OCing this holiday weekend...

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jahwarrior

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...has been pretty uneventful. my family and i went to the obligatory family barbecue at her cousin's place in Throop. when we got there, two of her sons came running out to greet us. anna's mother got there before us, and told them i'd be carrying. "you can't have that here; we'll get evicted, yo!" they explained that there was a shootout there over a month ago, and they were somehow involved.

part of the lackawanna housing authority's lease agreement is that tenants aren't allowed weapons on the property. so i informed them that, number one, i wasn't a resident, so lackawanna housing policies mean nothing to me. number two, if crime was so rampant there that shootouts occurred, then leaving my gun in the car was not a good idea, and i wasn't going to do it. i would've been more than happy to pack my family up and leave. anna's cousin relented, and asked that i avoid talking to any neighbors, if they came over to mooch beer & food. aside from this little speedbump, a good time was had. people, other than me, got drunk, kids played and got filthy, and i went home with indigestion. perfection.

later on, we went to Dickson City, to pick up some supplies. it's funny that the more i try and avoid going there, the more i have to. went into walmart, borders, target, and gander mountain. at gander's, i got a personal escort! they require now that all firearms be checked. when i walked in, one of the sales kids walked over and explained that he had to check my weapon. i explained that i wasn't about to hand over a loaded weapon to someone i didn't know. he looked a little perplexed, then stammered a bit. i explained i only needed to pick up some flares, and check prices for tents and other camping gear. he looked at the girl behind the custome service desk, and i think they used some sort of telepathy, because they just looked at each other without speaking for a few moments, then both nodded their heads. it was kind of creepy, actually, in a "children of the damned" kind of way. the kid then said, "i'm gonna have to go with you."

cool! my own personal shopping assistant! back off, lady this one's mine.

after that, we went to price chopper in Taylor, then bought some fireworks from tent. the lady working the register there stopped me on the way out, and asked what i was carrying. she said, "it looks like the one my husband has...smith & wesson, right?" i confirmed her suspicion, and i caught anna rolling her eyes as we got into a short discussion about gunshops and ranges in the area.

today, we took a little trip to the sugerman's flea market in Eynon. OCing there is no big deal; there are two gunshops within 1/2 a mile of each other: carbondale guns, and gun toter's supply. i stopped there to pick up a pocket holster for my P3AT. they were out, but the owner said they'd have more next week. we made some more Dickson City stops: walmart, for a kiddie pool and some ammo, a.c. moore's, for baking supplies, and petsmart, to pick up a chewtoy for anna's irritating rodent-of-a-dog (it's a chihuahua/pomeranian. a chimeranian?).

on to schiff's for goodheinz hot dogs, and kfc in scranton for dinner. anna swore that they had a no guns sign, but they didn't. she was still convincd that they'd ask me to leave, but they didn't. on a side note, the mashed potatoes aren't as good as they used to be. or am i just getting picky in my old age?

our last stop of the day was downtown Scranton. there was a small arts festival of sorts, that was dubbed the "Scranhattan Festival." so much for originality. it was mostly vendors, selling handmade goods, paintings, ceramics, new and used books, and live entertainment. i ran into some acquaintances from the local poetry scene. most of them were more than a little shocked to see me carrying a gun. "is that real?", "is that legal?", "why would you carry a gun in Scranton?", "are you nuts?", "well, that's different." are some of the comments i got. one guy, mike, who's one of the best poets in the area, asked what it was. turns out he liked to shoot, also, and that he's glad he's not the only art fag in town who's also a shooter. it's weird how the most diverse and liberal group of people can be so judgemental. well, maybe not so weird.

we were told that there would be a puppet show later on, so we might want to stick around; "the kids will love it!" we were told. what crap. it was a bunch of pseudo-existentialist yahoos, making lame attempts at social commentary. my kids liked it, though. put your hand in a doll's ass, and they'll be happy for hours.

i did notice all the dirty looks, though. i guess they come with the obama buttons that everyone had on. :evil:
 
part of the lackawanna housing authority's lease agreement is that tenants aren't allowed weapons on the property

That entire provision may be illegal according to PA law. I'm no expert, never even been to PA, but I do a lot of reading and IIRC PA has state-preemption plus a pretty solid RKBA portion in their constitution, so I doubt that any county-run housing authority could deny them that right.
 
well, the lackawanna housing authority, and the scranton housing authority (which is where i live), both have a no-weapons policy as part of the lease agreement. as such, entering the lease is the same as signing a contract. you agree not to have weapons on the property as long as you're a lease holder. which is why i never signed the lease.;)

my g/f was worried about my guns in the house, but i figure: #1, we live in a high crime area. i'm not about to leave my family defenseless, so the scranton housing people can kiss my ass. #2, if they do evict us, we can sue the pants off them for civil rights violations. no one has done it yet, but i'm pretty sure i'd win. the housing authority is not well liked in our civil court circuit.
 
well, the lackawanna housing authority, and the scranton housing authority (which is where i live), both have a no-weapons policy as part of the lease agreement. as such, entering the lease is the same as signing a contract. you agree not to have weapons on the property as long as you're a lease holder. which is why i never signed the lease.

I'm not so sure. For most cases, the government cannot require you to sign away your rights via contract. The only exceptions that I know of involve the military or national security. In many states, even private businesses cannot require you to sign away your rights in exchange for services.

For instance, that same housing authority couldn't ask you to sign away your right to complain or protest about housing conditions, as it would be a violation of your first amendment rights.
 
On the Gander Mountain issue,
That policy is intended for firearms brought in for trade. the next time your stoped tell them your not trading its your carry peice and continue walking like you know what your doing.
 
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