open carry etiquette?

[Jared]

i plan on finally purchasing a handgun soon (shh, don't tell the government), and plan on taking advantage of the open carry law in our super awesome granite state. but i was wondering (damn, my 4th grade teacher always told me never to start a sentence with "but"), what are some basic rules of etiquette when open carrying? in what sort of places should i not open carry? i couldn't care less about offending federal/state/city goons, but i really don't want to offend, say, private business owners, if possible.

[William]

I can't think of anywhere you shouldn't I wouldn't carry. Certainly no as far as offending someone goes. If a private business owner doesn't like my being armed, I want to know about it so I can stop doing business with him.

[Jared]

I can't think of anywhere you shouldn't I wouldn't carry. Certainly no as far as offending someone goes. If a private business owner doesn't like my being armed, I want to know about it so I can stop doing business with him.

i don't know..maybe it's just because i never see anyone open carrying around here (portsmouth/dover area). are there city ordinances i should be worried about breaking? i mean, do you guys bring your guns into bars? the mall? walmart? the grocery store?

[margomaps]

i don't know..maybe it's just because i never see anyone open carrying around here (portsmouth/dover area). are there city ordinances i should be worried about breaking? i mean, do you guys bring your guns into bars? the mall? walmart? the grocery store?

AFAIK (IANAL, BTW!), the only places where open carry is prohibited by law in NH is in courthouses and federal buildings.  The state has pre-emption over local ordinances, so a town can't legally pass a law that prohibits open carry in certain places.

The places you named should be fine.  The reason you don't see anybody open carrying is 1) very few people open carry, and 2) even fewer do it on the liberal-leaning Seacoast.  No matter where you open carry, be prepared for stares (almost certainly), confrontations from store owners (unlikely), and someone calling the cops (possibly).  In the Seacoast, bump those answers up to certainly, likely, and probably, respectively.

If you are confronted by someone, try to be calm and use it as an opportunity to educate them about the law, and demonstrate that open carriers are respectful, decent people.  It's much harder to do this when the cops are the ones confronting you, because they know this law and you know they know this law.

YMMV.   

[Ryan McGuire]

AFAIK (IANAL, BTW!), the only places where open carry is prohibited by law in NH is in courthouses and federal buildings. 

IANAL either, but It should also be noted that it is illegal to carry a loaded firearm in a car unless you have a permit. Unfortunately, unlike my home state of Utah, "loaded" means live rounds in any part of the gun (including any attached magazine), not just the chamber.

As far as etiquette goes, its pretty much the same as any other exchange you would have on someone else's property. If you're on someone else's property, you follow their rules. If they have a sign that says you have to leave your guns outside, do so. If they tell you to leave because you have a gun, do so. If they don't do either of the above, and they have their door wide open to customers, assume you have every right to open carry there until told otherwise.

Many people, including the NRA, will oppose my view on the rights of private property owners to tell you to leave for whatever reason they want. Many people believe that their "2nd amendment right" trumps private property rights. It doesn't even apply. The constitution only places limits on the actions of the federal government, not regular people. So, you need to be mindful of demands placed on you when you cross onto other peoples property.

Don't go out and pick any fights if people ask (or in the unlikely case, yell at you) why you are openly carrying. Just honestly respond "I'm protecting myself" or "I'm exercising my rights". If they seem OK with that answer you can continue to educate them on your reasons. In the unlikely case that they push it and say you shouldn't do that (and assuming you aren't on their property), respectfully answer "I'm sorry that we disagree, I wish no harm on you or anyone else." and back away to carry on with the rest of your day. You don't want to appear as a bully, it will only make people get the wrong idea about open carry and would possibly get the police involved.

[Giggan]

I don't know if anyone else does as well, but when I'm open carrying I feel I have a responsibility to be on my best behavior, and find myself especially polite and less confrontational than usual (though I wouldn't say I'm very confrontational anyways).

[Jared]

im not really concerned with offending cops or average joes, just business owners. mostly i just want to avoid the awkward situation of being thrown out of a bar or something for carrying. obviously a private business owner has the right to tell me to leave, that's fine...i just want to avoid that situation in the first place.

[error]

im not really concerned with offending cops or average joes, just business owners. mostly i just want to avoid the awkward situation of being thrown out of a bar or something for carrying. obviously a private business owner has the right to tell me to leave, that's fine...i just want to avoid that situation in the first place.

I wouldn't worry too much about offending business owners. The sort of business owner who would throw someone out is the sort of business owner we would have to ostracize.

[Ryan McGuire]

I just want to avoid the awkward situation of being thrown out of a bar or something for carrying ...i just want to avoid that situation in the first place.

I haven't been open carrying for very long, but I have read a lot of experiences over at OpenCarry.org. The situation you're describing is very rare. The high percentage of OC outings go mostly unnoticed and almost no harassment. The majority of confrontations is calls to the police from ignorant busybodies ("He's got a gun!") and not because of any policy held by business owners.

I haven't seen them here, but I definitely saw "No guns allowed" signs in UT. One thing I always do when open carrying is pay better attention to the walls when I'm entering a new place, looking for signs.

[Jared]

maybe i'm just being a little over paranoid, but i feel like, at least here in the socialist paradise of portsmouth, it would be very likely that i would get "thrown out", especially in a bar. i guess i won't know until i try! maybe the first couple times i can bring a couple of other porcs along.

[AntonLee]

a friend of mine got thrown out of The Rusty Nail (?) for carrying one of those switchblade combs. . .as in, no knife, just a cool comb.

[Jared]

a friend of mine got thrown out of The Rusty Nail (?) for carrying one of those switchblade combs. . .as in, no knife, just a cool comb.

shit...im guessing youre referring to the rusty hammer. i frequent that place! this is exactly what  i'm talking about!

[Pat McCotter]

Then you have a place like Jared Galleria in Concord (though all stores have the sigmn) that prohibits firearms in the store and in the parking lot. The only problem here is that they share the parking lot with Dick's Sporting Goods.

[bouncer]

I'm not sure if it's true but I heard some time back Wally world but banning the carry of all weapons in their stores never stopped me from carrying my knives though. And right after they announced it parking lot theft jumped I was even almost accosted though spotted it and stopped it.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

I'm not sure if it's true but I heard some time back Wally world but banning the carry of all weapons in their stores never stopped me from carrying my knives though.

As of Mid-2007, Wal-Mart's policy is to NOT PREVENT customers from legally carrying firearms.

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/07/04/02/editor.htm

im not really concerned with offending cops or average joes, just business owners. mostly i just want to avoid the awkward situation of being thrown out of a bar or something for carrying.

I like to think of it as a dress code problem.

Seriously, good luck. People react posititivly to calm and collected people. Some people also feel uncomfortable about guns, and if some owner does ask you to leave do so and let it be known here and on OpenCarry.org. That owner will be told subsequently why people will be boycotting his place of business and he'll be given an opportunity to learn about basic rights to possess property. Maybe he'll even change the policy but either way, we learn.