I am a regular bicycle rider in Warren. I carry the biggest and ugliest revolver I have when I'm out. On a bicycle I don't need a CCW to transport. All my experiences with other citizens have been positive. Most are surprised to see me riding around or standing outside a gas station drinking a Coke with a six inch barreled, .357, S&W Model 28-2 on my hip.
What are other OC member's thoughts on the subject. How about organizing a Macomb OC chapter to make our presence better known around here. Below is an email I sent to everyone in my address book. For every gun on the street, that is visible, crime is reduced proportionately.
I haven't received my official membership card yet, so this may be kind on the fly, but we needs to get moving and keep the momentum going. The tide is in our favor, locally, so let's keep the pressure on at county, state and local. Perhaps Alaska style carry is closer than we think.
Gun Grabbers on the march. Stop the b*****ds NOW.
http://nagr.org/maigpetition1.aspx?pid=4I am a proponent of open carry. I go for a bicycle ride nearly every night and I always strap on the biggest, ugliest revolver I have. I actually have two of them. Both are .357s. One is a six inch barreled Smith & Wesson Model 28, the other a four inch barreled Colt Python.
I have been asked once by a sheriff's, off duty deputy for proof of ownership of the revolver I had on at the time. I was at a Speedway station where I was standing outside scarfing some carbs. No big deal. He said thanks and moved on and I said I appreciated his looking out for the community. It was one of those white lies you tell to make the other person feel good. Actually, by law, I don't have to produce any ID unless I am being detained for reasonable cause. After that the legalities are fuzzy for me as I haven't done all my homework, so rather than become a poster boy for some cause or other I produced the ID. Too bad I didn't have any of my Oath Keepers hand-outs.
The day before, I was waiting for a light at Eleven and Ryan and a Warren cop made a left turn directly in front of me. He didn't bat an eye and drove on. I have been asked questions many times along my ride when I have stopped for a traffic light or a soda at a gas station. I explain the open carry to them and how I expect to see more people copying me. It only takes one to start a trend, friend, so follow my lead and if you've got the gear then pack it on and take a walk or ride a bike. Open carry is not allowed in motor vehicles. You still need a permit for that.
Join us at
http://www.michiganopencarry.org/ and enjoy the feeling knowing that you are making a difference by taking action now. For every gun on the street that is visible, crime is reduced proportionately. Stop the robberies, enjoy safe streets-----just by being out there. Bad guys are afraid of armed citizens so they go to the safer haunts.
Bearing arms, not just handguns, rifles and shotguns but ARMS, is not some privilege granted by government. It is our right and preceded the forming of the United States and is recognized as such by the Constitution in the Second, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments. It is the birthright of everyone born in the United States to possess and use whatever arms are necessary for self defense, the defense of the State or the repulsion of foreign and or domestic forces bent on oppression of the people.
Your right to bear arms is not granted by the government. It was won in the forests and fields of colonial America and reaffirmed many times in the blood and sweat of every patriot who has served this nation in the preservation of the American Republic and the Constitution.
The existence of government at any level, whether of national or local jurisdiction, is a privilege granted by the people to that entity for the purpose of ensuring that we can all live in peace on our own property without worrying about invaders or criminals. Every judge, every cop, every firefighter, every single last person who receives a paycheck for services rendered to government is there at the the people's prerogative and as an agent of the people is required to conduct themselves in a manner guaranteeing that their office will be served with the Constitutional rights of every citizen recognized and scrupulously protected.
IT'S THEIR JOB TO PROTECT OUR RIGHTS, NOT VIOLATE THEM. WHY ELSE WOULD WE EMPLOY THEM???
WE ARE NOT THEIR SUBJECTS!!
“When all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another, and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.” Thomas Jefferson