Glad things are turning out.
I live in the Joplin Metro, and trained in the MP unit with a some of those officers in the day. The KC officer was within his purvey to do what he did, o-b-v-i-o-u-s-l-y the JPD officer exercised discretion in a manner that suited the atmosphere of OUR locality.
As a licensed CCW in MO, I'm aware there seem to be conflicts in what our exact rights are concerning OC. It's my understanding the State doesn't prohibit it - had a customer the other day with a fine 1911 on his hip doing it. The municipality of Joplin, however, does have an ordinance prohibiting the open carry of loaded weapons. This goes back past the eighties when some friends just getting into the military attended a 5K with Mauser 98K's and got shook down.
Here's the point, insisting on one's rights can and should be done, but acting without full knowledge of the law to do so leaves you vulnerable. The entire incident wouldn't have happened had you been carrying concealed legally, which is what nearly 1000 Jasper County residents have licensed themselves to do.
Wearing a gun openly without regard to the existing ordinances and near a potential parade route of our President? During a national level disaster recovery when 450 other LEO's are assisting, and dozens of others from out of town that day for Presidential security?
Officer discretion is very much the issue here, being a good ambassador of gun rights on your part I don't see anything to complain about - except the issue of timing. We should be able to carry openly whenever we please, but living in a representative republic, we also are asked by other (ignorant poorly informed and frankly dumb***) citizens not to frighten them with guns. The community as a whole elected the City Council who passed the ordinance, it sure beats living in California, but it's not Texas, either.
No doubt we both heard the details of an out of town citizen who was expressing their freedom of speech and was detained in protective custody (which likely kept him from being beaten to death,) and escorted all the way to the McDonald County line. Sometimes our fellow citizens don't respect all of our rights - being a martyr to the cause isn't always the path needed to be chosen, as you know.
Things are decompressing, give it some time. Pick the time and place when you want to oppose intrusions on our rights, it works out better with a plan in the appropriate arena of action, rather than cross accepted lines of policy that can and will be enforced.
