Open Carry - In Your Face!

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If I carried a handgun in an exposed holster along most any street in my town, it probably wouldn't cause any concern among the population, but if I did so near a school, I'd get arrested so fast it would make your head spin. In reality, no regular citizen can possess a firearm within 500 feet of a school in Maine.

Recently, a man parked his car across the street from a school, probably after going hunting, but had a long gun laying exposed. He was arrested then released, but that shows the power of parents and school officials when it comes to firearms.

The bigger problem with parents and firearms in this country is that 50% of people become divorced and lots of women don't remarry. That means a lot of kids aren't exposed to the hunting/shooting sports. How many single moms out there would vote to ban handgun ownership today? Probably too many!!!
 
There are people in Britain that were saying.......

"IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN TO ME"

A supreme court change by one vote would be all that is needed.

The first attempt to ban certain black rifles came in Clintons time.

Not successful, but close enough. The mind-set against ANY guns IS
there and it IS growing.

If the bigger issues of economy werent on the table, I believe that this topic would be broached. (it may if there is a second term)

When I was growing up, hunting was a pastime, almost everyone did it.

Now, more than ever, the media is trying to portray the gun owner as a nut case.

ANY gun owner that isnt a cop.

All I/m saying is that we have a huge responsibility to make sure that we excercise this right appropriately.

Just because the law says so, doenst mean that we have to take it right to the edge.
 
Why should one shy away from practicing a right? Only in 2, soon to be 3, states is carrying concealed a right. Everywhere else its a privilege or forbidden completely.

Unlicensed open carry is a right that is, or should be in the regulated states, a standard of practice to truly represent our 2nd Amendment rights.

If you need a license or permit, it is not a right - it is a privilege(see SCOTUS, Murdock v Pennsylvania 1943 and several other cases dealing with the matter). If a state requires a license/permit to carry, without leaving at least open carry unlicensed, it has effectively made the right impossible to practice and therefor the requirement is unconstitutional.

Carry openly, practice your rights!
 
I sort of wish everyone would open carry. Why not? I like to look and see what cars people drive. Just walking around would be be a lot more interesting - it would be like living in a gunshow.

I mean, if everyone was open carrying, I could actually feel good about wearing my Colt bright polished SS 1911 with genuine pear grips, and not feel like a pimp! Though, I wonder what gun I'd wear to a serious business meeting????
 
Tom Servo said:
For every mature, articulate person I've seen openly carrying, I've seen three giggling, inexperienced, belligerent 20-somethings who do it to "get in somebody's face." That's where my concern lies.
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Tom, I am one of those "20-somethings" and I have to say... I completely agree with you. But I believe that our conclusion is a little different. I am all for open carry regardless of who it is (within rationality of course, convicted rapists, murders, politicians, and other criminals = no-no). Sure, those 20-somethings will do their giggling and attention-whoring, but two weeks later there will be another cause on Facebook that they join that they can get into someone's face over. Also, I think the 1:3 ratio is a tad on the high side. There will be idiots in every group, but we will just have to grin and bear it and make sure they don't do anything too stupid. Also, think of it this way: if the young, "hip" crowd is doing it, we might be on to something. I fully support open carry for one good reason: there is no better way to make people more accepting of guns and their owners than to do the following while open carrying:

1. Go to restaurant/store/gas station/downtown etc
2. Eat/shop/pump gas etc
3. Pay
4. Tell the waitress/attendant/cashier to have a nice day/night
5. Leave

Wait, that's what normal people do! Imagine that, someone with a gun being a normal person :confused::confused::confused:.
 
Q: Is there any practical difference between having a Right you are afraid to excercise and not having the Right in the first place?

A: Yes, in the second case, you don't know what it is you are missing.

Have no fear if you are in the right. Do not allow your Rights to be marginalized/shamed out of the public square. Excercise them, before you find them withered away to nothing.

Carry openly, politely. Answer questions respectfully. If asked to leave a private business, do so. Patronize businesses that respect your Right to Carry.
 
For myself I have no problem with open carry or open carry demonstrations, a right unused is worth exactly what? (Nothing)

However I think with the open carry demonstrations comes a unspoken responsibility to inform others politely why you are doing what you are doing and try to include others in a warm and friendly way.

Its not enough to demonstrate, you must tie it into being a welcome part of the community and a accepted part even if not everybody agrees.

In those places that are strickly anti second amendment I would do it but I would try to at least have some consideration for how I do at and for how long until they become accustom to it. (not that this is required by law but rather by reason)
 
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However I think with the open carry demonstrations comes a unspoken responsibility to inform others politely why you are doing what you are doing and try to include others in a warm and friendly way.
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..... Because Rights=Responsibilities.
 
I think what BGutzman was trying to say is that if you want to actually change minds and not just throw blood on fur, you have to be a little bit more open about it. One "protest" that I know was a bunch of open carriers picking up litter along the highway. Another might be running a food bank. Another might be a charity baseball game. Things where the gun is clearly visible but plays no part in the demonstration or get-together. If you're just standing there holding a sign that says "Don't Tread on Me" with a sour look on your face, you're not going going to convince anyone. But if you're out there playing baseball with some pals someone might actually come up to you and talk to you.

EDIT: One awesome one is holding a charity picnic. It is summer so a lot of people are out at public parks. Get a barbeque potlock going for the Marine Corp-Law Enforcement Foundation, the Red Cross, or donations for care packages to those serving abroad. This way, the public can come, it's open to anyone, but it just so happens to be sponsored by a gun organization. Just a chill afternoon bbq. mmm-mmm bbq. especially pork.
 
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I think open carry can be beneficial if done the right way, and counterproductive if done poorly. As I understand it, the whole point of the open carry movement is to show the public that the presence of firearms does not necessarily equate to violent crime. While I think this may have the potential to work, I think that in order for it to have the desired effect an open carrier must present himself in a certain way. The best way that I can explain this is to present two examples of open carry, one done well and one done poorly.

The poor example was one that I witnessed while at work one evening. A young man (I'd guess early 20's) and his significant other came to have his car aligned. The man in question was wearing old, baggy jeans and a dirty hoodie. Upon entering his car, I found a Bersa Thunder lying quite obviously in an Uncle Mike's holster in the middle of the driver's side seat. After bringing his car onto the alignment rack, I asked him if he wanted to get his pistol out before we lifted the car. He very shortly said "yeah" and proceeded to casually stick his handgun into the back pocket of his jeans and walk around our establishment glaring at anyone who happened to look at him (luckily it was later in the evening and there were no other customers there at the time).

The well done example was one I witnessed at a local festival. An older gentleman (I'd guess mid to late 50's) was talking casually with his wife. The gentleman in question was wearing khaki shorts, a polo shirt, and sandals. On his belt was a Beretta Tomcat in a small leather holster. This gentleman was polite to everyone he met seemed to want nothing more than to enjoy some of the ethnic cuisine available at that particular event.

I guess what I'm getting at is that if you're going to openly carry, you should present yourself a certain way. While one shouldn't judge based on appearances, the fact of the matter is that people routinely do it anyway. Openly carrying in a holster while wearing khaki pants and a polo shirt is going to present a very different image than doing so with a pistol hanging out of your pocket while wearing ratty old jeans, a Budweiser shirt with the sleeves cutt off, and a hat with a Confederate flag on it. If we don't want people to think of us as dumb rednecks, gangster wannabes, or self-deluded pseudo ninjas then we absolutely must not present ourselves as such. If you are going to open carry, please dress respectably, speak proper English, and be polite and courteous to everyone you meet.
 
Webleymkv said:
If you are going to open carry, please dress respectably, speak proper English, and be polite and courteous to everyone you meet.
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+1 to this. We don't want to be like our rage-filled, rock-throwing, bullhorn-wielding counterparts cuz let's face it, we have jobs and thus no time for that sort of thing. We want people to walk away thinking "I'm glad that guy has a gun and not that guy I see with pants down to their knees, bandanas, etc etc". Because that's the seed that grows into "hey maybe I should do that...".
 
Do we have a right to protest Obama's spending, coming taxes, and health care fiasco in public or does it make us look silly to the media who will portray us as racists and red necks? Why is the Second Amendment exercise so different than First Amendment exercise? Just because the media says so and the left has brainwashed "the chillren" to believe guns are bad on their face? We need to change that public perception. Why not do it with respectable people, acting in a rational manner, acting peacefully, while open carrying?

The lefties don't stop protesting their causes because some twenty-somethings who don't enjoy bathing and do enjoy foul language and vandalism, get in peoples faces to push their agenda, while exercising their first amendment rights. I think we are too timid. We fear the media because we think they will paint us in a bad light. Guess, what? They'll always paint us in a bad light. They'll manufacture the bad light if they have to. Remember, NBC showed people firing full auto rifles during the debate about banning semi auto rifles, called "assault weapons" by the media and the left. They lie, they spin, they use negative labels, they use foul language. Anything to win is their MO. We have to quit being such scaredy cats. We have the constitution and the love of freedom on our side. That counts for a lot in my opinion!

We can't always control some energetic twenty somethings. My suggestion would be to have pre protest meetings where we explain to EVERYONE, including the twenty somethings, how our behavior will be used to judge our cause. But we shouldn't shy away from the cause.
 
I guess the bottom line is that if I carry a gun openly I think, "Nobody should fear me." However, I'm not so sure about you, or you, or you....

Unfortunately, open carry could create a safer situation than CCW...as long as people are not afraid of the carrier. CCW cannot keep peace, but only attempt to stop an act of violence in progress.
 
While I'm an older guy and appreciate being able to carry an exposed weapon, in light of the mass shootings, can empathize with citizens who fear open weapons.
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I have some empathy(frankly not too much), in the same way that I have it for someone afraid of spiders, ladders, or snakes.
It's more of a sadness with a side order of pity. I'm not going to rearrange life to suit everyone's phobias. If there needs to be a demonstration for this or that...have at it.
Can be respectful...but really...it can get obtuse placating all the various groups various issues. If it's legal, it's fine by me and the media is going to portray whatever...however. More of the same, they can't be satisfied either.

Edit: I don't believe most folks currently holding rallies or whatever are particularily protest oriented, as mentioned they are too busy working usually;)...but after watching the myriad of causes from other action groups with the flag burning, effigies, peta toke-a-thons and picket lines....I suggest the folks on that side of life, just toughen up a bit and deal with what they have been touting as the preferred method of free speech and the American Way. Assembly.
 
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Situational awareness in the mall or at Starbucks, or etc. reveals someone I don't know wearing a gun. I see he has the means to kill me right at hand and has chosen to display it for all to see. My training tells me to alert on him, keep an eye on what he's doing, and think about the contingencies- any less attention on my part violates my training and lacks common sense and there is no earthly reason to abandon either of these. It isn't a cell phone, or an iPod, it's a deadly weapon that is easily capable of killing me.

Prudence and situational awareness have altered where my attention is and handed me a tactical challenge. I'm comfortable around guns, but not summarily comfortable with gun toters I don't know, and some I do know make me edgy when they're armed. Why should I have a lesser, more trusting and benevolent response to armed strangers? Whatever I was doing when the gun showed up, I'm not doing just that any longer, I've had to go "on duty" to some extent. I don't like going about everyday business on alert all the time; no one else does either.

My reaction, after I've seen to what I think are prudent and sensible responses to an unknown armed civilian in my presence, is that if this person felt the need to carry a gun, and if CC was available, he or she ought to have armed themselves with a CCW instead.

Abandoning the tenets of situational awareness and prudent self-preservation are not options I can embrace. Neither are they for the non-gun public either- noticing the presence of a stranger armed with a deadly weapon will (and ought to) cause a self-preservation response. Any expectation that they will become accustomed to gun-toting in public and forego such attention is depending on them to dumb down and abandon what's in their own best interests. Not all of them will just ignore guns in the hands of strangers in their presence like that, some will react to the potential danger and how close gun violence is- the hardware is present and there's no reason to have any confidence in who has it- and seek to remove guns from their presence. Enough people get sensitized like that, and join the antis, and OC has damaged support for our rights.

For non-gun people it comes down to: The OC gun isn't noticed; or it is noticed but that doesn't beget any response, which is stupid; or it gets noticed and begets a self-preservation response which leads to an anti-gun attitude, maybe where none existed before.

I live in a state where OC is mostly illegal and CC requires a serious examination of who I have been and what sort of person I am, and that's fine with me. Good sense and some broader view of how guns fit into the whole fabric of our society with the least antagonism toward them might serve us all better.
 
Subtract the badge and even if you have the legal right to do it people WILL react differently, most will get nervous, some will panic, and some will even call the police.
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I have done just that, (I don't have a badge) and nobody ever reacted at all. Nobody called the police, nobody jumped up and left, nobody screamed, or berated me for carrying a gun. Nobody has even moved away from me. NOT ONE TIME...over several years of doing so. From time to time, and quite rarely I might add, I'll get a positive comment. About twice a year. For the most part, nobody seems to notice or care. In grocery stores, convience stores, Wal-Marts, restraunts, fast food joints, gas stations, around apartment complexes, wherever my day to day business takes me really.

And no, I don't live way out in the sticks either. I live halfway between Washington D.C. and Richmond, Virginia, right along the I-95 corridor. I see a lot of people. They see me too.
 
Uncle Billy said:
Situational awareness in the mall or at Starbucks, or etc. reveals someone I don't know wearing a gun. I see he has the means to kill me right at hand and has chosen to display it for all to see. My training tells me to alert on him, keep an eye on what he's doing, and think about the contingencies- any less attention on my part violates my training and lacks common sense and there is no earthly reason to abandon either of these. It isn't a cell phone, or an iPod, it's a deadly weapon that is easily capable of killing me.
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Then you should feel that same way about every single person you see. The ONLY difference between the person carrying a concealed gun and openly carrying a gun is where their shirt gets tucked in. You are demonstrating the out of sight, out of mind principle. As long as a person carries their gun under their shirt, you have nothing to fear from them; but as soon as the shirt is tucked in behind the gun, now you have reason to plan contingencies - and all that has changed is the position of the shirt, nothing else.
 
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