hope being open will ensure the best possible media coverage, but I'm not that optimistic. I think the media just doesn't want to cover a pro-gun event. That's why we're upping the ante a bit. I'm going to have some signs made that will at least reach the thousands of people driving by so they can pick up on our pro-2A message.  For more info (please check out the FAQ): http://www.GunsAndGarbage.com Here's the promotional flier: http://gunsandgarbage.com/GunsAndGarbage-Flier.pdf |
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M1Gunr Regular Member 
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Welcome to the club. http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum55/12400.html Attached Image (viewed 247 times): |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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Hey M1Gunr, When I first mentioned needing a sign, a friend in Washington emailed me a couple of images from the active Washington open carry litter pickup, including the image above. I sorta ripped it off. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Thanks to you guys for showing the way. I think what we're doing is new to Kentucky, but I knew it wasn't new on the larger scale. I was aware of open carry litter pickups in Washington and New Hampshire. It seems that I've seen others, maybe on YouTube, but I can't remember. There are probably several other open carry litter pickups. I hope we can have a lot more springing up elsewhere to educate everyone about our inalienable rights. Hopefully Texas will get open carry soon and they can join us. |
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Statesman Regular Member 
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Is such a sign really a good idea? Some people just won't understand, I fear. How has such signs been received by LEO and local folks in other areas? |
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M1Gunr Regular Member
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Statesman wrote: Is such a sign really a good idea? Some people just won't understand, I fear. How has such signs been received by LEO and local folks in other areas? We've not had one issue with the sign so far. People honk and wave, law enforcement just drives by. I don't have the date yet but "Seattle Weekly" is doing a article on Washington OpenCarry and the Litter Patrol. We'll see how the reception goes after the article comes out. What about these signs? http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii194/m1gunr/OCDO/adopt-a-highway.jpg http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii194/m1gunr/OCDO/armed-litter-patrol-ahead-25-miles-.jpg http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii194/m1gunr/OCDO/armed-litter-patrol-ahead-25-miles.jpg |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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Statesman: I think the signs are necessary or I wouldn't go to the trouble and expense. Without them, we're just picking up trash on the side of the road and no political statement is made, and nobody is educated about the right to keep and bear arms or the right to open carry. I definitely agree with the idea of not starting any trouble, but not if it means our effectiveness is zero. Do you think anyone noticed we were carrying last time, without the signs? M1Gunr: I had already seen the first image. Hopefully our official Adopt-A-Highway signs will be up soon so the Campaign For Liberty, the sponsoring agency, gets a little advertising. I'm fairly sure I had seen the other two images too, and figured they were semi-comical forgeries from one of those sites that prompts the user for a message to put on a sign. In Austin, some hackers changed a construction road sign to warn of the danger of Nazi zombies ahead. |
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TheMrMitch Regular Member 
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I think M1gunr's first one would be ideal. Subtle but to the point.  |
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M1Gunr Regular Member
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TheMrMitch wrote: I think M1gunr's first one would be ideal. Any vinyl shop can add the info you require for about $25. We now have 2 signs to post on the road for coverage. There are times I wish we had taken a section of highway on a 2 lane road where the speeds we lower. |
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BigBubba Regular Member 
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Liberty4Ever wrote: In Austin, some hackers changed a construction road sign to warn of the danger of Nazi zombies ahead.  thats awesome |
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kentuckyshiner85 Regular Member 
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I love the pics and I believe it may help get the word out in a positive way. I do though wish to make sure that whatever do is in apositive manner. so cuddoss to you. |
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Statesman Regular Member
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M1Gunr wrote: Statesman wrote:Is such a sign really a good idea? Some people just won't understand, I fear. How has such signs been received by LEO and local folks in other areas? I just read the article under "Hot News". That is awsome! Thanks, I was only concerned, and not being critical in any way. As long as it doesn't hurt the movement more than it helps it, i'm in full support of the signs. |
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8th ID Regular Member
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Hey Liberty! What does the turnout numbers look like? Do you have any definites? |
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KY-RN-G Regular Member
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The last event turned out a decent number and L4E's truck was loaded with trash. Having more advanced notice and the word spread through different venues I hope to see a few more people. I am planning on making the trip from Bowling Green if things work out properly. Anyone that wants to catch a ride between BG and E-town send me a message  . |
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spioi Regular Member 
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I'll be there.  |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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I was a bit paranoid last time and didn't want to promote Guns And Garbage too far in advance in the hope that the state wouldn't hear about an open carry litter pickup and kick us out of the Adopt-A-Highway program. That was probably not a justified concern. Instead of a week of promotion as we had the last time, we have a bit over a month this time so people can hopefully plan better and maybe even talk it up with their friends. I just returned from a Leave Us Alone Rally at the Scott County Courthouse this evening, and there were about 220 conservative, freedom loving, small government types in attendance. I put the Guns And Garbage fliers on the table and I saw many people pick one up, read it, and take it home with them. I'm going to try to have a table at the Lexington Gun Show on Saturday, June 20th. I'll take a lot of my evil black guns to display to draw people over (including the .50 BMG, which is one of many crowd pleasing fun guns I have) and I'll put up my "Can You Guess Which Of These Guns Will Be Banned Next?" banner. When people come over to the table, I'll get them talking about gun bans, gun rights, and then hit them up with, "What are YOU doing to preserve our gun rights?" Then I'll give them a Guns And Garbage flier and urge them to come out the following day for an open carry event. I hope that'll be a good way to reach the right people. I'll probably try the gun stores again, although I'll probably skip the four that told me they'd leave the fliers on their counters last time and didn't.  That's the long way of saying, I have a reasonable hope of having many more than the 16 or so we had the last time. I hope we have 100 people or more. I want this open carry event to be way too big to ignore. |
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BigBubba Regular Member
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Liberty4Ever wrote: I'll probably try the gun stores again, although I'll probably skip the four that told me they'd leave the fliers on their counters last time and didn't. Go to a couple of the Kroger stores in town and ask managers if you can post the event on the bulletin boards by the exit doors, most of the ones that have them will let you, i work for one and have a few managers that CC (not sure if any of them OC or even know that its legal) so they may want to participate themselves. Also, not sure about Wal-Mart's policy on what they'll allow you to post, but you could always ask. Last edited on Tue Jun 2nd, 2009 11:53 am by BigBubba |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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That's weird! Yesterday, when I was thinking about ways to promote Guns And Garbage locally and was bummed out about the gun stores that said they'd help get the word out and didn't, I thought about the bulletin boards at places like Krogers and Wal*Mart. Thanks for the suggestion. It was enough to push me over the top and get me to try these places. Any more good ideas? Keep 'em coming! The flier is a PDF on the GunsAndGarbage.com home page. Feel free to print some and help promote the event if you can post it at places like the Blue Grass Sportsman's League, etc. If you want printed fliers, I can meet you in Lexington. |
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Statesman Regular Member
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Liberty4Ever wrote: I was a bit paranoid last time and didn't want to promote Guns And Garbage too far in advance in the hope that the state wouldn't hear about an open carry litter pickup and kick us out of the Adopt-A-Highway program. That was probably not a justified concern. So that was you with the glock on your side and the GOA t-shirt? I was going to say hi, but you were on your cell prior to the event starting. Leland Conway was on fire !!!!!!! |
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Statesman Regular Member
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Liberty4Ever wrote: That's weird! Yesterday, when I was thinking about ways to promote Guns And Garbage locally and was bummed out about the gun stores that said they'd help get the word out and didn't, I thought about the bulletin boards at places like Krogers and Wal*Mart. I'm putting my bets on the gun store owners (and most employees) believing OC advocates are political liabilities for gun ownership. |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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Statesman wrote: So that was you with the glock on your side and the GOA t-shirt (at the Scott County Leave Us Alone Rally)? I was going to say hi, but you were on your cell prior to the event starting. Leland Conway was on fire!Nope. I was carrying concealed at the time. I think I know the guy you saw. He was wearing an Appleseed Shoot T-shirt last night and he open carries everywhere. I didn't see if he was carrying his Glock or his 1911 last night. Statesman wrote: I'm putting my bets on the gun store owners (and most employees) believing OC advocates are political liabilities for gun ownership.That very well could be, which would be weird given the percentage of gun store owners and clerks who open carry. |
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BigBubba Regular Member
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Liberty4Ever wrote: Thanks for the suggestion. It was enough to push me over the top and get me to try these places. Any more good ideas? Keep 'em coming! My dad said most Laundromats have a bulletin board, Most cigarette stores will let ya post whatever you want. Do most post offices still have a community bulletin board? |
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8th ID Regular Member
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HEY LIBERTY4EVER- If I don't have my cc (waiting...) and I show up to the event, won't a safety vest cover my weapon, therefore making me illegal? I will be picking a vest up before the event and I will see what it covers. Has there been any problems with this in the past? |
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M1Gunr Regular Member
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Scissors will fix that concealed issue, just make a cut out for the area around the holster. |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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I've got a box of very cheap ChiCom orange vinyl vests and they're so small they won't cover an open carry gun. We also get six XL yellow mesh vests from the state and they tuck in behind the open carry pistol so they aren't a problem either. Whatever you do, it is important to make sure you're completely open carrying, and that's even more important from a legal standpoint if you don't have your CDW license. Last time, I don't think anyone had any problems with open carry inadvertently becoming concealed carry. |
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8th ID Regular Member
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I'm trying to keep this thread near the top SO... who's going to be there on Sunday???... |
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8th ID Regular Member
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Last edited on Tue Jun 16th, 2009 02:05 pm by 8th ID |
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8th ID Regular Member
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SO...who's coming on Sunday??? |
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spioi Regular Member
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i'll come down. |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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I'll be there... of course. If any of you will be at the gun show this Saturday, please stop by and say hi. I'll have a table down there with some of my evil black guns. I'm not selling anything but gun rights and liberty. I'll be promoting the Guns And Garbage event the following day. I'm hoping to pick up some folks who want to promote open carry or gun rights in general and convince them it's worth a couple of hours on Sunday to make a public showing of it. After Guns And Garbage II, I'll start planning an open carry picnic. I'm trying to coordinate it to avoid other events to maximize participation. You guys are the local open carry community, so please let me know what works for you and what doesn't. I ordered the ARMED LITTER PICKUP road signs and they should be ready later today. I still need to make some supports for them. Hopefully, they'll help people to notice us this time, and understand what we're doing and why. I hope it sparks some conversations in the cars passing by, and I hope this little bit of community activism encourages others to join in to help protect our unalienable right to keep and bear arms. See you guys on Sunday! |
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8th ID Regular Member
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I hope there is a big turn out on Sunday. As far as a picnic, I'm pretty open on weekends. The only thing I know that I will have to be at is on June 28th. I'm assuming a picnic would be scheduled later than that anyway. Maybe 2nd or 3rd weekend in July? |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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Yeah, there will probably be a month or so notice for the picnic, and the summer is flying by, so we're probably already in the mid July to mid August time frame. A lot will depend on the availability of shelters at Jacobson Park. I'd like to have it at Jacobson Park. It's sort of Lexington's premier park. I think that sends a message. We're not going to hide to practice our unalienable rights. It also maximizes the public education aspect, and may be a good recruiting tool. We could have a sign that proudly announces OPEN CARRY PICNIC - EVERYONE WELCOME! Maybe a picture of a handgun so the uninitiated understand the "open carry" part to increase the educational value. There might be someone who would like to participate in local open carry events but didn't know there was an active local group. As always, I want to maximize the positive exposure and educate people about our rights. And it won't be long until we have another open carry lunch. First Saturday of the month? Cracker Barrel? I'm not sure those are great public education events, but I think they're good public education events, and they're a great way for us to socialize a bit in person. Online forums are great, and even though I'm not a naturally social person, meeting in person is very important... and a lot of fun. I met some great guys last time, and I hope we can continue to meet for lunch. Maybe next time, I'll bring some laminated wallet cards with the 2nd amendment on one side and the similar parts from our Kentucky Constitution on the flip side. |
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8th ID Regular Member
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Hey Liberty-What supplies could we bring to help out? Trash bags, etc? |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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Very nice of you to ask about supplies. I keep saying that gun people are good people, and I've seldom been wrong about that. I should have enough trash bags. The state is supposed to supply them and confirmed this morning that they would. I supplied them last time. You may want some gloves so you don't handle other people's trash, some comfortable shoes like well worn work boots, a hat to keep the sun off you and either sun screen or loose fitting lightweight long sleeve shirt and long pants. Plan to be out in the sun for 90 minutes or so. One thing we talked about last time was a grabber to avoid so much bending over. The old school method is a nail sticking out the end of a stick. Hmmm... I have a Mosin-Nagant 91/30 with a really long bayonet.  Now there are those safety versions with the articulated gripper that can even pick up a beer bottle. I just did a lot of bending the last time. I was out there for some much needed exercise. Please don't feel you need to stay for the entire event. If you can only come out for the ten minute safety orientation the state requires, it counts. There is no contribution too small. It all counts for open carry as far as I'm concerned. I'm heading to Lowes now to buy the materials to make the supports for the ARMED LITTER PICKUP signs. I picked up the signs this afternoon and they look good. Hopefully, the signs will get a lot of positive attention, help raise awareness, and start some conversations. See you guys there! If anyone is at the gun show this Saturday, stop by and say hi! Last edited on Thu Jun 18th, 2009 01:10 am by Liberty4Ever |
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Statesman Regular Member
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At 3:48pm today, on 630am, Leland Conway just promoted the Saturday "Guns and Garbage" event to Lexington. Last edited on Fri Jun 19th, 2009 09:28 pm by Statesman |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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Statesman wrote: At 3:48pm today, on 630am, Leland Conway just promoted the Saturday "Guns and Garbage" event to Lexington conservatives. I had discussed Guns And Garbage with Leland at one of the many liberty events we both attended and he liked the idea and told me he'd mention it as something that his listeners would like. I emailed him this morning and he replied, telling me he'd mention it today. I was listening, hoping to hear it, but my wife came home and HAD to tell me a bunch of VERY IMPORTANT THINGS RIGHT NOW.  Glad to hear Guns And Garbage got some promotion. Hopefully, it'll get a couple of more people there. |
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8th ID Regular Member
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Hey Liberty I may have missed it, but where is the meet and briefing before the event? Was that near Perkins? And is it at 3:00 or should we show up a little early? Thanks! |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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There's a brief safety orientation in the Perkins parking lot. It's very casual - more of a meet and greet and get to know your local open carry advocates sort of thing. It starts at 3:00. If we have a good crowd, we can all pick up trash for an hour and get back to our busy lives, already in progress. The weather is looking good, but it'll probably be hot. You might want to bring some water. It might get thirsty out there. |
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Statesman Regular Member
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Liberty4Ever wrote: Statesman wrote:At 3:48pm today, on 630am, Leland Conway just promoted the Saturday "Guns and Garbage" event to Lexington conservatives. I've met him also. Leland Conway is the man ! |
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Statesman Regular Member
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http://arcoa.com/products-ezrp.html These EZReacher garbage pickup arm extensions are available at the Nicholasville Rd \ Man O' War Lowes for about $20.00. I'd recommend one to each person that will participate in Guns And Garbage litter pickup efforts. It will save your back, and it makes the group look more professional. Reflective work vests are available at the work wear store (big yellow signage) on Winchester Rd. in front of Slingshot, across the Rd. I don't recall the name of the place, but you can't miss it. |
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M1Gunr Regular Member
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$9.95 here http://www.allegromedical.com//daily-living-aids-c519/reach-extender-with-magnetic-tip-p191919.html?engine=nextag&utm_source=nextag&utm_medium=feed&CS_003=9076073&CS_010=8ab281020bb66dff010bb67e52d65811 If you have a harbor freight tools nearby they have them usually on sale for $3.00 |
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spioi Regular Member
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well I overslept and missed the event. hopefully I dontmiss the cleveland litter pickup next week |
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8th ID Regular Member
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Well, I just got back in from the pick up. I'm not sure of the total numbers, but I think was around 10. Liberty can report on the actual numbers. I had only one encounter with a 'civilian.' A man stopped and asked us what Organization sponsored the clean up. I told him Campaign for Liberty. He said great and gave us the thumbs up. Other than that all I can report are some long stares from people at stop lights. |
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8th ID Regular Member
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I'm going to attempt to post a photo of the signs that Liberty had made and were used today.... |
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Statesman Regular Member
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Liberty, Your website could use a timer application, that shows the number of days/hours/minutes the liberal Herald Leader has not done a story on the OC Garbage Pickup. This would be amusing. |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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I was a bit disappointed by the low turnout at Guns And Garbage. We had ten people there yesterday. It was enough, but I'd like to see a lot more. I'd like to see enough armed citizens picking up litter that people driving by would be forced to notice and give it some serious thought. There was one person yesterday from OpenCarry.org, and the other nine were from the local liberty community (8 from Campaign For Liberty and 1 from the 912 group). Is there something wrong with the open carry litter pickup event? Is it poorly promoted? I tried to promote it well at OpenCarry.org. I had a table at the Lexington gun show the day before at considerable effort and expense. I talked to a lot of people at the gun show and about five said they'd be there and five others said they'd try to be there and none of them showed up. It just seems strange to me that I'm almost the only person in the local gun community that thinks this is worth doing. Constructive comments and suggestions are welcome. I committed to four litter pickups a year for at least two years, so we'll keep having these Guns And Garbage events. I think the signs helped get the message across this time. Maybe next time I'll have a couple of more signs. I'm still working on the promotion end of things. I'm still working on the logistics, too. It'll be better next time. It's very much a learning event. Hopefully, people will keep coming out and we'll start to change some attitudes in Lexington. I'm busy now, but hope to have a couple of pictures posted soon. |
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8th ID Regular Member
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LIBERTY, One problem could have been that yesterday's event was on Father's Day. I had no problems with that because I live in Lexington and my father is no longer living. But I'm sure many people had events with immediate family and also may have traveled to other places. I was also disappointed in the low number of people. I thought there would be enough to MAKE a TV station come out and cover it. As far as advertising it goes-well I think you hit all the right places. It's either the day it was on OR some may not really be interested in keeping their gun rights. The only other thing I can think of that could have been a factor for low turnout is that there are some who carry concealed who really don't believe in OC and think that OC will be the cause of passage of tougher gun laws. That's my opinion. But thanks for the work and expense you put into the event. Next time, it might just be me and you out there picking up trash...sad, but true |
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BigBubba Regular Member
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8th ID wrote: LIBERTY, One problem could have been that yesterday's event was on Father's Day.... snip Thats why I didnt make it out. Had all intentions of it until I learned the family plans for Father's Day. Sorry not alot of people came out, I'll do my best to be at the next one. |
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Statesman Regular Member
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Liberty, As far as promotion goes, have you considered a nifty logo and T-Shirts. I'd advise against black due to the heat in the summer. Something neon orange or yellow, with lettering that contrasts against it may do wonders for advertising. Put GunsAndGarbage.org on the back of them, with the logo. Maybe a large sun blocking colored hat to match? To goofy? People who want to participate can buy them. Also, to keep people coming to the event, make the job easier. The pickup arms I mentioned earlier, and bag holders than can be strapped around the shoulder area for carrying may assist. There shouldn't be any need for you to carry these two items, just tell people where to get them. Don't get discouraged. Nothing happens all at once. Be persistent, consistent, keep up a good reputation, and people will come. Last edited on Mon Jun 22nd, 2009 08:21 pm by Statesman |
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Liberty4Ever Regular Member
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I knew Father's Day was problematic, but when planning it, it was the only date not already taken by strongly competing events. Of course, it wasn't taken because it was Father's Day. Mea culpa on that one. Thanks for the ideas and the encouragement. I'll definitely persist, at least for the next year and a half (six more litter pickups). That's my contract. The public outreach and education is getting better. I'd rate that aspect of the first Guns And Garbage at a solid zero, but I'd rate it a 1 out of 10 at yesterday's event. Hey, it's progress! I initially wanted to get custom reflective vests with some promotion on them but the state is very fussy about using their expensive vests and nothing else, and not obscuring them in any way. One of the guys who was there yesterday emailed me today to suggest a third sign. Motorists would see: SHOULDER WORK ARMED LITTER PICKUP (with pistol pictures) GunsAndGarbage.com That third sign seems like an obvious idea now, but almost all good ideas seem obvious in retrospect. I'll work on getting some simple Coroplast yellow and black yard signs that say GunsAndGarbage.com. Please keep those ideas coming. Obviously, my marketing foo is weak. |
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M1Gunr Regular Member
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I'm getting an order together of these shirts for our litter group in Washington. Feel free to use the image if you want some made up in your area. Washington currently has a "litter and it will hurt" slogan. Enjoy..... Attached Image (viewed 50 times): |
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