They're Back! The Open Carry Guys Coming to Pleasant Hill

The Contra Costa chapter of a group that advocates the right to openly carry unloaded guns will meet protesters when it holds a meeting and toy drive at Nation's Giant Hamburgers in Pleasant Hill Friday.

News reports say that Contra Costa Open Carry, a chapter of the group Responsible Citizens of California, will hold a meeting at the hamburger restaurant Friday afternoon.

This locally organized Bay Area group advocates the open display of firearms, as allowed by state law, and regularly holds meetings at restaurants around the Bay Area. Back in February, Open Carry members held their biggest gathering to date at the Buckhorn Grill in Walnut Creek.

"It's time for citizen to arm up," Gus Konstantares of Antioch said at the Buckhorn Grill. He's a former military police officer and member of the Pittsburg police department. "It's a right. If you don't exercise it, you will lose it."

The law actually says gun owners can openly carry guns as long as they're unloaded, holstered, and are not carried near schools or government buildings.

While Friday's meeting was meant to be low-key, members of the Contra Costa County chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence got word of it. Members of this group, which advocates strengthening gun laws, have decided to organize people to picket it.

The Open Carry organizers expect about 40 members to be at their event, which is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday at the Nation's restaurant located at 1900 Contra Costa Blvd. in Pleasant Hill.

The gun movement we started hearing about in our East Bay suburbs is now gaining nationwide attention

In Los Angeles! Virginia! The U.S. Supreme Court! Starbucks nationwide!

Back in January, we started hearing about members of Open Carry. Locally, this consists of a loosely organized Bay Area-based group that advocates the open display of firearms--that is, the display of unloaded firearms, as allowed by state law.

OpenCarry.org (which displays the photo shown here on its website) describes itself as "a pro-gun Internet community focused on the right to openly carry properly holstered handguns in daily American life." Open Carry demonstrations, which consist of people striding around in public places with their unloaded guns and ammunition clips strapped to their belts, have been popping up around the country for the past couple years.

There was a demonstration at a Livermore coffee shop in January. Then, Open Carry members came to Walnut Creek on February 6. They thought about meeting up at California Pizza Kitchen in Broadway Plaza, but CPK said they would prefer that these gun-toting guys go elsewhere. The Open Carry members received permission from Buckhorn Grill in Plaza Escuela, and about 100 Open Carry members, and their families, showed up...

The media, including yours truly, was there.

Buckhorn Grill later sent out an e-mail to customers, apologizing for their decision to welcome the Open Carry members.

Peet's Coffee and Tea also said no to Open Carry members--but not Starbucks. In fact, Starbucks has won many fans on the Open Carry side of the debate for its corporate policy, which effectively allows Open Carry members to wear their guns in their stores.

According to an Associated Press story, published Tuesday:

"Even in some 'open carry' states, businesses are allowed to ban guns in their stores. And some have, creating political confrontations with gun owners. But Starbucks, the largest chain targeted, has refused to take the bait, saying in a statement this month that it follows state and local laws and has its own safety measures in its stores."

This story depicts an Open Carry member walking into a Starbucks in Virginia, "handgun strapped to his waist," and ordering "a banana Frappuccino with a cinammon bun."

This story goes on to point out that the fight for retailers' support nationally heated up in January when "gun enthusiasts in Northern California began walking into Starbucks and other businesses. ... As it spread to other states, gun control groups quickly complained about the parade of firearms in local stores.

But Starbucks' choice to serve Open Carry guys is attracting fierce opposition by gun control groups. Among groups fighting the Open Cary cause is the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. According to the AP, the Brady Campaign has circulated a petition that attracted 26,000 signatures demanding that Starbucks "offer espress shots, not gunshots" and declare its coffeehouses "gun-free zones."

Would Open Carry members be Pants on the Ground guys if they didn't have their gun belts?

Just a question asked by a gun-owning reader and Walnut Creek business owner. He's reacting to the latest demonstration February 6 by members of Bay Area Open Carry, who advocate the legal right to openly bear arms. Around 100 members of Open Carry, wearing unloaded guns and ammuntion clips strapped to their belts, turned up at Buckhorn Grill in Plaza Escuela that day for lunch. This was their latest "meetup" at a location in the Bay Area suburbs.

Although this business owner, whose company is celebrating its 60th year of operation in town, is asking this American Idol-audition-related question in jest, he has more serious questions about whether the Open Carry guys (and gals; there were a few pistol-packing gals at the Buckhorn Grill meetup) are hurting the public's sense of safety and opening a legal and public safety can of worms:

"As a gun owner I don't feel it appropriate to wear guns around for the main reason it would make non-gun owners feel anxious. I know I would not allow it in my business and can you imagine, I hate to stereotype people but, a 'Pants On The Ground' type coming into your business wearing a gun or for that matter walking around downtown ? They have the right to do it, too, but why do they feel the need is the bigger question. I would also ask if they saw a robbery going down would they load the gun and shoot ? Isn't illegal to load the gun? Would they be liable if they shot someone? Just opens a can of worms that I wouldn't like to get involved in."

In an editorial published Tuesday, the Contra Costa Times raises similar concerns:

It appears some Bay Area residents feel that simply having a right to bear arms is not enough. They also feel they must exercise that right in a public display that conjures visions of a modern-day Wild West.

We hope those carrying the weapons are more judicious with their firearms than they are with fashioning political statements. This one misses the target. Instead of some grand public lesson, this action is seen by many Bay Area residents as childish machismo.

Needless to say, many customers of the coffee shops and restaurant — who had chosen not to exercise their right to bear arms — were taken aback by such displays. Some patrons left immediately, while others summoned police officers.

With regard to people summoning police officers, the Times editorial goes on to say that these demonstrations lead to police getting sidetracked from other work they need to do. The editorial also raises questions about whether Open Carry advocates are enhancing a sense of public safety in other ways:

Police have been pulled off the streets to check Open Carry members to make sure their weapons are, indeed, unloaded. ... Members of law enforcement are not enamored with this open carry trend either. It doesn't help them; it makes their job tougher.

 We will grant that members of groups such as Open Carry likely are well-trained with a weapon. But it is unlikely that they are well-trained in police work. Besides, how are average, coffee-buying suburbanites expected to know who is trained and who is not.

The Times also applauded the right of the owners of restaurants and coffee shops to deny service to people openly wearing firearms into their establishments. The Buckhorn Grill owners later issued an apology to customers to allow the Open Carry meetup to take place in their restaurant.

Buckhorn Grill regrets allowing Open Carry members to gather at its restaurant last Saturday

As other media outlets and I reported, up to 100 members of Bay Area Open Carry, wearing unloaded guns and ammunition clips strapped to their belts, turned up at Buckhorn Grill in Walnut Creek's Plaza Escuela last Saturday to enjoy a meal and to demonstrate their legal right in California to openly bear arms.

The meetup of Open Carry, a loosely organized group of gun advocates, was initially planned for California Pizza Kitchen, but the group learned from CPK that they were not welcome. They changed their meetup location to Buckhorn Grill after receiving permission from the management.

Well, now the management of the Buckhorn Restaurant Group is regretting that decision and is issuing this apology to customers, which a reader passed along to me:

To our Customers:

Buckhorn Grill would like to apologize for some misunderstanding about our “no weapon policy” in any of our restaurants. We have not in the past nor shall in the future allow weapons in our restaurants from our employees, vendors or customers.


We made an exception on February 6, 2010, and regret this decision now. We were misled with some facts. The local police were involved and we knew none of the weapons were loaded, but it still caused tension with the large mob of people arriving as a group instead of individually. It was supposed to be a group luncheon, and it turned into a meeting. It was an organized propaganda meeting with an agenda. Flyers were handed out and none of this was Okayed with management. There were supposed to be only 50 people, and at least 100 were there. We were told that the luncheon would be an hour, and it turned into two hours We only have about 70  seats, so some of our customers had no place to sit.

We apologize for any inconvenience to our regular customers, it will not happen again. We want to have a safe place for you to dine, and a safe place for us to work. Thanks for your support and understanding.


Tom McLaughlin,
Regional Manager


John R. Pickerel, Owner
Buckhorn Grill

"We are not thugs!": Open Carry guys hold their biggest demonstration yet in downtown Walnut Creek

Around 50 to 60 members of Bay Area Open Carry, wearing unloaded guns and ammunition clips strapped to their belts, turned up at Buckhorn Grill in Plaza Escuela Saturday to enjoy a meal and to demonstrate their legal right in California to openly bear arms. (Other estimates put the number of members attending at 100.)

"It's time for citizens to arm up," said Gus Konstantaras, 50, of Antioch, who said he was a former military police officer and former officer for the police department in Pittsburg and a department in Louisiana. "It's a right. If you don't exercise it, you will lose it."

Gus--who added that he introduced his two kids to guns, starting when they were eight years old--said it's especially important for citizens to arm up because of all the murder, raping, maiming and other mayhem that is occurring in our communities.

Hmm. Sure, some Bay Area communities have high rates of violent crime. When I mentioned that Walnut Creek is not known for a high number of shootings, murders, and other violent crimes--and asked why his group didn't do their demononstrations of crime deterrence in more violent crime-ridden communities like Richmond--Konstantaras said members of this loosely organized group are not "vigilantes" or a "militia."

They are just "responsible citizens," he said. And they worry about how the state's budget crisis and the bad economy is causing cuts to local police departments. He and others at the demonstration contend that gun control leads to increase in violent crime. 

Gus and another guy became a bit incensed when I mentioned that some readers of my blog were uncomfortable or annoyed by the idea of their members--civilians and not uniformed police officers--coming to Walnut Creek to show off their--uh--guns. This other guy, heavy-set with a beard who was videotaping the demonstration, asserted that Open Carry members are probably better trained in how to handle weapons than many police officers. That might, indeed, be true.

Oh, and Gus added that the group had been in contact with Walnut Creek police and even met up with police near Marie Callenders in the CVS shopping center, so that officers could check and make sure that they were carrying their guns in accordance with state law.

By the way, my 11-year-old son came along with me to the demonstration. (We had to do our regular Saturday morning Starbucks run, after all). My son ended up finding the whole event very interesting. He watched as different reporters (including his mom) asked questions, and photographers snapped photos, and a KTVU news crew taped for a broadcast.

My son and I popped into Buckhorn Grill and snapped a photo of two guys (top photo). One was a steely-eyed guy named Charles (on the left, who was sporting a Glock Model 22 40-caliber pistol). The guy on the right was named Robert, who was packing a Para Ordnance 45-caliber pistol, and wearing a T-shirt proclaiming himself as "Christian American Heterosexual Pro-Gun Conservative."

Robert was a friendly guy. In fact, most of the Open Carry people we talked to were friendly and forthright. Anyway, Robert asked my son if he was scared to see so many people in a restaurant armed with guns.

"No, not really," my son said. "You're just exercising your rights as citizens and you're not going to go around shooting people."

"That's right," Robert said.

Oh, and by the way, there were no protesters from "the other side." That would be the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. To be more precise, my son and I didn't see any protesters while we were at Buckhorn Grill, but we had to take off early, so maybe the protesters showed up after we left. Gus, the former cop from Antioch, complained that the Brady campaign had been "harassing" their group by, for example, posting negative comments about them on the Internet. 

(I don't know, Gus. You're a nice guy, and it sounds like we have different world views and opinions about certain issues, like the root causes of violence in America. But, anyway, if the Brady campaign folks are posting opposing viewpoints about your organization on the Internet, that might be them exercising their First Amendment rights of free speech.)

UPDATE: As of 1:15 p.m., some of the Open Carry guys (and gals) were standing around outside Starbucks across the street from Buckhorn Grill. I saw them as I was driving to Safeway to do some grocery shopping. I saw Gus and Robert. As you might have read in the Contra Costa Times this morning, Starbucks nixed a request from the Brady campaign to ban display of weapons in their coffee houses.

Open Carry guys to be a Buckhorn Grill this morning

Members of Bay Area Open Carry, who advocate the open display of guns in public, will take their Walnut Creek demonstration to Buckhorn Grill in Plaza Escuela, near the Cheesecake Factory and across the street from Starbucks. The Mayor of Claycord first reported their new location late last night.

The Open Carry members had planned their meetup at California Pizza Kitchen this Saturday morning at 11, but were told by CPK that they were not welcome.  The Open Carry members wear unloaded guns as well as ammunition; they wear them proudly as a statement of their legal right in California to openly bear arms in this manner.

Here's what the Open Carry members say on their forum about their new location. And, how they are upset that someone leaked out this information. They wondering about who the spies are amongst them.  

Information on the meetup location got out. The Brady Campaign is HAMMERING on the location management . The Brady Campaign have threatened today to make postings claiming that the Buckhorn Grill is not safe for the public to patron !!!!!!

GET ON THIS ASAP!!!

Send in your emails to The Buckhorn Grill supporting law-abiding citizens rights

This will likely be featured all over Bay Area TV media tonight and tomorrow. Tune in.

GET OUT AND SUPPORT THIS EFFORT

The Buckhorn Grill has "The Best Tri-Tip on the Planet" and we plan to buy a lot of it tomorrow !

Besides media, they expect protesters. In any event, one forum poster said, "Even tho it goes without saying, be on your best behavior! Do not engage any protesters! We are a friendly bunch, only out to enjoy a meal and have a good time!"

In the meantime, the Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association issued an alert this week to its members about the possibility of an Open Carry demonstration today:

"The question of whether a business establishment may refuse service to an individual openly carrying an unloaded firearm is determined by the business establishment and its own rules. We recommend that business establishment consult with their own legal counsel in making a decision on this matter."

Open Carry guys miffed that California Pizza Kitchen doesn't want them

On the heels of an announcement that CPK won't allow members of those unconcealed-firearm totin' guys into their restaurants, members of Open Carry have vowed to boycott the pizza chain.

"Add them to your boycott list," says one member in the group's online forum

Members of Open Carry, a Bay Area group that advocates the open display of firearms (unloaded, as allowed by state law) had planned one of their "demonstrations" at California Pizza Kitchen in Broadway Plaza on February 6. Members of the group have recently shown up, with their guns and ammunition strapped to their belts, in a coffee house in downtown Livermore and in other spots.

Apparently, the group has called off their February 6 demonstration, because they have been told they are not welcome.

Lamorinda blogger friend, the EastBayDaze, who comes "out" as a Second Amendment advocate, also says the Open Carry guys have decided to call off their demonstrations at Peet's coffee locations.
 
One Open Carry member shares his letter to CPK on their forum, saying:
 

"As a long-time fan of your establishment, it is, with regret, I am boycotting your establishment. Our Constitution, the "law of the land," and numerous court rulings, support the right of all Americans to keep and bear arms.Criminals do not open carry. Honest, law-abiding citizens, however, do. I ask you: Which would you prefer in your establishment? Criminals carrying concealed weapons? Or honest, law-abiding citizens who open carry? One is a very strong deterrent to the other--one guess as to which."

But another says:

"To all criminals....

California pizza kitchen is a soft target. Feel free to enter and have your way with everyone there, They are all unarmed. Bring all your criminal friends. There is one hot waitress there, she will be available."

Regarding those gun-totin' guys coming to Walnut Creek: the police chief responds and a member explains why they're holding it in a certain downtown restaurant

In response to my post about a planned exhibition in Walnut Creek next month by gun owners who support the open display of handguns, some readers asked how the City of Walnut Creek or the police plan to respond. Members of this loosely organized group, who call themselves Bay Open Carry, plan to be at downtown's California Pizza Kitchen on February 6, with their unloaded weapons in full display.

Police response to such an open display of handguns became something of an issue in Livermore earlier this week. This was when one member was giving an interview to an ABC7 TV reporter. Walter Stanley, who carries an unloaded pistol on his right hip and two full ammunition clips on his left, raised alarm when someone called in a report to police of a man with a gun seen in downtown. Officers pulled up, just as Stanley was talking to the reporter, ordered him up against a wall and to raise his hands. The officers checked to see that his weapon was indeed unloaded.

Open Carry members say that it is legal to carry a weapon as long as it is out in the open and unloaded. The gun carrier also has to be at least 1,000 feet from a school.

Okay, so I'm assuming that Open Carry members plan to act within the law if they do make it to Walnut Creek. However, they will be gathering in CPK, which is centrally located in Broadway Plaza. Talk about trying to get attention! Also, as some readers pointed out, CPK is known as a family restaurant.

So, would the presence of guys (or gals?) walking around with guns openly displayed--even if they are unloaded--be upsetting to the clientele? And do the police have any plans to intervene, respond to calls of concern, or to be present.

Here is what Chief Joel Bryden had to say in response:

"Our officers will respond to any calls for service relating to this issue and take appropriate action based on what we find at the scene. Appropriate action could include checking a weapon to make sure it is unloaded."

And, here are some views an Open Carry member, writing on the organization's message board, about why he participates, about the planned event, and about the choice of California Pizza Kitchen for their display::

--About why he participates:

For me, it's to remind people that we live under the Constitution and we all have rights that cannot be taken away from us. I think here, in California, a lot of people dismiss the second amendment as being antiquated and rather useless in today's society. I can understand how somebody can come to that conclusion, but I feel that if more law abiding citizens owned and carried firearms, we would have far less crime and criminals would be afraid of committing crimes.

--Would CPK have a right to ask these gun-totin' guys to leave?

Businesses absolutely have a right to ask us to leave, and sometimes they do. I'm unaware of any case where an open carrier has refused to leave after being asked. We respect business' property rights and we comply with their wishes. If a place of business such as CPK doesn't want our money, someplace else will.

--As for whether the presence of Open Carry members, with their weapons, would upset other CPK diners:

I've eaten at restaurants where uniformed police officers came in and ate there, I wasn't afraid of anything bad happening. I've been in a restaurant where a group of non-uniformed police officers came in to eat too. At least, I thought they were police officers. But how could I tell? I wasn't going to ask them for ID if they were behaving perfectly normal. Why should the presence of a uniform make any difference?

Quite simply, criminals do not walk around with guns in openly displayed holsters. If somebody is open carrying, then they are on the up and up. When I open carry, I'm especially on the up and up because I'm trying to paint gun owners in a good light and be a "model citizen."

Another member is warning that there will be a strong LE (as in law enforcement) interest in the Walnut Creek Meetup. That being the case, the member has some strong advise for making sure their weapons are secure.  He suggests the acquisition of "a retention type holster (Blackhawk or similar) for your rig prior to the Walnut Creek Meetup if at all possible."

"I know these can be a bit pricey for some ($35-$60),," he continues, "but are great for that extra little bit of insurance that your gear cannot be easily removed or fall out."

                                                       

Save the Date: Group that advocates open display of handguns coming to Walnut Creek February 6

Bay Area Open Carry, a loosely-organized band of gun owners who advocate the open display of unloaded handguns, will bring their cause to a downtown Walnut Creek restaurant.

After discussion amongst themselves and on their forum, the group has decided on California Pizza Kitchen for February 6.
"We discussed making this a monthly meet," a message says on their forum. "We loosely decided to make it the first Saturday of the month and try to rotate around the bay area to cover most of it over time. We planned for Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County for this meet. California Pizza Kitchen was our choice and it looks to be well located. It is freeway close and GFSZ far."

Members of the group made headlines with one of their "demonstrations" at a downtown Livermore coffee shop Saturday.  They want to advocate the fact that in most of California, it is legal to carry a weapon as long as it is out in the open and unloaded. The gun carrier also has to be at least 1,000 feet from a school.

But according to this ABC7 news segment, one member, Walter Stanley, who carries an unloaded pistol on his right hip and two full ammunition clips on his left, raised alarm in downtown Livermore Tuesday, when someone called in a report to police of a man with a gun seen in downtown. Officers pulled up, just as Stanley was talking to an ABC7 news reporter, ordered him up against a wall and to raise his hands.

"I think that was a bit much," Stanley would later tell ABC7. "I don't think putting me up against the wall and putting my hands on top of my head is really the type of enforcement we're looking for here in the city of Livermore."