Lessons of longtime CCW...

[Brian D.]

Typically, for years I didn't bother with carrying pepper spray. But now that Cincinnati has (partially) gentrified its worst neighborhood, the denizens of same have spread out to other areas, including the downtown central business district. Most are relatively harmless panhandlers, but pigeonholing people that way is not smart. Many of these people have days where they are NOT docile and predictable. How that plays out is a guessing game. There's one guy who's the perfect example of this: Most days he is conversant, remembers people who have told him they won't give him money and skips asking them, etc. But yesterday he'd been drinking at an early hour, and apparently that doesn't go too well with whatever behavior- stabilizing medicines he's supposed to be taking. He got pretty angry and obscene when I turned down his demand/request for a financial handout. He's not a small guy, I have no desire to engage him in a fight, no matter how much better armed (and sober) I happen to be. Had my hand on the can of Fox Labs in my pocket. Funny that I'd just been mentioning pepper spray in this very thread.

[carmen fovozzo]

Thread drift sorry....I remember back in February 1964 when I stepped off of a bus in NY city to be discharged from the Army.....no sooner then my foot hit the pavement there was a mooch asking me for money....first time that ever happened to me.....I was 20 yrs. old and didn't know what to do....buddy behind me did....it wasn't pleasant..

[Brian D.]

You didn't drift this thread, Carmen. An appropriate contribution my friend.

[Brian D.]

So today found me in a (local) government building in northern Kentucky. I saw a stop sign that had been knocked out of the ground, happened to be nearby their city hall, and not knowing the phone number, thought I'd make a quick report in person. Well la-tee-dah, I'm in a state that has never vetted my background, but THEIR laws don't require me to disarm or even uncover my gun to OC mode, when stepping inside, with rare exceptions like courthouses etc. Gee, Ohio, who HAS vetted me numerous times, doesn't share that level of trust with its citizens, much less visitors.

Anyhow, turned out to be glad for my armed status. As I was leaving, someone down the hall around the corner was yelling and apparently throwing things, from the sound of it. That caused the employee I'd been talking with to grab his phone and start dialing. My reaction was to observe, orient, etc. with most focus being on getting out the door.

Long story short it was some kind of domestic-dispute-comes-to-the-workplace thing. The irate husband (?) blew his stack, indeed tossed a few items at his...wife, I guess, then left via a different exit. More than that I do not know. But honestly, how many different ways might that have played out? Including some ways that I don't like to ponder being in the vicinity of.

Carry whenever you can. Try not to go places where you can't. Etcetera.

[kSetuni]

So today found me in a (local) government building in northern Kentucky. I saw a stop sign that had been knocked out of the ground, happened to be nearby their city hall, and not knowing the phone number, thought I'd make a quick report in person. Well la-tee-dah, I'm in a state that has never vetted my background, but THEIR laws don't require me to disarm or even uncover my gun to OC mode, when stepping inside, with rare exceptions like courthouses etc. Gee, Ohio, who HAS vetted me numerous times, doesn't share that level of trust with its citizens, much less visitors.

Anyhow, turned out to be glad for my armed status. As I was leaving, someone down the hall around the corner was yelling and apparently throwing things, from the sound of it. That caused the employee I'd been talking with to grab his phone and start dialing. My reaction was to observe, orient, etc. with most focus being on getting out the door.

Long story short it was some kind of domestic-dispute-comes-to-the-workplace thing. The irate husband (?) blew his stack, indeed tossed a few items at his...wife, I guess, then left via a different exit. More than that I do not know. But honestly, how many different ways might that have played out? Including some ways that I don't like to ponder being in the vicinity of.

Carry whenever you can. Try not to go places where you can't. Etcetera.

Very good and scary lesson. We certainly need to be vigilant.

It is rather sad that with all the background checks we go through, that we are still so highly limited. I simply wish we could hold them responsible for not providing for my safety when they limit our ability to provide for our own.

[JustaShooter]

So today found me in a (local) government building in northern Kentucky. I saw a stop sign that had been knocked out of the ground, happened to be nearby their city hall, and not knowing the phone number, thought I'd make a quick report in person. Well la-tee-dah, I'm in a state that has never vetted my background, but THEIR laws don't require me to disarm or even uncover my gun to OC mode, when stepping inside, with rare exceptions like courthouses etc. Gee, Ohio, who HAS vetted me numerous times, doesn't share that level of trust with its citizens, much less visitors.

Hey Brian, someone copy/pasted this into a post on the OFCC Facebook Page as an example of how OH can learn from KY when it comes to such things, and there was a reply that claimed you were mistaken:

Terra Nullius: I don't know who told you this, but you cannot conceal carry in government buildings in Kentucky. You can only open carry in Government buildings in Kentucky. It's just like Ohio. You can open carry in government buildings. But remember, only in the public areas of the building.

[NavyChief]

What I posted in the discussed thread:

Hhmmm. IANAL, but KY Statute 527.115(2) would seem to indicate otherwise. I could be wrong.

And knowing Terra's history, I almost guaran-freaking-tee he will post something showing I am. Whether it does or not. (I wonder if he'll be a paralegal today, or an engineer?)

[JustaShooter]

What I posted in the discussed thread:

Hhmmm. IANAL, but KY Statute 527.115(2) would seem to indicate otherwise. I could be wrong.

And knowing Terra's history, I almost guaran-freaking-tee he will post something showing I am. Whether it does or not. (I wonder if he'll be a paralegal today, or an engineer?)

Yes, I know - even when he's wrong, he's right because he knows more than us poor uneducated folk. I'm still scratching my head over his assertion that there is no force of law behind me telling someone to leave my unposted business for carrying a gun because normal Ohio trespass law doesn't apply in that case...

[NavyChief]

Yes, I know - even when he's wrong, he's right because he knows more than us poor uneducated folk. I'm still scratching my head over his assertion that there is no force of law behind me telling someone to leave my unposted business for carrying a gun because normal Ohio trespass law doesn't apply in that case...

You may have missed out on the long drawn out argument that the "AG-suggested" sign - the one that must be posted in *.gov buildings? ...was invalid on private property because it was just for gov't buildings.

[Brian D.]

Time for my seasonal reminder about not getting your carry gun tangled up in those extra, thicker, bulkier layers of clothing we have to start wearing about now. I just bought a parka type jacket to replace one that had worn out. After removing the price tags, etc. my next move was to remove the draw strings around the belt line. They will snag a protruding part of your handgun or holster, perhaps to where you can't finish the draw. By the same token they could cause a similar problem with safe RE-holstering.

[Brian D.]

One nice warmish evening in several weeks last night and I went down to The Banks (dining/entertainment area between the Reds and Bengals stadiums) to visit a bartender pal that's soon moving to Florida. Not one, not two, but three different long time panhandlers I know by sight were on the sidewalk with the usual pathetic cardboard signs plying their trade. One of them seems to recall me, or maybe how close I came to pepper spraying him a while back. Hey, it's a small world huh?

My bartender friend has been living pretty near The Banks and has started having unpleasant experiences with these guys when they dwell around the bars until closing over the summer, when it's warm. He also tells me they steal stuff off the patios and other accessible areas around the businesses all the time, if it's pawnable. This being a newer, high rent neighborhood, there are tons of cameras around to catch that action and there's even a police substation right there in the middle of one block. But virtually nothing is ever done.

So these "homeless" shouldn't be pigeonholed as mentally ill, sick from alcohol or drug dependence, truly just down on their luck, or whatever guilts the gullible into giving them money. Some are simply opportunistic crooks as much as any of those other things I listed. The one guy in particular has "worked" different parts of downtown as a beggar now for over 20 years. Heck it could be more like 30. Yeah, he's the one I almost gave a blast of Fox Labs to.

[Brian D.]

Are any of us thinking more about the recent big-city disturbances/riots going on across so much of the U.S. these days? Making any changes to defensive equipment carry choices? I don't just mean firearms, more like pepper spray etc. Naturally the best single thing is avoidance, but that requires at least a little advance knowledge of what is (possibly) taking place where, and when. Those of you who travel frequently for work have it worse, I believe. Thoughts?

[carmen fovozzo]

I sort of shelved my S&W Shield for my G19 pretty much all the time...Shield was easy to wear....but I feel much better with the G19..

[Chuck]

My family has started carrying back up guns and ammo everywhere we go
My greatest fear is that my wife will have a riot between her and home someday
She's been shooting more lately too

[Brian D.]

One potential problem that troubles me about inadvertently running across these angry mobs is..other than their sheer numbers creating a disparity of force, they may not possess lethal weapons, as we think of them. Does Fox Labs sell their product in scuba tank sized dispensers that we can carry on our backs? Okay, no, but you likely see where the old adage about "If you only have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" figures into my pondering.