So, yesterday was interesting.

I was about an hour north of the twin cities checking on the progress of a custom leather shoulder holster that's being made for me by a guy yesterday before I started making my way down to the Minneapolis - St-Paul International Airport. I was going to pick my girlfriend up from a vacation she took to California.While en route, I made some phone calls. I wanted to determine if the baggage claim area was off limits for me to carry in. I have a current and valid permit to carry issued by Hennepin county. I called the main airport information line. "Hi there, just a quick question. I'm a permit to carry holder in the state of Minnesota, and I'm just curious if there's any restrictions for carrying a firearm on my person in the baggage claim area?" They directed me to TSA.Went though my speech again with them, who informed me that their jurisdiction only extended from the security checkpoint to the gates. They directed me to call the local law enforcement agency.Bloomington police this time. "You need to call airport police, here's their number". Finally.Now, before I get a lot of flack, some of you are probably already calling me a dumbass in your mind. Like what kind of moron would even think to bring a loaded gun on their hip into an airport. I really try to carry everywhere that I'm legally allowed to. You never know what, when, or where something bad is going to happen, so I'd rather have it on me than sitting useless locked in my truck. Moving forward."Airport police and fire, how can I help""Afternoon sir. Question for you. I'm coming to pick my girlfriend up from the baggage claim area and I need to know if I'm prohibited from bringing my loaded firearm into that area with me. I currently hold a valid permit to carry issued by the sheriff, I just didn't know if it was unlawful in that area""Actually, you can bring it in. Just as long as you're permitted. Until you get to the security check, the airport is technically just one big public area. Anyone can come or go as they please, though most of the time they don't, for obvious reasons""Perfect. I just wanted to call and make sure, didn't want to get detained by you guys or anything"."Not a problem. I appreciate the call"Then I asked him if it was ok to bring my dog on a leash in with me (it was), and asked for information on parking (he gave it to me).Pulled into the parking garage, went in, located the carousel my lady's bag would be coming on, and waited to surprise her. Started chatting with this really nice older lady about my dog, and noticed her eyes flick to my hip a few times, but she didn't seem all that worried, in fact, she possessed an almost grandmother-ly like charm to her and we were getting on very well.My girlfriend shows up and starts giving me tons of love, freaking out because she's so happy to see me, and we're talking a bit about her trip for less than five minutes when I hear a female voice off to my right start speaking to me."Sir, I'm with the airport police, I need you to keep your hands where I can see them.""No problem" I say. I had my dogs lead in one hand and my girlfriend's hand in the other. I look over and I see a female officer about 4 feet from me, and a taller Caucasian male officer at my three o-clock. She starts to speak again."I see you have a handgun on your hip. Without reaching in that direction, I need you to grab your ID and permit for me please."Again, "not a problem. Wallet is in my back right pocket". I hand the pooch off to my girlfriend and reach very slowly and deliberately to retrieve my wallet, grabbed the two cards, and continued to hold it with both hands for the remainder of this encounter."Sir, why do you have a handgun on your hip?""Well, ma'am, as you can see, I have my permit to carry issued by the Hennepin county sheriff's office. It's my second amendment right, and I've fulfilled the legal requirements to do so.""But this is an airport.""Yes, that it is. That's why I called four different places, ending with the airport police, on my way over here to determine the legality of being in this area. I was told it's a public area and I'm not restricted from carrying""Sir, you realize we've gotten multiple reports about you? You're scaring the general public in this space""I'm sure you have, ma'am, but with all due respect, I can't control what other people feel about my actions. I've fulfilled my side of the law, I haven't been in here for hours or anything, just enough time to be ten minutes ahead of my girlfriend, and then we're planning on leaving. That's it" I turned to the male officer to my right. "Alright, look, what do you want me to do? Obviously I haven't broken any laws or I'd be on the ground right now. You guys want me to leave, and believe me, I want to get out of here too. How can we make that happen?"He goes "well, can you at least cover it up?"I was wearing jeans and a very form fitting, almost spandex-like tee shirt. Without a word, I grabbed my shirt at the five-o-clock position, pulled it over the grip and slide off the gun, and dropped it there. "How's that?" I asked, as i realized I was printing more than a newspaper production shop at this point.He looked at the other officer and shrugs his shoulders, "I guess it'll have to work, but you realize why we have to do this, right?""Absolutely. Hell, the shooting that happened in Florida just a few months ago was in an area just like this. You guys have the right to ask for my credentials, which you did, but at the end of the day, I have the right to carry in here, and I tried to stay on the right side of the law by calling ahead and verifying that."The female officer spoke again. "Well, I mean your permit and ID seem to be in order, so you guys are free to leave. Thanks for being so cooperative and, by the way, your dog is adorable." Then she handed back my cards."Thanks guys. Totally get it. Have a great night."My girlfriend and I turned around to see a burly, African-american airport police officer standing about 15 feet behind us with a rifle slung over his shoulder at the ready position. I couldn't help but thinking as I walked away, that could have been a lot worse.So that's my story. Hope you guys enjoyed it. via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/2u2R9ol