Arright sorry for the slow response here. But I wanted to answer some of the questions/comments posted on this thread and elsewhere, regarding my open carry incident.
First, in response to the folks who are defending the police....I half agree with you. The police and trooper acted in a fairly restrained manner compared to what would happen in other states. This is because others have gone before me over the last couple years, and open carried at much greater risk. Now Manchester Police Department is fairly used to it. They were probably only there because the state trooper called them. I've sent notes to Manchester's Police Chief and to Colonel Booth, New Hampshire's head state trooper. The note to MPD praises two of the responding officers but includes constructive criticism. The note to Col. Booth praises Trooper Copponi, who in all fairness had only thirty seconds to make his stop decision....and refused to cross certain lines which a bad cop might have raced over. I also would like to mention something no one else has brought up: Copponi's course of action wasn't necessarily the easy way out. It may have been dictated partly by a willingness to risk his own well-being in what he e considered the pursuit of public safety.
Courage, wherever it is suspected, should always be respected.
Anyway, both notes urge both departments to relax about open carry, and they are attached below.
With regard to the criticism of "Mr. Striped Shirt," who you see raising so much heck over my being stopped...There is a reason why he is so hostile to MPD folks. Only three people that I know of have the guts to demonstrate outside the hated "free speech zone" when Mr. Bush is here....and continue doing so even after they are informed it will result in their arrest. In 2006 Russell stood on a completely public street corner with an unremarkable anti-Washington sign....and MPD arrested him for it. Just because the Emperor was coming to town.
His response in this video isn't precisely what I'd advocate. I do agree that you shouldn't bait officers or try and humiliate them. I'd rather win them over to our side, and I genuinely like most of them. It makes me uncomfortable that Trooper Copponi probably left the situation miffed at us; I'd rather see these things end in good feeling.
But Russell has guts, and I appreciate him being there. You have to admit nearly no one would be talking about the video otherwise. Look at my other open carry incident, the one that went so amicably:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mu4Dr3B3Rg4
Hardly anyone watches that. Hardly anyone debates the issues because of that video. In a sloppy irreverent way, Russell got more people talking about key questions:
Does New Hampshire have a more restrained police community than other states? When is it appropriate to cooperate with police or give them information about yourself? What are the capabilities of New Hampshire's liberty community? Do those capabilities constitute a potential umbrella under which local freedom lovers may protect themselves against government abuses?
How many freedoms do we have left in America? Do we have freedom of the press when some of the nation's least sadistic cops tell a professional videographer to stop filming them on a public corner? Do we have freedom of communication when my cell call is brought into question? Do we have freedom of assembly if police in the freest state can try and stop you from having more than three people standing on a corner? Do we have freedom to walk the streets without identity papers, and if so is that freedom exercised often enough to keep it secure? And lastly do we have freedom of self defense if we are questioned by police merely because of a lawfully borne firearm?
In this brief video you see every one of those freedoms threatened, by some of the *least* bad cops in America, in full view of crowd and camera.
Now...I'd like to respond to some of your questions and comments. One opinion runs something like this:
"These cops were obviously entrapped. I don't believe these libertarian freaks just happened to be prepared for the stop."
That kind of comment is the biggest backhanded compliment of the year... To reiterate: The video was not planned, no cops were baited or entrapped....the explanation for the rapid response and high quality of the video is not that hard to swallow.
1) Free Staters meet up in Manchester every week
2) They wear guns, often openly, to these meetings.
3) If a cop drives by, they will see guns.
4) If that freaks them out, they will stop one of us
5) If the people inside the meeting see the stop, they will not cower but will go to the scene!
6) Some of our participants carry video cameras. A couple of them are professional videographers. If they see something interesting happening...they will videotape it!
It is true that Porcupine 411 is not yet fast enough to trigger a response this rapid...the people simply saw this event through the window of the restaurant and out they flew.
However if you still think this was staged...research it. Most of the people who witnessed the actual event can be contacted...by you. Just post any questions you have, to forum.nhfree.com. If you don't trust the freedom lovers there, maybe you will trust our trolls.
Another common response goes something like this: "Open carry is a bad idea because it just shows criminals where your gun is, and they might steal it."
Tactically, I see where folks are coming from with this argument. However, suppose my goal is not tactical but political and social? Suppose I want to:
1) Remind harmful criminals that Manchester is a heavily armed city, where many, many law abiding citizens are packing
2) Inspire more New Hampshirites to open carry
3) Continue the process of mainstreaming open carry, so that police continue to get more used to it. Yes, I know Russell didn't act very mainstream. But by and large MPD is much more calm about this now than they were in 2004...sometimes they're even supportive. This is because of nice people like Michael Peltier who went out and started DOING it.
None of that is possible by carrying concealed...and for all you know...that Glock on my hip is just an empty decoration to divert thugs from the revolver on my ankle. Besides, there aren't very many thugs in Manchester.
We have to go out, live as though we were free, and inspire others to do the same.
I realize this sort of thing is controversial, but we don't need majority support for success. If this video alienates 70 percent of the people who see it but 1 percent are inspired to join up with us, or fight harder for their freedom, that is a win. If one freedom fighter moves to New Hampshire because of this video, that is a win. Virtually all that needs to happen for freedom to be re-established within America, is a couple thousand liberty activists moving to New Hampshire. Google the words "New Hampshire Liberty" and decide for yourself whether the two hundred fifty early-moving Free Staters have had a positive impact completely out of proportion to their numbers. Decide for yourself whether a number eight times that size would be decisive.
Here's another response that sticks in my mind:
"As posted before, The OP was in the legal clear. So should a black man eating at predominantly white eatery also be under suspicion because it is out of the norm? Or a black woman who dares to sit at the front of a bus? A person displaying an anti-war sign?"
I've been hearing this comparison over and over again, between what we're doing and what the early civil rights activists used to do. It's always an honor to hear, and especially cool to hear it so much more as a result of this video.
Yet another response...some folks say we shouldn't open carry because that might scare NH voters/lawmakers into outlawing open carry.
There is some risk that the NH House could restrict our gun freedom slightly, but in New Hampshire, attempting to ban open carry would just backfire. The gun movement here is huge and powerful. 500 people turned out this year just to kill an anti-terrorist amendment to the concealed carry laws. And killed it was, right out of the chute. In 2005 the House decisively squashed a bill to ban guns in public schools. That's right...we remain one of the few states where a parent can lawfully wear a pistol to her daughter's classroom. Many of the reps and senators themselves lawfully carry guns with them to the legislature, as do their constituents.
With regard to Porcupine 411 I'm hoping it can develop into a true private 911 type service for folks to report government-related emergencies. Help, I'm being pulled over...help, there are Marshalls at my door, etc. Right now it's a little slow for that but still impressive.
Lastly, as an update...there is scuttlebut to the effect that MPD was not happy about the State Trooper making this stop. And there is other scuttlebutt to the effect that they are not happy with *us.* The restaurant/bar outside which this incident occurred...is expected to come under increased scrutiny. Not sure why MPD would want to go after a building when their quarrel (if any) is with me. But they are presumably aware that harassing a successful business treasured and frequented by hundreds of scrappy Free Staters, owned in fact by some of them....that would be a bureaucrat's nightmare. And free publicity for the bar.
Anyway those are all my thoughts; as promised here are copies of my notes to MPD and NHDOS, neither of which generated a response.
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Sent by e-mail to MPD chief on aug 7
Dear Chief Jaskolka: I wanted to express appreciation for officer J. Kelly's calm handling of my Saturday open carry incident on Elm St. The Sergeant who responded also conducted himself well, and I was happy to hear his point of view. Of course, I look forward to the day when open carriers are not stopped at all without probable cause. I assume this stop would not have happened were it not for the fact that a State Trooper was driving by.
In my experience your officers have handled open carry well, so well in fact that I usually don't even bother getting their names. It's important for liberty lovers to keep perspective and remind ourselves that the MPD response is at least superior to the panic that would happen in most states.
Open carry is an essential tool for citizens, as it puts fear into the hearts of harmful criminals...reminding them New Hampshire is a dangerous place to try and harm others.
I do take exception to the fact that one of your officers tried to stop a man from videotaping him and, when he couldn't find more ways to exert authority over us, chose to go after a hapless group of car wash kids for posting a sign.
If you are having a problem with litter, because of fallen signs or what not, call me at the number below, tell me which area you want cleaned and I will schedule a citizen trash cleanup.
There has been some speculation among officers that we plotted this encounter, but that is not the case. Our people just tend to open carry on their way to meetings. Where there is a meeting there is usually a camera and a squadron of people looking out for each others' rights.
Respectfully yours,
Dave Ridley
NHfree.com
Note to head of state troopers
Aug 8, 2007
Dear Colonel Booth:
Sorry for my slowness in getting this message to you. However I wanted to express my respect for trooper L.A. Copponi's calm handling of my Saturday open carry incident in Manchester. Although I object to police making stops of pedestrians simply because of open carry...I do recognize that trooper Copponi had under half a minute to make his stop-or-don't-stop decision. If he's anything like most cops, he probably does not deal very often with citizens who responsibly exercise their right to open carry. At least he approached the situation with an open mind.
It's important for liberty lovers to keep perspective and remind ourselves that the NHDOS response is at least Superior to the panic that would happen in most states.
Open carry is an essential tool for NH citizens, as it puts fear into the hearts of harmful criminals...reminding them New Hampshire is a dangerous place to try and harm others. It's not as useful for defense as concealed carry, but if we don't use this tool and exercise this right...we will lose it. More New Hampshirites are doing so, and your men will see more of us as time passes. Soon I hope you will come to see us as a routine thing.
You may also be aware that I exercised another generally atrophied right during the stop, the right of a pedestrian to refuse police requests for identification cards. Again, I assume it's not super common for people to exercise this right, but that is why it is so important to exercise. It too needs to become more common. There are only a few rights left which government recognizes, thus we must exercise them well and often. Otherwise we'll lose what few of them remain.
Respectfully yours,
Dave Ridley
NHfree.com
