Astute

My concern is that if an incident were to occur, even the hint of alcohol on your breath could cause big problems even if you were 100% correct.

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GOOD LUCK!!!
John
http://www.packing4life.com

SleepingZ

Sounds like you educated a few tonight. I have mixed feelings about the drinking and gun combo, so I won't comment on that. Funny thing though, the one's that applied a little heat "aka- flaming" didn't question how you got from bar to bar, if you were driving, I would tend to think the gun was the lesser of the 2 evils here, but it must have slipped by a few folks.

Best to ya. Z

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9 out of 10 engineers agree that 1 out of 10 engineers are idiots.

Riana

At Reston Town Center, he'd've been walking. Everything is clumped together in walking distance. And the weather has been quite temperate of late (though it rained a bit today), so a cool evening walk would have been nice.

And though I prefer not to drink at all when I'm out-and-about, whether OC or not (the liquour is cheaper at home, and I don't have to worry about driving ), I think you did well in educating those who needed the information.

kpw

Good job. Polite interaction goes a long ways and you handled it well with a good outcome.
As for the drinking, I think you mentioned one drink, a wine sample and a beer over a considerable amount of time. I had 2 LaBatts tonight at the B-day dinner. Love a nice Porterhouse!

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"In a republic this rule ought to be observed: that the majority should not have the predominant power." -
-- Marcus Tullius Cicero

LM2024

Agreed. If the SHTF and you had to use your firearm to defend yourself/loved ones and there's alcohol on your breath or witnesses stated to the police and media that they saw you drinking, guess how it's going to be portrayed in the media? Then the OP has done more harm to the cause than good.

Legal to carry and consume alcohol? Yes. Is it wise to do so? IMHO, I don't think so.

kpw

Honestly, if the SHTF, the last thing I would be concerned about is my appearance for the cause. I'd worry more about belonging to some supposed right-wing gun forums. I doubt most media will protray you in a favorable light to begin with. At best, neutral, maybe.


I apologize to the OP, I went off topic. No more from me.

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"In a republic this rule ought to be observed: that the majority should not have the predominant power." -
-- Marcus Tullius Cicero

Thanis

To OP, you did everything well.

To the side topic. In MI, a minor amount of drinking and carrying can produce many legal problems. That is assuming that just being served and carrying does not somehow violate the permit.

However, IMHO, I don't think having a few drinks and carrying is the same as drunk driving. I don't do either, but I'm guessing, it is only the legal issues that hold me back from drinking a beer while carrying. The same is not true concerning drinking and driving. I would not drink and drive regardless of the law.

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NRA Member
S&W 642 (no-lock) with .38 Spl +P 135 GR Gold GDHP
Glock G31 & G33 with .357 Sig 125 GR. SXT Winchester Ranger

gasmitty

My personal view is that one should be judged by their actions, not by what someone else thinks their actions might lead to.

For example - if you choose to drive your vehicle and not use a seat belt, that only becomes a problem if YOU become a burden on society because you suffered a preventable traumatic brain injury when you were ejected from your vehicle as it was rolling over.

There's a lot of scrambling for moral high ground here with absolutes expressed with the "I wouldn't drink if... " and "I wouldn't serve you if...", and I respect those opinions. However, I see those as awfully close to the opinions of those who would restrict our freedom to carry arms (concealed or not) based on the feeling that "someone might get hurt" simply because someone is armed.

Sleep deprivation and the use of over-the-counter medications can create far riskier decision-making processes than the use of alcohol in moderation, and both are far more common (and responsible for personal injuries) than is widely appreciated. That's not an invitation for people to go armed while drinking, it's just a recognition that there are numerous acceptable behaviors which adversely affect decision-making, and in the end it's not the behavior but the outcome which needs to be judged.

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Smitty
NRA Endowment Member

BaserRonin

I am amazed by the number of people who do not think they can be trusted with a gun after drinking a beer, then feel the need to project this on others. Lots of feel-good sheep tonight.

The situations were well handled. Thanks for portraying a positive image of OC'rs by keeping your cool and keeping on the "nice guy" face in the restaurants. Sounds like an interesting night that will lead to smoother nights in the future,.

LM2024

Then by all means, enjoy your alcoholic beverages when you carry. It's illegal in my state but it's legal in yours.