Yesterday morning, I had a special project going on.

Can’t talk about that just yet.  Maybe in a couple weeks.

But afterwards, I went to what might have been a Twin Cities first; a group of Twin Cities Second Amendment supporters met at the Lake Harriet bandshell…

…for a picnic.

Of course, most of the crowd of around thirty – over-21 Minnesotans with clean criminal records, no record of drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness or incipient violence, and every one of whom had passed skills courses – was armed.  Indeed, as Minnesota’s carry permit isn’t a “concealed carry” permit, but a “carry” permit (most people carry concealed out of tact and to avoid standing out in the crowd to anyone who is planning mischief), probably over half of them were carrying openly, with pistols holstered at the hip. 

It was probably the safest picnic shelter in Minneapolis.

I didn’t know about the event until Sunday morning.  I didn’t know what to expect…

…well, yes.  I did know what to expect, in the sense that I do know many of the people involved (although I did meet a few new ones), and that there’d be nothing weird going on in the picnic shelter, other than the sort of particularly intense discussion you get when David Gross, Joe Olson and John Caile get into a room at the same time.

But being that the shelter was at the top of Lake Harriet, where Harriet Parkway comes together with several bike, skate and walking paths by the boat yard, the bandshell itself (there was a jazz concert going on) and the north Harriet beach, and on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, made it one of the busiest places in one of the most liberal cities in America.  I expected some wierdness to break out among bystandards and passersby.

I eyed the crowd pretty carefully; while many people walking past the shelter did abrupt double-takes when they saw that half of the picnickers were strapped, we didn’t seem to generate a cone of fear around us.  Indeed, I only saw one Park cop drive by and look things over (and then drive off), and, eventually, a woman who walked up and asked why so many people had pistols.  She got a courteous, friendly explanation, as well as a couple of carry permits for explanation’s sake. 

It was a lot of fun.  We’ll have to do it again sometime. 

Maybe in Rice Park?