The rare occasion has arisen...

[stevie_d_64]

I recall a local Houston participant, in another forum, had told us of his experience at the Houston Public Works building in downtown Houston...

He's one of the guys who thinks like me about certain issues regarding the carrying of a firearm for lawful defensive purposes...

In his story he had gone down to conduct business at this facility and get on with the rest of his day...

Of course he is licensed to carry in this State...

His encounter with the "screening" personel, was rather blunt and met with an above average bit of un-necessary attention...

As part of today's work I have to do, I am having to go downtown to file some paperwork with the city for my company...At this same facility...

So before anyone thinks I am going to carry in that building just to carry...Nope, just going to go do my thing, and get on with my day...

I figure it would be interesting to relate the experience to this forum so we have an account of how things are done at city facilities that are required to let us conduct business there, in this particular capacity...

I'll keep ya'll informed...

If not...Charles, you may be getting a call... Just kidding...

[Charles L. Cotton]

Steve:
By all means let us know what happens. I followed that other thread also and if I recall correctly, the HPD officer(s) couldn't care less about the guy having a gun. It was the "security" guards that were apparently the real problem, along with the Mayor’s Office of course. Yes, this did start with “Out-Of_Town� Brown, but White was contacted about changing the Scarlet Letter badges and refused.

Regards,
Chas.

[stevie_d_64]

Yeah,

Thats the discussion I was talking about...

I'm fixing to head up that way...I got to get this stuff in by 2:00pm today...

I promise not to make a spec...ahh...a specia...errr...A goof out of myself while I'm there...

[/Charles shaking his head/]

[stevie_d_64]

After Action Report...

I have to say that if you keep your cool, not look like you want a battle of philosophies, Not let it be a big deal to you, let it be more to them...You got it knocked...

I walked in the Walker St. entrance about 9:20am...Its the only one you can use anyway...

You bear to the left window (of the front desk) to be greeted by a wonderful, courteous security professional...I had had my DL and my CHL already out in my shirt pocket to hand to that person...That way I'm not fumbling around with stuff...

She starts to write down my ID info, getting ready to issue me a "WHITE BADGE" (meaning unarmed "regular" person)...She stopped! Opps, she just noticed the other laminated State ID (CHL), and asked me, "Do you have your guuuunnn (rather loud) on you?" I told her, "Yes I do.", to which she sighed rather loudly and turned to one of Houston's finest and yelled..."Hey officer, this guys got a guuuunnnn!" To which the HPD officer woke up from his morning reveries (daydreaming) to get up slowly and uninterestedly, to come to the front counter to take possession of my ID's and give them about 3 minutes of front and back dissemination...

After he was satisfied that those ID cards were me, he told the security person to issue me the badge...The "RED BADGE" (meaning "dangerous" armed "regular" non-LEO person)...

But the real kicker was the other "security" girl there pestering me while the HPD guy is investigating my ID's, what kinda gun do I have, to which I was doing my best to ignore, till she told me why I needed to tell her that information...I needed to tell her what "caliber" it was for her "report" she files when people like me dare to come into her building...

[Please note: My embelishments are to illustrate the perceived attitudes of the people in question, and to add some humor to the encounter.]

So I caved and told her I was carrying a .50 Desert Eagle...Not really...

I then proceded to bypass the walk-though metal detector to the right of the front desk and be "wanded" by the nosy security girl...What fun...

Here's a neat thing I noticed about that...

I told her where the "gun" was, under the watchful gaze of the HPD officer, and the Glock didn't set off the wand??? The wand did go off when she ran it over my "belt buckle", to which I smiled and said, "Incredible, isn't it?" To which she finally broke and genuinely smiled at me and my demeanor...I'll let ya'll figure that one out...

All in all it didn't take any longer than I figured it would, so I believe other than attitudes, they are accepting the fact that there are people out there like us, and that take our capability seriously and responsibly, with a good dose of civility and humor...

I was in and out of the "lawful business" portion of my visit in less than 15 minutes...

And got back to my car just as the meter expired! What timing!!!

God must have been very pleased with me today...

I'll be glad to elaborate more on this if anyone has any additional questions...

I do believe that other City of Houston facilities do NOT have the same attitudes and procedures for people like us, so it may be a more hit and miss kind of thing...

The next facility I may have to legitimately test will be the City of Houston Annex, which houses additional Public Works departments "and" city government officals...Like city counsel-people...I am not sure if that "city owned" facility is actually off-limits to people like us...I do not see why it should if it is...

[stevie_d_64]

I think I would actually like to know what information goes into that "caliber" report the security folks fill out...

If they cross-reference my name and other information to document my visit with information on my license and type of gun I carry...

Isn't that just a little against the law (or other laws just passed this session)???

I watched them very closely and noted what they did write down about me...

So I am thinking they did do what I think is a no-no there...

My last name was on the "RED BADGE", like it would have been on a "WHITE BADGE"...

So I am just throwing this out there to if anyone else notices...

[stevie_d_64]

I'm reminded of a quote from a elected official a few years ago...

"...there is NO lawful governing authority..."

hmmmm...

Ok, I'll stop...

[jimlongley]

They only wanted the "caliber?"

Seems to me that if you were carrying one of the several different 9mms, or .38s, or .357s, you could give them a lot of choices.

But I do have this habit of responding to a greeting of "good morning" with - "Does that mean the morning is good, was good, or will be good?"

Even a .45 could leave many choices.

One does have to realize that "caliber" as such, merely defines the diameter of the bore.

[stevie_d_64]

I had to think about this also for a while...

The HPD officer who took a gander at my ID's, did ask me what I was doing there in the first place...

My antagonistic "evil" side of me would have thought first...None of your business...But I thought better...

I did tell him I had business with the City of Houston for one of their future projects, and that required me to be there to deliver paperwork and meet with a couple of people...[If thats ok with you...]

I think there is special training some do to be as intrusive and un-trusting of citizens as some of these guys do...

And to think I have more friends who are Law Enforcement, than who are not...

Maybe I should know better...

I guess there's more to this than I was able to understand, as I was going through the CoH gauntlet...

[stevie_d_64]

One does have to realize that "caliber" as such, merely defines the diameter of the bore.

Good thing I'm married...Or I might have taken this differently...

[Jacob Staff]

You got through the door and past the guards and cops. When you made it to where you needed to do "lawful business", what was the reaction of the city employees you encountered? Did they even notice the red tag or did you get really good service

[stevie_d_64]

You got through the door and past the guards and cops. When you made it to where you needed to do "lawful business", what was the reaction of the city employees you encountered? Did they even notice the red tag or did you get really good service

Well, thats a good question...

No, I dont think they noticed the "RED BADGE" thing...

And to tell the truth, the way it was clipped to the lapel of my shirt, it was turned around to the "white" side...

And that was an inadvertant action on my part, when I clipped it to the shirt, it was red side out...When I got to the floor and to the room I needed to go to, it somehow settled into place the other way around...

I didn't notice it till I was on my way out of the building and dropped off the badge in that box on the way out...Muh bad...

[Jacob Staff]

After Action Report...

I walked in the Walker St. entrance about 9:20am...Its the only one you can use anyway...

Why is this the only entrance you can use? Is the underground parking (under the park) or other parking garages posted 30.06? I have never notices them posted and have not noticed the tunnel system posted either.

[stevie_d_64]

After Action Report...

I walked in the Walker St. entrance about 9:20am...Its the only one you can use anyway...

Why is this the only entrance you can use? Is the underground parking (under the park) or other parking garages posted 30.06? I have never notices them posted and have not noticed the tunnel system posted either.

That particular parking "may" (I do not work there anymore) be for contract parking only...Thus visitors and the general public have to use the street level parking lot across the street or the metered parking at the curbs...There was plenty of parking considering the activity level around that area of downtown...I found a meter fed it for about 35 minutes of parking and did my thing...

The Walker Street entrance/exit is the only one the public can use to get "in" the building without a CoH employee badge...It only makes sense to use it on the way out, because you do have to turn those badges (regardless of color) they issue back into the front desk area...

The guy who started all this this last April "Steyr" might pop in here, seeings how he's a local...He has some interesting ideas which he may propose soon...