I rode the ebike to town this morning, for the first time since getting it back together from the last time I tried to ride the ebike to town…
Among other things I went into the dollar store. Grabbed a hand basket, ran around picking up a few sundries. Immediately after I got to the checkout line a cop got in line behind me. And it was roughly at that moment that I realized…
…I hadn’t checked my gun burka before entering the building. And yeah, the revolver was hanging out for all the world to see.
There’s no law against open carry here, never has been, and the sight of a handgun is really not rare in the crappy little desert town nearest where I live. But it’s not the norm, either: Ironically the moment the law stopped requiring a license for concealed carry, I started covering my gun in town because it does occasionally draw unwelcome attention.
And in truth: I illegally carried handguns for so long before moving here more than 15 years ago that I’m still uncomfortable in close proximity to cops even when everything I’m doing or even thinking is legal as breathing. Even when I was Mr. Suburban Man my instincts were always those of a mildly shady person. Harmless, but never exactly fanatical about abiding by every niggling little law. Consequently I have never assumed that Mr. Policeman wants to be my friend.
In this case there was no incident and I expected none: Like I said, it isn’t and never has been illegal. But there was a time when such an encounter would have spiked my blood pressure. Now I just inwardly reflected that I really like living here. “Mildly shady” is common enough that I pretty much fit in.
One of the many reasons we are moving to Arizona soon..
Alaska is a constitutional carry state. A few years ago I set out on the 250 mile trip to the big city for a doctor appointment and rolled the truck off a very icy road one town away from the city. When the cop had to give me a ride to the nearest place I could get a taxi to my hotel he found out I was carrying he not only took the gun and unloaded it but he even took my Swiss Army knife! He made a comment that the good guys generally didn’t go armed around there! I did get everything back and at least he didn’t cuff me.
” I’m still uncomfortable in close proximity to cops ” Which is why I usually try to portray myself as a harmless idiot. Oddly, it comes naturally. 🙂
Hammer: the good guys being armed isn’t the problem (but you already know that). Doofus cop.
Illinois, summer heat, local Main Post Office: guy ahead of me in line has doffed his suit coat, his revolver is QUITE prominent. Us unwashed peons aren’t allowed carry of any kind. The atmosphere was … interesting. I don’t miss that state.
Hammer: was the cop armed? Sounds like a self-own on his part. You probably had grounds for a lawsuit, though I can understand why you wouldn’t have pursued that (assuming you didn’t).
Yes the cop was armed. But he did not give me a ticket for the accident that totaled my truck and he did give me a ride to where I could get a taxi. He did seem real concerned when he found out I was armed, maybe he had some dicey situations. I prefer to travel armed partly because it is a long way between people on those roads and Anchorage has some areas with a bad reputation. A friend of mine who usually Carries open was thanked by the manager of the one restaurant because his presence obviously armed calmed down some trouble makers by just being there obviously armed!
This encounter isn’t that surprising. One of the guys I worked with back in the day had duel US/CDN citizenship, so after a bad divorce in 1985 he left and got a job in Arizona as a small town deputy sheriff. We still keep in touch and the stories he tells…🙂 A lot of the encounters he deals with are done informally or by FIDO*.
* FIDO – Fuck It, Drive On.
Mike – that’s the basic attitude of the LEO in the Metro Valley. So long as nobody is shooting at each other, the cops don’t hassle you for the minor things. Being from Kansas, I’m hyper-vigilant about school speed limits and where the school zones start and stop. Most of the time, out here, you don’t have a clue where the school zone stops. The locals just sort of slow down for them and cops don’t seem to be stopping anyone over it.