Whats the problem with open carry?

I have a question while we're on the topic of open/concealed carry. If you're legally carrying concealed in a state that allows open carry and you print, does it matter? I don't think I've heard this one asked before and I'm curious to find out.

Crowe

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Well I got 6 little friends, and they can all run faster than you.
 
As a CHL in Texas I also wish I had the option to open carry if I wanted to at times. Sure would make it much more convenient at times.

Wouldn't it be interresting if a state required everyone to carry open at all times times they were in public. You could carry whatever you wanted loaded/unloaded at your option. Wonder what the crime statistics would look like in a few months? ;) Kinda like the idea I had years ago to stop airline hijacking - everyone should be required to fly nude. Everyone except my wife, my daughters and me of course!

RKBA!
 
I would personally prefer to have the choice to carry openly OR concealed...whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like it. I live in FL so open carry is not an option :( BUT I have no qualms about shedding the overshirt or tucking in the tshirt once I am on my own property...the heck with what the neighbors think. This subject is often debated between me and a friend of mine...he advocates concealed carry "because he doesn't want to be the first one targeted by a BG" and I advocate open carry because I don't want to be targeted by a bad guy. The difference may lie in the fact that he is a guy and I am not...and therefore I feel like I am a more attrative target to a bad guy.

[\rant mode on] Personally I think being forced to carry concealed does contribute to the sheeple's impression that anyone who has a gun and is not wearing a uniform is automatically a bad guy...chafes my a** :mad: We shouldn't be forced to conceal our guns...they are NOT pornography and I am NOT ashamed to carry one every day! [\rant mode off]

-sarah
 
I think the federal law about guns in schools ( the 1000 foot or whatever law) has an exemption for licensed carriers. But that doesn't really help, since most states forbid guns in schools of all kinds.

As far as open carry, in Lott's "More guns, less crime" he suggests that concealed deters more crimes because the criminals don't know who is carrying, and so they are deterred from attacking people with no obvious gun.

As for me, I think it ought to be up to the person, and open carry ought to be legal everywhere. Don't hold your breath.

The reason the laws don't make sense is that open carry was legal everywhere until fairly recently. The first gun laws tended to be against concealed carry, on the grounds that this was more dangerous to the public. Some of the states that banned concealed never got around to banning open carry.
 
I think a good rule for carry is: If alone, carry concealed, if with friends carry openly.

If you are with friends the goblin is gonna think twice, because even if he does ambush you, your friends may make him pay dearly, so the presence of armed men does have an effect. If you are alone though, you look much more attackable. I think wearing a vest is definitely a good idea too. Then again those will probably be outlawed eventually as well, lord knows there are enough people trying to.

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
I see your point, but keep in mind that if a BG is determined to commit a crime, you will be the first to be shot if you're the one with a gun in plain view.
 
I'd like to touch on something C.R.Sam mentioned. I think half the fun in carryin' openly is to watch all the sheeple run and hide. Man, I can only imagine what a grin that would bring to my face.. :D

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President, FUD's Fan Club.
 
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