A man there who is the caregiver for his wife who has Ad was there. He spoke of his trial of being a stalker and he showed us his gun in a holster. I promptly left the room. I need to feel safe when I go to the support group. Just wanted to share this. I guess it takes all kinds. I don't know how to contact the person in charge about his gun. So I will not be back.
I'd like to add looking into where the meeting is held and what is within its distance for violation of state laws. Open carry has regulations as to distance from places where those underage could be present. Like schools, day care centers, libraries, churches, scout huts, etc. Federal & state buildings have criteria for open carry, like you can likely do it but must present current license & registration.
The whole open carry is kinda in a flux for requirements and wherever the meetings are held may not have a policy in force. But they need too as it will be a huge liability if & when something happens.
It's occurred to me that if the guy had been "to court to be tried as a stalker", there would be an adjudication, perhaps a conviction, perhaps probation, perhaps time served and perhaps he's on parole.
Look up your state's department of corrections, search for his name, if you know it. If he's on parole, you might be able to get the name and address of his local parole board. In Michigan, parole conditions are also listed online. Open carrying after a stalking conviction might be a parole violation.
If so, contact his parole officer as well as the local police.
He could be arrested for parole violation. And assuming he was stalking a particular person, his parole officer could notify that person to be on the lookout since he's offending and violating his parole.
Second: I don't recall w/o rereading the posts if you stated where the meeting was held. Someone had to make arrangements for the meeting, and that person would have contact information for the leader, even if he/she wasn't present at the meeting.
So call the facility and alert them. I doubt they would want someone who's "packing" to be present with a support group, and I don't see how they could not know who made the arrangements for the meeting.
I hope you will report this to the national organization. He may not have been breaking any laws, but surely organizations are allowed to have their own rules.
Oh well, 'open carry' doesn't mean carry an open can of beer, does it! Just got it, my bad, just now, o no! I am getting bad off, used to be much more well-versed in life, in general, but now, ignorant and naive, here is all that is left of me. Sorry.
Brandy, start your own support group on here, or pick up a discussion, or start a new question for your caregiving friends. Sometimes I feel supported by going to a talk by an expert who covers a topic. There are others in the audience, and I most always talk to strangers. But I would NEVER talk to someone carrying an open can of beer, lol!
2 Did he say that he's been tried as a stalker? I wasn't sure what you meant.
If you're not in an "open carry" state, you would contact both the police as well as the organization that sponsored the meeting.