Free New Hampshire Blog

So today was a beautiful sunny day here in New Hampshire so I decided to get outside and take a walk while carrying my pistol on my hip. I’ve done this before and it’s never stirred any controversy or interest by anybody here in the Wilton-Milford area (for those who aren’t familiar with NH’s gun laws, open-carry is legal and constitutionally protected, you can read stories about open carry in NH here).

Well I started talking to my mother on my cell phone, I had my jawbone ear piece in. As I went by one of my neighbors I glanced over, waved then kept walking. There were two guys sitting on the porch. Well I didn’t get too far when I heard some yelling behind me.

At first I didn’t think they were talking to me, partly because my mother was chattering away in my ear and I was trying to follow what she said. Then I heard distinctly:

“…he thinks he’s a tough guy! Carrying a gun! Yeah you’re real tough aren’t you!” and that sort of thing. I didn’t look back and just kept walking as my mother started fading in and out and I was trying to figure out what the heck she was saying. But I listened also for more comments.

And I think somebody else yelled “This isn’t blah blah”, I couldn’t make out what exactly they were yelling but the gist of it was that our town wasn’t so and so’s town so I guess I shouldn’t be open carrying. That of course is a silly argument to say the least and the “tough guy” thing was quite ironic given who I am.

Heh, heh. I’ll never understand these people who equate guns with masculinity. It’s like they are right out of the 1950s or something. It’s just amazing.

So I kept walking and ran into one of my other neighbors who is a native NH-ite. He had no problem with my pistol and we started chatting as we walked. Apparently he’d had a run in or two with the ding dongs that live in the house I’d walked past but not for the reason I did. It seems the guy there is a bit odd or obnoxious.

Anyway, I did a circuit around town with my other neighnor and we had no problems. He’s very friendly and waves to everybody so I did the same and we finished our talk about politics and this and that. So he split and I walked back to my house.

I then drove down to the center of Milford to get some coffee from my favorite coffee dealer and eat-in Foodees. If you haven’t been to Foodees, I highly recommend it. I buy a lot of coffee there as they sell Green Mountain Coffee K-Cups. But they also sell pizza and other delicious foods. You can download their menu here.

Although I’d bought coffee, I’d never open carried in there before. I wasn’t sure how I’d be received but the guy who I but the owner John Bowen was quite nice. We chatted about coffee and I was making my order when another bunch of people came in. I felt a bit self-conscious up at the counter but, hey, I had to have my coffee right? Heh, heh.

Well it turns out that the folks that had come in were relatively new immigrants to New Hampshire from North Carolina. Turns out it was Pastor Tom Gore and his family. I chatted with him briefly and he and his family were quite nice. They are baptists and were called to New Hampshire “to do God’s work” as Tom put it.

After we finished chatting, I finished my salad and as I was headed out the door with my box of coffee (I bought about 7 boxes of different flavors and it was too much to put into a bag), John (the owner of Foodees) said to me “thanks for trying to protect 2nd amendment rights.”

Well I thought that was just great and it more than made up for ignorant and silly neighbor.

I invited Tom and his family to Murphy’s on Taproom Tuesdays (by the way, the owner of Murphy’s prefers that you don’t drink alchohol if you are going to open carry which is not a problem for me as I don’t drink alcohol when I’m out and about anyway as it doesn’t take much to affect my driving…but please respect his wishes if you come to Murphy’s) and suggested that he check out the Free State Project site. If you’re out there reading this Tom, I hope you join us on Tuesday.

So I have three recommendations:

1. If you’re a baptist and looking for a church, check out Tom’s site.

2. If you want good food and you want to buy Green Mountain Coffee K-Cup coffee (as well as other brands) then be sure to visit Foodees in Milford and say hi to John.

3. If you haven’t already moved to New Hampshire, check out the Free State Project site and then set your date to join us here.

All in all, it has been an interesting afternoon. And to think it all started with just a walk outside my door in my neighborhood. Heh, heh.

By the way, as I’m typing this I am enjoying a fantastic Pumpkin Spice cup of coffee from the coffee I bought at Foodees. Highly recommended if you are a coffee drinker.

Have you opened carry in your neighborhood? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

The more of us that do it, the more comfortable people become with it.

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