I was open carrying at Wal-Mart, and....

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Oh please. You're going to try and compare Cheyenne Wyoming to most other places? You going to try and lecture me about guns in Wyoming? Positive open carry experience. This is wyoming. 86% of ALL gun experiences are positive. That's because 86% of all Wyoming households have guns. But for what it's worth, Wyoming is an extremely POLITE place. Values are very important to us. I'm positive you had a very good experience here with open carry. But to be honest with you; if you had been one of the "Dorks" trying to look cool, (Just like our Drug-Store Cowboys who come here dressed up during tourist season); no one would be rude to you and tell you that you look foolish. We'd smile and be polite. Because that's how we are. I'm glad you had a good time. But please don't try and compare places like Wyoming to most other places when it comes to guns. Most places aren't even in the same league. If you want to compare us with Montana, Alaska, "some" of colorado, and some other places, that's cool. But are you actually trying to compare wyoming with washington?

Miketodd: Sorry, but that's one of the oldest cliches spouted. Almost rhetorically because it means so little. You don't LOSE a right because you don't use it. And just because you're not open carrying a gun doesn't mean you're not exercising your 2nd amendment right. Sorry, but that's just lame rhetoric. And for what it's worth, I don't carry a gun because "It's my Right". I NEVER have and NEVER will. Do you walk around all day talking out loud on the streets, to NO ONE, just to "Exercise your Right"? If you don't speak while you're walking down the street, is someone going to take away that right? Please....
 
Ahhh, it's amazing the judgmental attitude of those that just can't understand concepts they don't agree with.

Tell me, christcorp, have you ever concealed carry in slacks/shirt while doing your normal daily shopping? WHY? Is it because you think there is a chance, no matter how small that you might have to use your gun to defend yourself should a criminal decide to attack you?

Why is it so hard for you to accept that some of us would rather have the deterrent value of a gun in addition to the defensive value of the gun? Why is it so hard for you to accept that there are some of us that carry for exactly the same reason that you do, in exactly the same situations as you do, but hope that instead of having to USE our gun to defend ourselves, our hope is that the gun will DETER that criminal act from happening to us to begin with and thus prevent us from having to USE our gun? And if that criminal can't see our gun, then it ain't going to deter him, because I have never seen a criminal yet that uses a metal detector to pick targets.

You know the Brady Campaign and other anti-gun groups judge you exactly the same way. They say about you, "Ain't he 'SPECIAL', he carries a gun" whether you conceal or open carry.
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Almost exactly how I feel. Why are we being so silly about OC vs. CC? Not every situation calls for just one of the options. I mostly CC but OC when it is more appropriate/convenient. If you give me guff about it I'll simply disregard you as a silly irrational person with no sense of his/her rights. I do not typically open carry to "make a point" (not that I'd never do this because I occasionally will i.e. at a 2nd ammendment rally or to gauge the leanings of store employees) but because the situation is such that it is more convenient.
 
just a question to throw out there.

Back in the day, when a man was in his "going to town" clothes or his fancy socializing clothes, he didn't WANT to carry a 10 inch super blackhawk on his hip (I'm still waiting on what weapon the OP was carrying in Walmart), it was considered bad taste to have a gun openly strapped to your side unless you were in some nasty surroundings. And so the gun manufactures came up with tiny pistols (some which were full size calibers) and holsters so a man can carry his arms inconspicuously and not look like an illiterate cowboy among others.

Seemed to work fine for them............

So I ask, why not have one of those little pistols in your pocket if your heading out to Walmart or where ever? Hell put it in a little velcro MP3 case and people will think its your camera or beeper or cellphone?

Im not a big believer in the whole "Must have a caliber sufficient enough to stop a threat, and that caliber size STARTS with a 4", not to many people are going to do 30 pushups with a couple of .380 slugs in there torso.
 
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IMHO "A right not exercised is a right lost".
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I'm going to play devil's advocate here, but I've been hearing that a lot. Could you clarify?

How is it, if I don't open-carry, I lose my 2nd Amendment rights? What's the chain of events leading to that?

Am I wasting my time doing unglamorous things like talking to elected officials, recruiting for the NRA and introducing new shooters?

Responsible and respectable open carry does much good for those "fence sitters" with open minds.
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Two questions spring to mind. First, out of the dozens of folks I've met who open-carry for the purpose of educating the public, not a one can name a single person who's changed their beliefs for the better about guns simply from seeing someone carrying one. It may happen, but considering the very small rate of return, it seems a fairly inefficient way of doing it.

(Part of my leeriness about the whole trend is that many of those folks don't do anything else in terms of activism or involvement.)

Second, how many folks may see their antagonism towards public carry as justified? "Marge, you wouldn't believe this absolutely dreadful man I saw carrying a gun through the store today. He was panting and leering, and I'm pretty sure he had a cloven hoof. At the very least, he was carrying it around children!"

Some folks aren't that way out of malice, but out of ignorance. If they're already afraid of guns, they're certainly not going to say anything within earshot, but they will tell their friends later.

And how many of them are there in comparison to those who's minds are changed for the better?
 
I feel your pain.
Some employees (even the ones selling firearms and ammunition) don't understand the laws they deal with.

One time, several friends and I tried to buy some .45ACP from Wal-mart. Myself and the other guy who was buying were legally eligable to purchase pistol ammo. The employee seemed to think it was a federal crime for anyone under 21 to possess pistol ammo (as one member of our group was only 20). :rolleyes: We tried to explain it was legal, and that the law required the purchaser to be over 21. We were going to the range the next day, as we had done the previous weekends.

Realizing we were all military, the employee next threatened to get us all in trouble by calling our CO, to report our attempted "crimes." He also explained that if any of us came in to buy ammo again that night, he would refuse the sale and might call the police.

At this point, we had had enough. With many eyes rolling, we left for another store.
 
I don't really know all the rules and laws for states that allow open carry as my state does not. In my state businesses must post a "no Guns" sign if they wish to keep CCW holders from carrying inside their business. It would seem to me in a state with open carry laws, unless there is also a law saying private property owners may deny open carry on their property, that asking someone to leave because of open carry would violate their civil rights. Anyone know more about this.
 
In just about any circumstance I can think of, the private-property owner's right to ask you to leave trumps your right to carry (openly or concealed.)

If the private-property owner asks you to leave and you refuse, you're generally guilty of trespassing at that point.

(Of course, the above is referring to private citizens carrying on someone else's private property. Obviously, police serving a warrant can't be forced to leave private property, for example.)
 
It would seem to me in a state with open carry laws, unless there is also a law saying private property owners may deny open carry on their property, that asking someone to leave because of open carry would violate their civil rights. Anyone know more about this.
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Private property owners have the right to ask people to leave their property for almost any reason. If you refuse to leave, you are committing a crime of trespass. In some jurisdictions trespassing while armed can even be a felony and permanently cost you your right to own firearms.
 
People are assuming that a criminal will even see your firearm. You may be lucky enough that you are turned away when he tries to commit the crime or even if he does that the firearm acts as a deterrent.

I have read all 6 pages and the people that don't want to open carry fine, too many are judging because someone else does. It is a creator given right that is constitutionally protected. I say live and let live...that person isn't doing anything to harm you so let it be. I guess that's just the libertarian in me though. :cool:

My two cents...have a good one!
 
Unfortunately Open Carry is not legal in Arkansas where I live. I don't really know that I would open carry that often if it was, but there are certain situations where it would be convenient. I used to do a lot of driving and travel for work, and wore a suit all day. So concealed carry was not a problme, but in some cases open would have been nice just for 5minutes or so, such as:


been driving and have taken your coat/jacket off, and need to run into pay for gas, etc. Or even getting out of the vehicle to pump gas, but have taken off outer garment, so now you have to conceal again just for that short time.

Oh well
 
If you want to open carry, that's fine.. I prefer to remain stealth, and CCW instead. Its not worth the aggravation of having to explain to the masses what the laws are, but to the bad guys, they will never know, until its too late...
 
WAL MART

What a joke wal mart is. DON'T EVER QUIT STANDING UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS. I do agree CCW would be less of a hassle but if you want to open carry you have that right. Not standing up for our selves is what N. Pelosi and H. Clinton and the rest of the anti gun people want us to do.
 
oldmarksman I stand by what i said .. We know darn near the guys history and he does not say he asked to talk to the manager, dumb on his part for not politly pressing the point to talk to management as he more than likely walked in that direction to leave. And the call the cop part you brought up is the main problem with open carry. All that was needed was for someone to call 911. Walk around down town big city america,where it is legal to OC and someone calls the law and reports a gun.. You know when the leo's get there it will be with much worry and that is how someone gets shot while doing nothing against the law, just not smart.. If you live in sticks ville like i do and want to carry, hell go for it. Just got to use common scents as to when it is a smart thing todo. To many jack a**'s running around ,showing up at political meeting with a gun on there hip or a rifle over there shoulder just because its legal,not smart but legal. NC is a OC state but so far ever leo i has talked to about it said they would just is soon never run into someone carry'n openly, they would treat them as a threat first.
 
The way I look at it when I say "A right not exercised is a right lost" is just that. In Colorado, I guess it is a lot of money to get a CCW, where as you can open carry for free and legally. If people don't, than what is to stop the state from revoking that right and making it a CC only state? If they don't ever see anyone OC, than in their mind (or mine if I were a politician) would be "Well they don't do it anyway, they won't miss it".
Here in Indiana we can OC or CC. My personal choice is to CC 90% of the time becuase I don't want a BG, or anyone to know I have it, especially when i'm at the mall. But in my small town, if i'm running to the hardware store, i'll throw on my paddle holster and hop in the car.
I am not saying that by not OC when allowed that someone is forgoing their 2nd ammendment rights, i'm just saying that if no one exercises it, what is the point of having it?
 
NC is a OC state but so far ever leo i has talked to about it said they would just is soon never run into someone carry'n openly, they would treat them as a threat first.
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I honestly feel sorry for those of you who have to endure this kind of unconstitutional, unfair, prejudice and paranoid behavior from the guys we employ with our hard earned tax dollars. I have no personal beef with the police but really? Really? These "LEO's" need to learn that they work for us... The People.

I do not hold back my thoughts when educating LEO's of this mindset. Luckily I've lived most of my life in Wyoming and Alaska and haven't had to do a whole lot of "free LEO training", but If I were legally in the right, better back off mr. LEO employee of me (the taxpayer);)
 
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I am glad we have a strong open carry movement here in Washington. Now, even in places like Seattle, Tacoma and Lakewood :eek:, when there is a 911 MWAG call, usually the dispatcher handles it:

"What is the MWAG doing?"
"Shopping"
"Where is his gun?"
"In a holster"
"Thank you for calling, however there is nothing illegal about the man's actions, please feel free to call us again if he actually does something with his gun."

IF they do actually send out the coppers, at the very most they ask you to voluntarily show ID and a CPL if one is possessed.

It's only really gotten to be this way the two years that I have been here, and if you look at Northwest Citizen's Defense League:

http://forum.nwcdl.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=b0fff5ae7ab2b799db1d07f9cf121449&action=downloads;cat=1

and you can see all of the various police departments' training memos we have generated.

Of course none of this would have ever happened if everyone had just kept their guns hidden like we are told to do.
 
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