This is my OC experience:
I started open carrying in Vegas back when you did not leave the house without at least one audio video recorder, and most preferably a backup. (Recorder, not a .380) most of us that carried more than 75% of the time did not even post on here out of concern. We got into scraps with metro, while not fun we considered it necessary to promote liberty.
Metro's unpublished policy was one of "serious discouragement" when encountering an open carrier. As an unorganized group we challenged the establishment and gained a lot of real estate. We improved from a guy being arrested and trespassed from O'Shea's for protesting with a empty holster, to walking down the Strip OC getting thumbs up and nods from the public and metro alike.
We saw arrests for "blue cards" diminish, we went to DUI checkpoints open carry, working with metro to get the checkpoints in compliance with state law. At the same time showing metro that we were not the bad guys and not worth harassing anymore. Metro disbanded their old policy's and adopted new ones. Open carry did not require all of the audio video equipment that at one time seemed vital.
We may have just "got lucky" but as we challenged the opposition, we seemed to emerge unscathed in our quests. I saw some regions of the country have "open carry setbacks" Similar to the rifle struggles going on in Texas. We experienced near immunity, however it seems that as a movement we have reached a plateau and evidently are fine not carrying in the county parks, and a few other places. I see Fremont Street creeping back, with the new "administrative" regulations... yet it seems I am alone in my concern.
I give credit to the fact that we the small group of unorganized carriers talked about all of the uncomfortable stuff, that according to Garand guys quote, "might intimidate someone new to our community." We had bail bonds, and lawyers set up, systems in place not unlike the underground railroad. I was a single parent at the time so I had childcare arranged in the event of an arrest, others would know the tasks that needed to be performed and do work. We spent time. Sometimes my garage, sometimes a restaurant, as well as hours with metro, NHP and such. We did not always agree, but we relied on each other so we listened as well.
Currently there is no real need for a recorder because we open carry, but I believe that getting comfortable will not serve well. I am torn between welcoming new OC'ers who see this as social (it should be enjoyed,) and the need for maintenance. I smile when I see this thread tallying the amount of coffee shops one can visit with no issues, yet underneath lies a monster, wishing to take our liberty.
Should all of our discussion be foundational, and liberty based? I think not. However discarding the elements that produced results we enjoy, will be the demise of those results. I will always smile when I see the posts claiming "NO ISSUES" but refuse to forget the days of oppression. I think that combination is the recipe for success. The founders called it being vigilant!
Your hard work early on allows all that OC now to enjoy the experience hassle free, and does still help to both desensitize the public to safe open carry of firearms guaranteed by the 2nd amendment, but also remember that everybody that Open Carries typically does so with a least a minimum understanding that they are doing it because it IS their right. To think everybody treats it as a social experience now I think would be an oversimplification. I have only been Open Carrying in this calendar year, however I have made sure to not only know my rights front and back, but also to continue pushing to be in compliance. I am actively engaged with politicians and am taking the patient approach with my emails to Clark County - the pressure is still there, but it is nice to know that the experience has been normalized and the LEOs have been educated enough that people CAN enjoy the experience. IMO, people should be able to Open Carry without having to push a strong liberty and a laissez-faire government agenda.... That IS their right, after all. I assure you from the meetups we have had, that people still recognize there is work to be done to fully enjoy true open carry in the state. Before I OCed into the DMV a couple months ago, I loaded my phone up and had cloud-based recorders running. I was extremely happy to see that nobody said anything to me about my legal OC inside the DMV. I did, however, go in there knowing that there might have been an issue, and was ready to accept that inconvenience if needed.
Thank you for your hard work in the earlier days normalizing, OC - I salute you for this. I honestly don't know that I would be open carrying with the regularity I do now if the environment was still like this here.
This weekend I open carried all over the place. Obviously we went to the chicken shack with no incidents. I went to Smith's, walgreens, Freddy's steakburgers, and Thrifty ice cream this weekend and had no issues anywhere I went. My wife noticed a few glances when I stopped to hold doors for people, and I also ran into my old scoutmaster from Boy Scouts (wow, take ya way back!) at the ice cream shop. He said nothing about the OC but he and his wife did notice. I think they were expecting an LEO occupation when they were asking what I was doing now that I am all grown up, his eyes even glanced down for a microsecond when I asked what I was doing for work these days. Imagine his surprise when I say I'm an IT manager! :lol: