It happened one day. . .

So, the other day, I'm shopping in a convenience store, got my bananas, coffee  creamer, yogurt and apple juice in my cart. I like those little carts they have in the  stores now. Very handy. Anyway, I am facing the counter and out of the corner of  my eye, I see a uniformed police officer enter the store. He sees me right off and  nods a hello. I suspect he may have been called. Don't know, don't care. My  adrenalin is now officially pumping. He nods again and says hi with a smile as he gets in line behind me. I turned  strong side towards him so he could see I was armed and nod a how do you do  once again with a nice big smile. I turn back to my transaction and exchange pleasantries with the counter person,  she smiles and says have a great day. I return the smile and suggest she also have  a great day. I make a point of bidding the officer good day and am on my way. Or so I thought. I put my sidearm away, put my groceries in the back seat, all from the passenger  side, I see the officer walking to his car on the street and assume all is well and I  will be on my way. I slide into the drivers seat, put my seat belt on, insert my key,  shift into reverse and look behind me to see a black and white pulling in . He  parks on my passenger side, taking care not to block me. First thing I do is turn the ignition off. Take several deep breaths and open my  door. By this time he he has come around the back of my truck and is just behind  my door. I get out. He greets me again with a big smile and says he saw that I was  open carrying and just wanted to introduce himself and get my take on open  carry. My views. At this point, I thought he was kidding. The pleasant surprise for me was that he genuinely was interested in me as a  person and my take on open carry. He was curious. We discussed the laws  pertaining to open carry as if we were just a two guys shooting the breeze. He was  very supportive of my right to carry and interested enough to volunteer a personal  anecdote about open carry. I came away from this interaction feeling a great sense of relief. He had absolutely  no animosity towards open carry or myself and was not intimidated and showed  no fear of my .45 that I wear proudly on my hip. He carried himself very  professionally and genuinely. After participating in this forum discussion on this very subject, I was astounded  and very encouraged. He never once asked for my name or ID, but rather just wanted to have a  discussion because I was the first open carrier he had ever seen and sincerely  wanted to get to know me and my opinions. As a matter of fact, he introduced himself to me but never asked me for any info.  I did volunteer my name and that seemed to instantly create a rapport between us.  He had no agenda or ulterior motives and of course I already knew his name. This was a picture perfect interaction with Law Enforcement. No angst or  animosity on either side. I came away feeling this was a good cop and I was a  good citizen. Cool! Very Cool day. Those of you who know me, can assume I talked his ear off  and he'll probably never want to see me again. Just kidding. A P.S. Right here. He was not scared of me or my gun. That is something that both  open carriers and law enforcement need to keep in mind. Acting out of fear on  either side can create an incident. Instead of two guys leaning up against a  pickup truck jaw boning about the day. One should never drop ones guard till you know where you stand and who you're  talking to on either side of the line but once that is established, then we should  both be standing on the same side of the line. Further,  though I was gratified to have such a positive encounter with an on duty  LEO,  I suspect this not to be the norm.   I do think that respect and calm have a  big play in how things turn out but if our rights are violated, we do need to litigate  the municipality into understanding.  WisconsinCarry.Org is a shining example  of this and could be a guide-star for other states as well.   I've been asked why my adrenilin was pumping and of course anyone who has  been followed by a police car can answer that question.  It is even more intense when you are armed and speaking with the cop in person.

First of all,  I'm 53,  6' foot and change, 320,  When my adrenaline pumps,  my  eyes narrow.   I don't go 'white'.    I don't get nervous so much as 'more aware'.    This cop was a good guy and I recognized this but still am aware because in one  Wisconsin community a private citizen,  on private property, was planting a tree  while wearing his sidearm.  I would too.   He was yanked off his property, cuffed  and jailed.  It took many dollars and several court appearances to get it sorted. Several lawsuits have been won  and monetary awards handed down so this has  initiated a learning curve for Wisconsin LEOs.   Still they need further education.   That would be, leave open carriers alone.  I'm good to go if that happens but I am still not exactly calm about it. At 53,  I do not resemble any young criminal and my dress and demeanor would  not make him think that either.   He might think . . . redneck, or cowboy etc.  But  the young criminal thing would not be crossing his mind.  As for showing him my gun,  I prefer LEOs to know I am armed up front.   That  way, a consensual conversation can be had.   I carry a stainless steel full sized 1911  in a western style holster, 2 mags off side, and a recorder.   Just to be clear,  most  cops are 'not' just like us.   They are different and become cops because of that  difference.   This guy was very friendly and happy to talk as was I.  Bad cops like  Milwaukee Chief Ed Flynn make exercising my Constitutional right a difficult and  sometimes hair raising experience. This isn't like Arizona, Alaska or Vermont, where any carry is OK all the time and  carry is commonplace. In my state,  the Neanderthal governor and police chiefs  like Flynn add a certain tenseness to any LEO encounter.  I have had more than  one and they have all been satisfactory so far.    I one case I was hit by a driver with  a medical problem.    Left my gun in the car.  the officer on the scene saw my dual  mag holder with two mags and  (in Wisconsin, we must unload our gun and place  it in a case while in the car)  panicked for a moment.  His hand went to his gun,  he  unsnapped his thumb break and backed up.  Prudent but unnecessary.   I spoke  calmly to him, assuring him my gun was in the truck and he was in no danger  from me.  After a moment,  he relaxed and got back to writing up the accident. Relaxing is good advice and maybe some day it will be like that in my state.   Right  now it is tense.   If we want to be able to exercise our rights we must exercise our  rights. I know,  it makes much better copy to hear that I was thrown to the ground and  cuffed, jailed and am now waiting my day in court from Gitmo.    Well.. .  .   .    that  did not happen.   I think it is an individual response every time and it can be  different every time.   Some cops are egocentric, power mad, bullies and others are  good guys doing a tough job.   I like to think there are more of the latter. This is not to say that I am not wary when conversing with an officer but I certainly  do not entertain visions of swat teams descending or bad behavior of any kind.    I prefer to maintain a positive outlook.   This does not mean my adrenalin isn't  going to pump a bit,  it just means I am ready for most anything.  I prefer to think  that means a consensual conversation in which I am free to walk away at my whim. It is all good.   Other folks saw us talking like a couple of friends and probably  wondered why he wasn't arresting me.   I have people ask me if I need a permit  for 'that'.   I've had folks ask why I carry.  Even little kids.   Actually more of them.    They truly are innocent.   I like to answer to the kid but will make eye contact with  mom or dad as well. I am armed from the moment I wake up till I lay my head down at night.  I am  even armed as I sleep.  My trusty sidearm is never more than an arms reach away.   I am not afraid to speak with anyone about carry.   It is our right and not a given  right.  It is our right to be able to defend ourselves.   Cave men knew this right as  did the Chinese 3000 years ago and citizen and ruler alike to this very day.    Libtards/Dems like to frame it as a permission.  It is not.  It is an inherent, God  or Creator given right.  It is written on our minds and hearts and cannot be erased,  taken or given away.  We have allowed encroachments of our right to self defense over the years,   persuaded by fear mongers and control freaks but those days are coming swiftly to a close.   Just because we have allowed the 2A to be "infringed"  Does not mean  it is not still fully in effect.  As a society we are easy going and put up with a lot for  "the common good".    The only problem is that the common good has strayed to  mean the Rich, elite, powerful, government and has pretty much left the common  man out of the loop.  If we do not exercise our rights today,  they will suppress them tomorrow.   "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve  neither Liberty nor Safety."  Ben Franklin We are in a power struggle for our very freedom and liberty and it is not limited to  the 2A.  We are being sold as slaves to those who now own our debt and our  government is happy to do so.   We are coming into a decisive moment in history  and I choose to go into these tumultuous times armed and ready.