So this Saturday I hosted Florida Carry’s monthly overtly political, in your face, ‘look at me I crave attention’ Open Carry fishing event at the North Skyway Fishing Pier. This was a change from our normal venue and since the best we’ve been able to do is give an elderly lady the vapors over an AR-15 pistol, we figured we could scare more people at a larger pier.
Alas, no luck here either.
Now, not only was I trying to be an over-the-top, over-compensating gun owner like I’ve been told, I also made a few fashion statements while I was at it. You’ll see I’m sporting my brand new ENDO Apparel Selector Switch shirt which I received in the mail a few days ago and couldn’t wait to take it out. Mine fits slightly better than Uncle’s but didn’t have the same impact as Breda’s.
I also donned my Vicious Circle branded holster from Dragon Leatherworks which got many compliments as it’s a gorgeous holster. Luckily I didn’t have to explain the screwdrivers.
Anyway, we were disappointed as usual. The only blood in the water came from the numerous pinfish caught, an 80 pound tarpon, and one over zealous pelican who thought the bait from one guy’s hook would make a snack. There was a cop patrolling the area who didn’t even bat an eye.
The tarpon story (same guy who hooked the pelican) was funny. He got it out of the water but rules are you gotta toss it back so the hook had to come out. Now, understand that everyone was gathered around to watch and this one lady was asking for a pair of pliers. She looks around at all of us, says “You all have guns, I need pliers!” to which we all laughed (and I gave her my Leatherman Pulse which I swore was going into the bay but I caught it in time).
Man, we can’t even scare women and children. It’s like the whole argument that somehow, Open Carriers are, barring exception, rude and harmful to the cause is based on the same type of fear mongering and distortions the anti’s use in their tactics.