Should all states go open carry?

Is open carry in a good idea?

  • Yes

    Votes: 82 79.6%

  • No

    Votes: 21 20.4%
  • Total voters
    103
Just obey the Second Amendment

All the states should do what Vermont did - no gun permit required, carry as you wish as long as you don't screw up; lawful citizens can carry, criminals can't (what a concept).

That is what the Second Amendment intends.
 
People drive cars and work with power tools and axes and knives and other potentially dangerous things ever day and don't give it a second thought. Nobody bats an eye.
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That's such a lame excuse and you know it. :p How can anyone seriously think that comparing a gun to a power tool is logical? A power tool, baseball bat, knife or axe can be quite deadly but not only are none of those specifically designed for the sole purpose of causing bodily harm to a living organism as guns are but none of them are nearly as effective and efficient. The ease of use and effectiveness of a firearm is the very thing that gun owners use to justify their importance in self defense over such things like pepper spray and tazers.
 
+1 on that but i think the only restriction should be if your in public it should be concealed
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This is a bad idea. Everyone who carries concealed knows the annoyances of mandatory concealment. I think concealed carry (or at least semi-concealed) should be a social standard in cities, but not a legal requirement.

Any sort of legal requirement for concealment, even if it allows "temporary" or "accidental" printing/uncovering, opens the door for anti-gun police to arrest anyone they don't like. We need cops arresting criminals, not people who haven't bothered to become tailors so that their wardrobes perfectly conceal their firearms.

Furthermore, laws banning concealment are noxious to rural folk, who carry any way they want (in free states, anyway). There's no good reason to force them to change. Why be meddlesome?
 
Justin, I see your point, but I must say that I prefer concealment for day-to-day public activities. Let the wolves wonder who are the sheep.

Let the blowhards who would carry for the wrong reasons reveal themselves.

Also, when you are to carry concealed, it removes the psychology of "I have have a hammer, therefore that must be a nail." Put the gun out of sight, and it will (for some people) drop from the forefront of their consciousness when considering methods of dealing with a problem.

I prefer concealed carry for all adults who are not felons or mentally disabled.
 
That's such a lame excuse and you know it. How can anyone seriously think that comparing a gun to a power tool is logical? A power tool, baseball bat, knife or axe can be quite deadly but not only are none of those specifically designed for the sole purpose of causing bodily harm to a living organism as guns are but none of them are nearly as effective and efficient. The ease of use and effectiveness of a firearm is the very thing that gun owners use to justify their importance in self defense over such things like pepper spray and tazers.
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A car I would argue can be deadlier than a handgun. Plow through a crowd of people with one. Cause a fifty car pileup on the freeway with one.

No those other named things aren't necessarily as deadly as a gun, but the point is they can be dangerous nevertheless. The gun is not necessarily for killing (depends on which end of it you are on) it is for defense or sport or hunting.
 
A car I would argue can be deadlier than a handgun. Plow through a crowd of people with one. Cause a fifty car pileup on the freeway with one.

No those other named things aren't necessarily as deadly as a gun, but the point is they can be dangerous nevertheless. The gun is not necessarily for killing (depends on which end of it you are on) it is for defense or sport or hunting.
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A car is not designed to plow through a crowd of people. A car is not easily concealable.

They are certainly dangerous items but none of them are designed as weapons. Be it for defense or hunting the primary purpose of a firearm is to fire a projectile at a high rate of speed for the specific purpose of causing damage, preferably fatal, to living tissue. "Sport" is a secondary use that is primarily done to practice the skills necessary to use a firearm for its' intended purpose, much like racing a car is a secondary use while its' intended purpose is for mere transportation.


When you try to tell antigunners that a gun is no different than a baseball bat or a crowbar you lose footing. It's illogical and completely contradictory to the idea that the very reason guns are prefered for self defense is that they are the most effective tools for the job.
 
My argument isn't, and never was, that any of the above described items are designed for the same purpose as a gun, just that they are all potentially dangerous...and in some cases more dangerous yet people use these things every day and don't give it a second thought (yet still respect these items and are mindful that they can cause harm).
Gun makers don't design guns so goons can take them and go rob banks, murder people and walk into schools to hose people down, they make them because there is a market for them with good men like you and me who like to shoot, want to defend themselves, and have a historical interest in firearms and weapons.

Kinda like Shane said in the movie: The gun is a tool, it's as good or bad as the man using it.
 
I don't really believe that the sheeple are afraid of guns. Police officers and security guards carry openly and the sheeple have no problems with that. The problem arises when some Joe Blow off the street asks you for money and happens to be packing a big shiney gun. Of course he would not ask someone who was carrying a gun. Open carry can be used to intimidate, and I'm sure it WILL be used to intimidate, not by normal law abiding citizens who probably have concealed carry permits anyways, but by thugs who probably couldn't get a carry permit :barf: . I know this is not the case for most of you, but for some, open carry is a way to show power or exert dominance.

Then another issue becomes getting hassled by the police if I do not conform to their image of someone who should be carrying a gun. Should I get hassled because of my attire or my appearance? I see plenty of potential abuses there too.

If I were a criminal and I was going to commit a crime, I would shoot someone carying openly in the back first and then rob the place. Heck, I would even consider stealing your gun from you by walking behind you and sticking my gun in your back. Do you think you can draw and shoot me before I put a bullet in you? Why would anyone want to give up their tactical advantage like that? :confused:

I am all for carrying and the right to defend myself. I don't feel that I should make that decision everyone else's business. As for putting the sheeple at ease, who made you their shepherd? How do they know you are not a wolf? Allowing open carry on a national basis will most probably never happen.
 
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Doug.38PR said:
Gun makers don't design guns so goons can take them and go rob banks, murder people and walk into schools to hose people down, they make them because there is a market for them with good men like you and me who like to shoot, want to defend themselves, and have a historical interest in firearms and weapons.
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A gun is designed to be a weapon. While it can used for recreation such as target shooting, most people don't buy it for that reason. They buy it because it has the ability to kill (hopefully their intentions are to kill bad guys in self defense). There are many tools that can be used as weapons but why do they not cause fear? For instance, does a hammer hanging off a tool belt cause fear? Besides, just because the gunmakers made their products for good and law abiding citizens does not mean criminals cannot have guns. Your line of reasoning is just plain silly. :rolleyes:
 
They buy it because it has the ability to kill (hopefully their intentions are to kill bad guys in self defense).
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Exactly

There are many tools that can be used as weapons but why do they not cause fear? For instance, does a hammer hanging off a tool belt cause fear?
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Because they haven't been indoctrinated and fearmongered into fearing hammers, baseball bats, pocketknives, et al

Besides, just because the gunmakers made their products for good and law abiding citizens does not mean criminals cannot have guns.
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Just because Chevorlet and Ford make cars in order for good people to be able to get around doesn't mean criminals can't use them to do drive by shootings and lunatics can't use them to plow over people or road ragers to cause wrecks.

The gun is a tool, it is an inanimate object minus a human hand applied to it. It depends on the man holding it not the gun itself.
Same thing with any other tool, a car, a hammer, a bat etc.

This is what most people don't understand. They see gun and they think "oh that is bad"
 
This is a bad idea. Everyone who carries concealed knows the annoyances of mandatory concealment. I think concealed carry (or at least semi-concealed) should be a social standard in cities, but not a legal requirement.

Any sort of legal requirement for concealment, even if it allows "temporary" or "accidental" printing/uncovering, opens the door for anti-gun police to arrest anyone they don't like. We need cops arresting criminals, not people who haven't bothered to become tailors so that their wardrobes perfectly conceal their firearms.
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actualy i didnt think of it that way. agreed
 
Long Path said:
I prefer concealment for day-to-day public activities. Let the wolves wonder who are the sheep.

Let the blowhards who would carry for the wrong reasons reveal themselves.
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How many people do you think open-carry for the wrong reasons?

There's a fine line between looking for a problem and creating one.

How do you propose to enforce mandatory concealment without requiring that people who carry guns also carry ID?
 
Not complicated

To the extent that any state "disallows" open carry, this is an illegal unconstitutional abridgement of your and my right to keep and BEAR arms.

So, do you mean, should they re-write their laws to make them constitutional without being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court? I'd say that's an affirmative.

I'd still go concealed myself, but that's got zero to do with a state "going to open carry", which presumably means "allowing" open carry.
 
My problem with REQUIRED concealment...

...is that the laws can brand you a criminal and take away your CHL (if not your freedom) for a very long time if your concealment isn't perfect:

... if someone sees a vague bulge under your shoulder and correctly guesses it is a gun
... if a gust of wind blows open your jacket
... if you slip on a patch of ice and your clothing is disarrayed when you fall and then get back to your feet

COME ON!! after all the hassle to get the CHL in the first place, you're suddenly an untrustworthy maniac because, as someone posted earlier, you haven't been to a tailor to get ALL your clothing cut and fit for concealment?

btw, that's a conversation I'd love to watch:

(customer goes into tailor shop in mall): Excuse me, I need some help. Do you do alterations here?

(tailor): Yes, Sir, we certainly do. What do you need? Slacks taken up or something?

C: No, it's a bit more. I need all my slacks' waistbands lengthened on one side, all my shirts made so I can wear them untucked, and all my suit coats and sports jackets need a bulge put under one arm.

T: That's an unusual request, sir. What ever do you need all that for?

C: Well, my clothes fit ME just fine, but they have a little trouble with my guns.

T: :eek: :eek: :eek:

:D
 
ArcherAndShooter said:
...is that the laws can brand you a criminal and take away your CHL (if not your freedom) for a very long time if your concealment isn't perfect:

... if someone sees a vague bulge under your shoulder and correctly guesses it is a gun
... if a gust of wind blows open your jacket
... if you slip on a patch of ice and your clothing is disarrayed when you fall and then get back to your feet
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Most police officers are not going to arrest you for accidentally flashing your weapon, especially if you show your concealed weapons permit and apologize for the incident. Unless you act like a total idiot and walk around "brandishing" your gun most police officers could care less that you are carrying a gun. They know that your having a carry permit means that you don't have a criminal record. You should take precautions to ensure your gun is concealed though since it give you a tactical advantage. If I was going to rob you and noticed a bulge on your hip, you're most likely going to get shot. I'd worry more about that than getting arrested.
 
The problem is that they CAN

I agree that you are not LIKELY to be arrested, etc. for an accidental printing or exposure of your firearm, but the way the law reads, you COULD be, and I expect that if there is some anti-gunner freaking out along the lines of "Oh my GOD!! He's got a GUN!!!" the hassle factor will likely go way up.

If the law were clarified so that the threat were removed, it would be a good thing, IMHO.
 
I think it's up to the individual states on how they handle this.
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I don't. In fact I believe the Constitution said I have a right to keep and bear arms.......

I don't recall it saying that the states would control how I keep and bear them.
 
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