...but I did my first OC today! I've lurked on these forums before, but never posted anything. Thought I would share the experience with y'all.
I'm from Texas, where (as most probably know) OC is illegal with handguns. However, I travel to Wichita every so often for work. Although I fully support constitutional carry, I've never really had an interest in OCing myself... I CC whenever and wherever feasible. Today I decided "what the hell" and gave OC a try.
Boy, was I nervous...
BUT, I pretty much had no issues. First, I went to Northern Tool & Equipment to pick up a tool bag I needed. Browsed around for a bit, found a bag, headed to the register. A couple of male employees were definitely keeping an eye on me, but nobody said anything. The cashier was cheery and cordial.
Next, headed over to My Tho to pick up some Vietnamese sandwiches, which I've heard are excellent (I wasn't impressed, but that's another story). It was very busy, and I was standing smack-dab in the middle of the restaurant, for all the world to see, waiting for my to-go order. Employees were very nice, and again, nobody said anything to me.
I then stopped by QT to grab some windshield wiper fluid. Of course, there's a WPD cruiser parked outside! I almost turned around and left out of nervousness, but decided to stick it out. Walked right by the cops inside the store... they noticed that I was OCing but didn't even bat an eye. No story to tell.
At this point, I'm feeling confident! I ran a few other errands, grabbed a coffee at Starbucks, and turned in.
I'm kind of a quiet person, and generally don't strike up a whole lot of conversations with strangers. So the lack of feedback from others (positive or negative) was a good thing in my book. Overall a great experience, and so much more comfortable than CCing, especially in the summer. Just need to get over the jitters. I will definitely OC again in the future while I'm traveling... just not at home in TX :banghead:
I'm from Texas, where (as most probably know) OC is illegal with handguns. However, I travel to Wichita every so often for work. Although I fully support constitutional carry, I've never really had an interest in OCing myself... I CC whenever and wherever feasible. Today I decided "what the hell" and gave OC a try.
Boy, was I nervous...
BUT, I pretty much had no issues. First, I went to Northern Tool & Equipment to pick up a tool bag I needed. Browsed around for a bit, found a bag, headed to the register. A couple of male employees were definitely keeping an eye on me, but nobody said anything. The cashier was cheery and cordial.
Next, headed over to My Tho to pick up some Vietnamese sandwiches, which I've heard are excellent (I wasn't impressed, but that's another story). It was very busy, and I was standing smack-dab in the middle of the restaurant, for all the world to see, waiting for my to-go order. Employees were very nice, and again, nobody said anything to me.
I then stopped by QT to grab some windshield wiper fluid. Of course, there's a WPD cruiser parked outside! I almost turned around and left out of nervousness, but decided to stick it out. Walked right by the cops inside the store... they noticed that I was OCing but didn't even bat an eye. No story to tell.
At this point, I'm feeling confident! I ran a few other errands, grabbed a coffee at Starbucks, and turned in.
I'm kind of a quiet person, and generally don't strike up a whole lot of conversations with strangers. So the lack of feedback from others (positive or negative) was a good thing in my book. Overall a great experience, and so much more comfortable than CCing, especially in the summer. Just need to get over the jitters. I will definitely OC again in the future while I'm traveling... just not at home in TX :banghead: