In October 2012 I went to the local gun show in New Bern, North Carolina with my sons (10 and 16). A gun store dealer had a steel .45 caliber Baby Eagle for $600. I had shot one of these a couple years before and had been looking to buy one. My younger son told me, “Just buy it, it’s your money, you don’t need to ask Mom.” But, luckily for me, common sense prevailed and I called my wife. She gave me permission, but she wasn’t happy about it. My wife is Japanese and was used to my rifles, but she is not a gun person.

Best $600 .45 you can buy IMO

Since it was a gun show, and I had never bought a new gun before I was surprised and a little irritated that they had to do a background check on me. I had always heard of the “gun show loophole” and was stupid enough to believe it. As Suthenboy always says, “Gun grabbers lie, it’s what they do.” But I went through with it (never again) and was approved. The only loophole was as an active duty Marine I needed permission from my Commanding Officer, but this doesn’t apply to gun shows.

I was due to deploy to Afghanistan in January, so I planned on getting my North Carolina Conceal Handgun Permit(CHP) when I got back. While I was deployed, I started looking into the laws and requirements for the CHP. As I did the research it was grinding my gears, and I kept thinking this is not something you should have to ask permission for. One of the websites I found was www.opencarry.org and there I learned that a permit was not required if you open carry in North Carolina.

I was unfamiliar with OC and really looked into the pros and cons.

OC Pros:

  • Comfortable, I don’t have to dress to hide the gun.
  • Easier to access the weapon in emergency
  • Deterrent factor, if a bad guy sees it, I’ll be more likely to be left alone.
  • NO PERMIT REQUIRED! (in NC, VA, and 29 other states)

OC Cons:

  • Potential target, this is the one most often mentioned by CC advocates, but if you look at statistics it is a minuscule risk.
  • Attract attention from law enforcement, this happened to me once and it was scary and enraging.
  • People reacting negatively, hasn’t really happened, most people either don’t notice or care.
  • Prohibited from certain stores, happened to me once, but I’m ok with this. If you object to my being armed, I assume you don’t want my money.
  • Losing the “element of surprise,” this is another one you hear from CC’ers, I would rather not shoot someone that tried to rob me because they thought I was unarmed, but that’s just me.

I decided OC was the best option for me, and since June of 2013, I OC everywhere outside of work, since I work on a military base. The first time it was like a 13-year-old boy with an awkward boner, you feel like everyone is looking at you. Over time it gets easier as you realize nobody cares. My wife is used to it, and even my proggy Mom doesn’t complain when she comes to visit.

I’ve had several comments and the overwhelming majority have been positive. As I look over the list below, there are some that were negative, but I’ve forgotten many of the nice things random people have said to me. 99% of the time no one says a word and I think most people don’t even see it.

Custom FIST Leather holster with thumb break

Here is a rundown.

Went to the Wicked Superstore in Havelock NC to look for a costume for my 11 y/o son. We weren’t in there for more than a minute when a guy who worked there came up to me:

Guy: “The owner wanted me to ask if you were law enforcement?”

I’m wearing work boots, jeans , a long sleeve black t-shirt with a Spartan helmet on the front and MOLON LABE on the sleeves and an old Penguins ball cap, so I don’t look like a cop.

Me: “No, just a normal guy.”
“She said if you’re not then you need to put the pistol in your truck.”
“Then we’re leaving”
“Oh.”
“I’ve been to a lot of different places and never had a problem.”
“It’s her property.”
“I know, guess we’ll go somewhere else.”
“Sorry about this.”
“I don’t care, we’re going.”

So we left and drove to the Halloween store in Morehead. I wish I could have taken a receipt back to the Havelock store, but my son was getting into the too cool for Halloween stage and we ended up not buying anything.

At a Hardee’s in Fredericksburg VA, I had a man walk up to my table.

Man: You can carry like that here?
Me: Yea, totally legal.
Man: You got a permit though, right?
Me: No, not required and I don’t want to jump through hoops for other people’s feelings.
Man: I’m not used to that, we’re from Jersey.
Me: Feel sorry for you, that is on the list of states I won’t move to.
Man: OK have a good one.
Me: you too

Later he came back and was amazed when I told him there were no limits to the number of bullets I could carry, I finished with, “Freedom is awesome”, and he replied with “I guess,” although I did hear him tell his wife they should move here “to get away from the Nazis.”

Chick-fil-A in New Bern with my wife, had the following conversation.

Some Guy: Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you a question?
Me: Not at all.
SG: Are you a cop?
M: No.
SG: Do you ever get hassled?
M: No, been kicked out of one store, but that doesn’t bother me.
SG: So the police leave you alone?
M: Yeah, I’ve eaten in here right next to two state troopers and been at another place with a couple county sheriffs and they didn’t say a word.
SG: Cool, I let my concealed lapse, since I didn’t want to take the class again, so I was OC’ing earlier, but put it in the truck before I came in here since I thought it would create a scene.
M: I go all over the place in New Bern and Havelock and 99% of the time people don’t notice or they have nice things to say about it.
SG: That’s good, I’ll let you get back to your lunch. Have a good day.
M: You too.

Dryer quit one night, so my wife and I went to the coin laundry in New Bern. There were two people plus the attendant, no one said anything and about 15 minutes later the other people left.

Now that it’s just my wife and me, the attendant calls me over.

Attendant: Do you have a permit for that?
Me: Nope, don’t need one to open carry, only if you conceal it. It’s still mostly a free country.
A: You can’t be in here, what if someone tries to take it and shoots us?
M: That never happens, are you telling me to leave?
A: Yes, I’m not comfortable with you in here.

So I stood outside on the sidewalk while my wife was inside (clothes were in the dryer at this point). Little later he came out.

A: It’s illegal to carry that without a permit.
M: No it’s not, can you tell me the actual company name?
A: Why?
M: I want to email the corporate office and find out if it’s their policy or just your policy.
A: It’s my policy, but I’m in charge so I say you can’t be in here.
M: I am not arguing that, I am just trying to find out where this comes from.
A: You can’t be in here.

Then he mumbled something about permits and walked back into the laundry. So I figured I could Google the company and find out. Five minutes later he comes back.

A: I’m not trying to be a dickhead, I tried to call my supervisor, but she’s not answering. You can go back in if you want.
M: OK, I’m not trying to cause a problem.

So I went in and he wanted to talk about problems with other people not listening and bringing dogs in, I said my gun will cause less problems than a dog. He asked why I didn’t get a permit, so I told him I don’t believe in asking permission, so I open carry.

All in all, minor inconvenience, and when I went back one more time he didn’t say a word, just nodded a greeting.

I got thanked in Popeye’s for “exercising your 2nd Amendment right.” I wasn’t quite sure what to say, went with, “do it everywhere I can.”

This one still pisses me off. Went to the Havelock Chili Fest, ate some good chili and walked around for a while. I think we were there for an hour, but as we were leaving a pair of Havelock cops came over to me. Only one cop did all the talking.

Cop: You can’t be armed here.
Me: Why not?
C: It’s illegal.
M: No, it’s not.
C: This is a festival.
M: So?
C: You can’t carry here, not even concealed, just like a place that charges admission, or a parade.

I jokingly point to their pistols and say, “but you’re carrying.”

C: You’re just a citizen.
M: This isn’t a parade or demonstration, so it’s legal.
C: No, it isn’t and you can either cooperate or….

He shrugged his shoulders a little and gave me a look. He didn’t say it, but I knew what he meant. I couldn’t keep my big mouth shut though.

M: I carried here last year. I also carry at the seafood fest and mum fest; cops definitely saw me.
C: If they didn’t stop you they are wrong. Are you going to put the weapon in your vehicle or not?
M: (deciding on not being arrested) We were leaving anyway.

I just started walking towards the parking lot and they didn’t say anything else. My wife says I need to work on my “angry face,” and I know I talked a little more than I should have, but at least they didn’t try to ID or disarm me. Spoiler Alert: I was 100% legal, but I was retiring from the Marine Corps and job hunting so I wanted to avoid having to answer “YES” on the “Have you ever been arrested” questions.

At Flatwoods Outfitters in Jacksonville NC, the RSO made me go back to my truck to unload and then hand carry my empty pistol to the line. It is illegal to OC if admission is charged, he admitted it was stupid, but the law is stupid and makes you do stupid things.

I went to the NC seafood festival, not sure why: food was too expensive and there were way too many people. But on the bright side, there was not a single reaction to my pistol (except my wife). She started with, “there are so many people, if something did happen, you couldn’t do anything.”

I explained that if someone started shooting, most people would get down and it’s not like I would go looking for them, but if they were coming towards me it would be fairly obvious who the BGs were. Then she told me that I was the only one with a gun, so I said that’s not true, I’m just the only one you can see. No big deal, for the most part she leaves me alone about it.

The gun did protect me while walking to the festival, there were two ladies sitting outside of the Democratic Party HQ and they stopped the people about 100 yards in front of me, but when I got to them they didn’t say a word.

At a HESS in Ahoskie or Oriental (it was a long trip, not sure) a man says, “You can carry like that up here?”

Me: That’s the only way I carry, since I refuse to get a permit.
Him: That’s legal? I’m from Florida so I’ve never seen that before.
Me: Totally legal, most people don’t notice or care.
Him: My man! I’m all about that.
Me: Freedom is awesome.
Him: We need more like you.
Me: Carry yourself. NC is a good place for it.
Him: Maybe I will, I keep mine in the truck.

It was nice to get a positive reaction, although no reaction is just as nice.

In 2015 we went to the gun show again. There were some nice guns and accessories there and the usual group of booths. I entered a few raffles and bought both of my boys a knife. One booth had a raffle for a free CC class and when the guy asked me if I wanted to enter, the conversation went like this:

Me: No, I carry open and don’t want a permit.
CC’er: Really, well what if the you go to CVS and the minimum wage worker freaks?
Me: I’ll leave and contact management.
CC’er: What if she calls the cops? (starting to get himself hyped up about something)
Me: Not breaking the law.
CC’er: What if he doesn’t know that and takes you to jail?
Me: I’ll sue their asses.
CC’er: Well, you be careful, that doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.
Me: I am, never had a problem (as I’m walking away, no patience for this).

It struck me as strange that a legal activity that doesn’t affect him at all was such a big deal. He was a little agitated when he got into the “what if” scenario, but it could have been worse; I thought he was going to start with the, “you’ll be the first guy shot” thing. My kids thought it was funny especially after I put it into the “two types of people”* discussion. It was funny to me because I’ve seen these types of discussions on the Internet, but this was my first experience in real life.

*There are two types of people, the ones who want to be left alone and the others who refuse to leave them alone. I always try to stay in the first group, but a lot of people jump back and forth depending on the issue at hand (drugs, healthcare, guns, religious freedom and so on).

If it doesn’t hurt anyone else I believe there is no reason to join the second group.

I was in Truckers Toy Store in Morehead City and no one complained, but I did have a customer come in and loudly say, “What the hell is going on here, we got guys with guns!” The lady behind the counter looked up a little startled and said, “WHAT! Oh yeah, he has his,” then she kind of shrugged and after he left she said “sorry about that.” I don’t know why people feel the need to bring attention to themselves trying to make a stupid joke. But it really didn’t bother the staff so it’s all good.

Since I’ve moved to Suffolk, Virginia and have been OC’ing all over Hampton Roads, I’ve seen some other OC’ers and haven’t had a single negative reaction. I always try to encourage OC’ing instead of CC’ing, but I think most people think it’s crazy. If you carry and it’s legal for you, maybe this will at least help you think about letting your freak flag fly.*

*Disclaimer: Check your local and state laws