Open carry is the practice of wearing a presumably loaded firearm, visibly. It normally takes the form of a holstered handgun. It occasionally takes the form of someone carrying a rifle or shotgun into a restaurant, which has a history of causing restaurant chains to ban or at least decry the practice. There is also what gun writer and blogger Tam Keel calls “Open carrying at people,” which I think is the province of those colloquially known as “attention whores.”
A few years ago, Mark Walters hosted a three-way debate on the topic on his show “Armed American Radio.” The “pro” speaker came, IIRC, from Georgia Carry. The “anti-open carry” speaker was a cop from the Midwest who, though generally pro-armed citizen, thought open carry was counterproductive to both the public peace and the Second Amendment cause. I took the middle ground, which I still hold. One the one hand, I would like for every state to allow any citizen who has a clean record and hasn’t been adjudicated mentally incompetent to be allowed to open carry a holstered, loaded handgun. First, because there are some jurisdictions where if the wind blows your coat open and reveals the gun you are legally carrying concealed, a genuinely frightened citizen or vindictive anti-gunner can combine with an anti-gun prosecutor to create a perfect storm of criminal charges for illegal open carry. Second, because if a good person suddenly becomes a stalking victim or the target of death threats, I don’t want them to have to wait up to 90 days (gun-friendly Florida) or six months (the time it takes before a new resident can even apply for a concealed carry permit in California, which for the most part is decidedly non-gun-friendly). But on the other hand, I don’t think we win any friends for gun owners’ civil rights by flaunting deadly weapons in the face of a general public conditioned to fear guns and their owners by generations of anti-gun media and political prejudice.
I do open carry a few times a year in public, just to gauge typical response, and have done so in jurisdictions from New Hampshire and Connecticut to Washington State. Most folks don’t even notice. I just got back from a class in Tucson, hosted by Dan Southard and his Gator Farm Tactical training group. There is no more open-carry-friendly state than Arizona, though Tucson is pretty much “blue yuppie central” on firearms issues. At the airport hotel, about a fifth of the students open carried, while a majority of the rest were packing concealed. There were no incidents or complaints. Interestingly, if you look at the class photo below, you’ll be hard put to spot even the openly carried handguns, including the Glock on my own hip. Yes, open carry can be discreetly performed.
Now, contrast that with this YouTube video, taken by a true attention whore and cop-baiter. Ask yourself just how much of an ambassador this guy, trolling a school while wearing an openly carried handgun AND a slung long gun, is for the cause of responsible armed citizens. Note that at the end, he and his flaunted guns walk right up to the door of the school, doing a remarkable imitation of Adam Lanza approaching Sandy Hook Elementary School. Note that it was the Bloomberg anti-gun-owner forces who made it go viral.
Click Here for Video.
(First video removed by user link updated to use the original video, not the deleted, edited Demanding Mom’s video. you can visit his Youtube channel here. EP)
Let me ask again…what is YOUR take on the matter?
I support open carry but the guys carrying rifles are idiots.
While they are idiots, they are also useful idiots as they are a distraction from legislation that I really don’t like.
My take on Open Carry: I wish we could finally get it in Florida. I believe in carrying concealed, but there re some days in good ole Miami that one could do without a cover garment if nothing just to sit under a shade and sip a cold non-alcoholic drink.
My take on Open Carry Idiots: These are latecomers to the show. People with zero idea of what has taken to reach what we have today and just fed the naive idea that any political maneuver is an unacceptable compromise by a bunch of chest-thumpers interested in getting their coffers full of money and no regard for the Second Amendment.
Just 4 months ago, Open Carry in Texas was all but ready to be introduced, approved in the legislature and signed by the Governor. It is not even Spring and OC is officially dead for the year thanks to a collection of posers led by an idiot with a Cuban pimp hat who talked tough and right into the hands of our opposition.
My only hope is that they serve as example of NOT what to do and people learn from their stupidity.
I’m actually kind of “meh” on this. I would come down on the “carry what you want, when, where and how you want” side.
Now if someone chooses to use that firearm in an illegal manner….
I had a sixty-mile round trip to go to college back in the 70’s, and began open-carrying a Security Six when riding my motorcycle. It appeared that my 4-wheeler-free space increased noticably…
I would ride on campus, walk to the security office, and turn it in until time to leave.
How times have changed.
Be aware, Mas, that this video is cleverly cut to make you think he walked up to the school door. He did not. That was the police department that he’d been directed to by the cops. Get the full video, not one cut by Moms Demand.
I’ll not surrender the tactical advantage. I carry concealed.
I’ve gone on record as opposed to “Open Carry” as typified by Texas Open Carry”: I think these people are too much in to Shock Tactics, and demonstrating that Open Carry is a legitimate exercise of the Second Amendmendment is NOT about shocking the public.
It’s about educating the public.
The consequences of “Shock” Open Carry can have generate no benefit to the movement, but it does undermine the 2nd Amendment acceptance.
The Open Carry movement is a legitimate effort to demonstrate that firearms owners can peacefully exercise their constitutional rights.
However, as some groups are entirely confrontational rather than rational, they undermine the purpose of the movement. Worse, they exemplify the worst of the movement, rather than the best.
There are times when rational 2nd Amendment people are embarrassed by the idiots who demonstrate .. supposedly on behalf of the movement. Rational people don’t get to pick the folks who choose to represent them. As a result, often the idiots are the only voice which most people hear .. and that’s because that ‘voice’ is represented by people who are more interested in personal aggrandizement than advancing Constitutional Rights.
I Agree with Pat Cimo–keep the bad guys guessing. Drawing attention to yourself is counterproductive and unnecessary. Carrying concealed requires a higher degree of circumspection and maturity than the average citizen; and, dare I say, the average firearms enthusiast. Open carry requires 10X as much circumspection and maturity; if only because the firearm will attract attention, wanted or not, and may subject the carrier to stares, taunting, threats, insults, etc., which requires judicious self-control to deflect.
Greetings from Tombstone! The kind of demonstration that we need consists of common sense and good manners. Behaving in a way that openly disturbs the public, and provokes and insults the police, has too many negative consequences. The end result can be the opposite of the desired effect. In reality, whose side of the issue is the video guy supporting? Is he the kind of individual who never admits being wrong? It might not have bothered me if some kindergarten teacher had picked him off with a match BTHP from her M1A out of a school window just for his appearing so dubious, if he was within a thousand feet. Incidentally, a CCW can be an asset if you are stopped near a school in Arizona. Might even keep you out of the juzgado.
I actually miss the days in Arizona when CCW was more required for concealed carry. Open carry, especially by the more colorful desert rats, was much more common. Even the many snowbirds were used to seeing a lot of exposed handguns, and seemed to become used to the sight. These days, the tell-tale bulge of a concealed pea-shooter seems to make the snowbirds more nervous. Still, more guns are making for less crime. I believe that Jared Loughner would not have started shooting if there had been several open-carry folks in the crowd that day. Not to mention a couple of visibly armed, uniformed security people. Open carry can be an asset in many venues, especially in force. Don’t carry your .50 BMG to a political rally and expect to be ignored, though.
I believe the aggressive, so called “open carry idiots” may well actually be anti-gunners causing problems for the second amendment cause down in these places where they strut about in belligerent fashion, as perfectly exemplified in the video accompanying this article. It is propaganda akin to the anti-trapping/fur industry groups that skin living animals on tape to create hysterical videos to support their poppycock. The less extreme cases are likely just misguided and foolish at best.
As per open carry, or any carry for that matter, it is a fine thing for any jurisdiction to allow its citizens the choice. I believe that when done properly, it can go a long way to towards being another one of those things that can help to reverse the anti’s stigma against guns. It’s be great to once again be able to go about your daily business accompanied by your gun, long or otherwise. It was once not uncommon in the least for a person to leave there home, walk down to have a cup of coffee or perhaps some breakfast followed by a trip to the hardware for store for some more shells then off to the woods for the day!
I support all carry as long as such is accompanied by a safe; positive, responsible and respectful attitude. To me, it is very strange and counter intuitive to allow concealed yet not open carry.
Apologies for my poor grammar in the post above… Note to self – Proofread!
Great article Mas, Thank You. It is interesting to read people’s take on the matter.
I think sometimes, “in your face” is part of the needed tactics. As in the organized protests in Washington State this past Friday. As in previous demonstrations at the Washington St. Legislature. That’s planned and purposeful. But a bunch of Wahoos scaring restaurant patrons in Texas walking around in “low ready” like their expecting a firefight? no. Its a fine line, perhaps, but warning politicians to unintended consequences is where a lot of folks are who would not carry openly otherwise, I believe.
My take on routine open carry as a means to deter attack is that it’s like taking out a protective order. There are stalkers that a protective order will deter, so it works for them. Unfortunately there are also those who see a PO as a challenge, and they tend to be much more of a threat.
Open carry will deter some criminals. Unfortunately the more dangerous criminals will simply designate the person open carrying as First Target, and an easy source for an additional gun.
The OCT people who carried into Chili’s, Chipotles’, etc, were breaking Texas law, as the restaurants have beverage licenses. Even worse, the managers of those restaurants must keep people from carrying any firearm but licensed concealed handguns inside. Otherwise they lose their liquor license. Step One of political activism is know the laws.
OCT is so hot to “confront” the Legislature and “hold their feet to the fire” that we can’t convince them that the Texas Legislature is already pro-gun. With the effective lobbying of NRA, TSRA, and TCHA, the Legislature has successfully passed gun-rights legislation every session since 1993.
I keep hoping experience will start getting through to OCT, and they’ll begin climbing the learning curve. So far, no luck.
Since I have no training in retention or any retention holsters, I don’t BUT…
Like it or not open carry, long gun or handgun, has become a political necessity.
The lines are being drawn right now, open carry simply establishes what side of the line you are on political sense, if that is the motivation. I am in no way talking about tactical usefulness or convenience here, but the pure politics surrounding the mere presence of a firearm.
As lawful firearms owners get pushed, criticized, scrutinized and harassed, a good percentage of open carry is simple push-back. These people, many of them, are just tired of having their rights stepped on.
Some might argue that it’s counterproductive. I don’t think so. Only anti gun, anti constitutional people call for or enact gun control. So those who see open carry as counterproductive or foolish have cause and effect reversed.
Play it cool and lay low hasn’t really served us well. Those who would disarm us don’t care if we are all the perfect to the letter of the statute, regulation, and rule gun owners.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven–
There are times when its appropriate and times when it is not.
Fred Woodbridge, that is precisely why it was stupid to begin with: It gave ammunition to people that have a longer reach media-wise than the original moron..excuse me…activist.
If somebody comes to rob you with an empty gun, do you lend him a couple of rounds?
As someone who carried openly and concealed in Arizona and now lives in Florida, I support open carry 100% because it makes life easier for concealed carry. I didn’t have to worry about “brandishing” or some other silly law if my cover garment flashed open, and I didn’t need to worry about a cover garment if I was making a milk run to the corner store on a hot day. On the other hand, there were times in Arizona when a pocket gun and a smile was the prudent choice versus a gun on the hip and a smile.
Nothing normalizes the existence and presence of an armed citizenry more than open carry, because concealed carry is, by it’s very nature, concealed from the public eye. Want the public to get used to guns? Have guns in public, but please make the gun friendly by being friendly yourself.
Concealed carry is good, open carry is good. Both are needed, and both should be supported.
My personal preference is for concealed carry but I support those who wish to respectfully and responsibly open carry.
I really miss the old days when guns were openly displayed only because they were
often used (rifle rack on a Framer’s pickup). Nowadays some people are just so darned enthusiastic about displaying their range toys it’s… creepy.
I have open carried a pistol when out hiking in the hills east of town. It was legal and I didn’t have a CC permit at the time. In that context, the people I came across on the trail didn’t seem alarmed indeed many of them were open carrying as well. Given the option I’d much rather carry concealed.
I’ll echo what commentor Fred Woodbridge posted above — that was the police station the open-carrier attempted to enter, not the school. I’ll also add that while I’m not a fan of the tactics employed by the open-carrier in the video, I can attest to the fact that he has been open-carrying both handguns and long guns in that community for several years. The police in that community knows who he is as they’ve encountered him many times and even were successful in getting him to show police ID early on. Note how in the video the cops never asked, as they usually do, to see ID? That’s because they know who exactly who he is and that he’s never posed a threat to the community. Yes, he’s an attention whore, but that is no illegal.
It was the cops that chose to extend the MWAG call by staking out their positions near the school. And it was a cop who escalated the situation by choosing to get out of his vehicle to “talk” (some say “confront”) the individual. Yes, the OCer was agitated, but that’s because he continually gets harassed by the local PD every time he goes for a 2A stroll.
The cops could’ve cleared the call from dispatch by reporting in that the MWAG was a known open-carrier exercising his 2A rights as he often does, and then went about other business
Open carry is not necessary 99% of the time. I agree with Massad. It only scares people on the street. As a protection from an accidental exposure of a concealed weapon I am heavily in favor of that. If you are off on your way to the range or hunting it would be nice. If you work in a store where crime is high it would be very nice. But just to go down to the grocery store I don’t see a need to stress out granny.
In either case permits and background checks constitionally issued should be required.
Our new Governor, Asa Hutchinson, considers Arkansas an Open Carry state. However the law passed last year has been heavily debated as to its meaning. With the exception of some ‘test the open carry law’ marches, which went undisturb, you don’t see anyone pushing the issue. ( the State legislature is suppose to clarify that law this session).
As someone else above apologized for their spelling and grammar, I would like to do the same. I was typing kind of fast and didn’t do a very good job in proof-reading.
I’d also like to state that I do NOT know the OCer in the video personally, but I know of him. He is generally not well-like within the OC community in Michigan mainly because of his tactics. That, in my opinion, does not excuse the actions of the local police officers who chose to escalate the situation knowing full well who he is and what he’s all about. It was the cops who were every bit the attention whores the OCer was in this incident.
These guys, sadly, do nothing that positively supports our 2A rights.
Does open carry bother me personally? The answer is no. Is it normal in today’s society? For me the answer is whether you would ordinarily do such a thing in your normal life.
I grew up in a very rural state with one of the highest per capita rates of gun ownership (Arkansas). The particular area of the state where I lived was and is a mecca for duck hunting and deer hunting. You could hunt as many geese basically as you wanted as well. Thus, at the time, my high school’s parking lot was filled with trucks having gun racks (filled) during hunting season with their guns occasionally being worked upon in shop class, etc. Needless to say, people in the community did not hyperventilate seeing a firearm. I knew a general store owner who was near our farm at the time who openly carried his Colt Single Action in his store after being robbed once. Everyone knew what had happened and supported him as far as I remember.
That being said, I had to openly carry a M-16 and a S&W Model 15 (later the M9 Beretta) in the Air Force while doing my tasks in a Civil Engineering squad. It was a pain to say the least, try using a shovel with a slung rifle–try driving heavy equipment such a grader, etc. Due to security, we had to keep the weapons at hand or task one airman with watching the weapons. I would have done almost anything for a nice concealed holster and a manageable firearm. You can do a fair amount of physical tasks with a holstered firearm but having a longarm simply hampers and limits what you can do. When I shop at Krogers or Publix, the last thing I want is a longarm slung across my back when I bend down to pick something off of the lowest shelf and the like. I don’t want to sit down at a table at a cafe making sure that my longarm is safely stored for the duration of the meal. Pumping gas would be an adventure with the hose getting tangled with the firearm etc.
Simply speaking, to me, open carrying of longarms is simply a stunt–it is unsound tactically, it is unwise politically as it scares the chickens and will not build support for gun rights, and undoubtably attracts police attention in an unfavorable way. Those who say it will normalize people seeing others with firearms are wrong–unless you argue that people will routinely sling longarms throughout their daily life, it will not normalize the situation.
If we were in a potential combat/severe civil unrest situation then the problem of carrying a longarm is the least of your problems, out in the hunting fields is also different for obvious reasons, but for normal day to day living where dangerous man-eating critters don’t live, longarms are simply a nuisance, at best.
On open carry, I am allowed to do so in my state with a permit. I’m glad that I can but am unlikely to open carry. One, I can do without calls to the police about Man With a Gun (MWAG) and dealing with that hassle. Second, it is unwise tactically to me as I need all of the element of surprise that I can get. I also don’t want to spend time worrying about weapon retention in Wal Mart checkout lines. The open carry part helps if you are handgun hunting or accidently reveal your firearm. If you are trying to make a political point, an empty holster does as much or a sign. If you are trying to force a large retail or dining corporation to support you, you will be disappointed–they are not in the business to fight political controversies–most of their customers including gun owners will likely find open carrying obnoxious and want it stopped.
Here in Florida they supposedly fixed the problem where a stiff breeze could turn a legal CC’er into a criminal OC’er. I’m not so sure that I trust that the “fix” really changed anything. Sure, the WORDING of the law changed, but that is small comfort when the bracelets go on. I’m taking a watch and see attitude. So far, it doesn’t look all that grand (granted, I’ve only seen one case, and it was at least a little questionable).
As far as OC in general. I believe it is a constitutionally protected right. Yes, yes, “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGLED!!!!” I know, makes me sound like a loon, but in my defense rather than just blindly shout it, I have calmly looked at the evidence and have become convinced that a completely unrestricted, armed populace is what the founders intended. I believe the founders actively intended for normal everyday people to have the right, and access, to weapons of war in case America was attacked, or in case our government descended into tyranny. Note: I’m not holding my breath that our government will ever recognize this right to that extent, and have often wondered if, technically, that in itself qualified as tyranny.
As for the ass-hats who go around attention-whoring, carrying their firearms “AT PEOPLE”. I see them as the 2A’s version of those assholes who picket funerals of soldiers and shouting “God Hates Gays” while hiding behind the 1A. Yes, they are, and should be, free to do so, and intelligent, reasonable people are, and should be, free to write them off as odious. They are the natural consequence of having rights. The alternative is to give up those rights. You’ll excuse me if I just ignore them.
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I agree that the Open Carry folks are attention whores. Personally, I’d rather not advertise that I’m exercising my concealed carry permit. The theory of “…keeping the bad guys guessing..” makes a huge amount of sense to me.
That said, I’ll not oppose Open Carry because I dislike the thought that Government continually thinks of ways to limit my 2nd Amendment rights. If you wish to Open Carry and be a target, that’s your call. I’d rather be more subtle.
The individual knows why s/he is OCing, and knows to not be a jerk about it. “Open carrying at people” is being a jerk. Ex.: no, you’re not carrying that AR15 with C-mag in a mall for “self defense”, you know that, we know that, and just because the English language isn’t conducive to articulating exactly why in a non-deniable way doesn’t mean you are. Discreet, if open, carry is for defense; if you’re being in-your-face overt about it, you’re on offense and are the subject of “condition orange”. There’s a difference between deliberately making the public aware of what you’re doing, vs just doing it because it’s the right thing to do – and you (the activist) know the difference, as do the rest of us. The jerk will be treated like one.
BTW: Pat, dressing like a sheep increases the odds of the wolves deciding to eat you; by the time you draw it, they already have the drop on you. A discreetly visible fang or claw persuades them to choose other victims.
To expand on Reno Sepulveda’s comment, context is important. Even though a gun is just a tool, and open carry should be legal, appropriateness is based on context. I could legally carry a shovel at a fancy dinner party–it wouldn’t be illegal, but I sure would get some strange looks and people might wonder what my intentions are.
If I’m in the woods, it’s natural to carry a rifle because it’s in context. But if I’m in a convenience store, why would I have a rifle? I would expect questions about it. I shouldn’t be accosted by the police merely because I’m armed, but I can’t blame someone for being wary in that situation.
But if you imagine more details, say I’m in a convenience store in the country, wearing hunting clothes, then of course I’m more in context. But if I’m dressed in a way that cannot be easily associated with using a firearm, once again, people may worry.
These open-carriers are bringing firearms into “unnatural” contexts. This is bound to create controversy. Will the upshot of this controversy be positive or negative? I think it may depend on the reaction of the majority of reasonable pro-freedom advocates and our ability to get our message out there.
First: the guy in the video is a TOTAL JERK. What he’s doing has nothing to do with open carry; he’s just provoking the cops. I didn’t watch it to the end, but I sure hope he ended up getting arrested. He deserved it, IMO.
I agree that open carry should be legal everywhere; while pointing out that just because the law allows it, doesn’t mean it’s always the smartest thing to do. IMO, where open carry just serves to alarm and alienate people, it does more harm than good to our cause.
Saying that our fellow citizens “shouldn’t” be upset at the sight of an openly-carried weapon strikes me as beside the point… What IS and what “shoud be” are often not the same…. we *shouldn’t* routinely hear lies from our President… we need to be dealing with reality here, not with what we believe “should” be the case.
When our job is to enlighten our fellow citizens as to the truth about firearms, open carry defeats that purpose when it alarms rather than educates people.
Like several of the other posters, I carry concealed for tactical reasons. While I agree that open carry might in some instances provide a deterrent against would-be criminals, it also can be a red flag calling the bad guys’ attention to you: they kill you first, both to put you out of action, and to get your gun.
I want the bad guys’ first realization that I’m armed to be when my rounds begin impacting.
I’m not sure why people create a false choice here: there are times for each mode of carry and those who insist they will be carrying concealed for X,Y,Z reasons make it sound as if this is an argument between making a PERMANENT choice between the two modes. Ridiculous.
They’re NOT mutually exclusive. Quit making a mountain out of a mole hill. Don’t want to open carry? Good. Don’t want to conceal carry? Good.
But for the love of all that’s holy and good, stop dumping on your fellow countryman who chooses one or the other in good faith instead of impugning him solely by external characteristics. We used to do that with black people, who on sight would have all sorts of usually negative attributes attach.
Unless & until you discern intent–which requires mindreading–give your fellow citizens the benefit of the doubt. Unless you’re an extra in MINORITY REPORT, you precog.
While I agree with the importance of standing up for our rights– including our right to openly carry where laws allow it– it strikes me that the LARGER fight is to preserve those rights.
There is a large and well-funded anti-gun lobby doing everything they can to convince people that guns are unsafe and should be banned. So far, the Supreme Court has correctly ruled that the Second Amendment applies to all citizens, not just organized militias. But that could easily change.
If the majority of our fellow citizens decide that firearms should be banned– then we will be powerless to prevent them enshrining that belief into law; either through a repeal of the Second Amendment, or through a Court ruling that says it applies only to organized militia groups; or some other series of laws that effectively prevents people from owning and carrying guns.
A pro-gun majority in America is the ONLY thing that’s gonna preserve our Second Amendment rights for future generations. So as I see it, our REAL JOB is to continue to educate our fellow citizens as to the truth about guns.
And when open-carry advocates ending up alienating more folks than they educate… then they’re operating in the interest of the anti-gunners, whether they realize it or not.
Mas, this is a topic that doesn’t lend it’s self to short responses. I, like probably the majority of folks that follow your blog, could spend weeks (or more) arguing all sides of this issue.
I am a second amendment purist. I believe it means what it says and says what it means. I also believe in a civil society, basing my actions on common sense and good manners. I won’t get in your face if you don’t get in mine. If you’re in hurry, I’ll hold the door. If I’m going too slow for you, don’t shove me out of the way. Just because I can pass gas on a crowded elevator doesn’t mean I should exercise that bodily function, even though some of the passengers probably won’t mind the temporary change in atmosphere and there may even be one or two who actually enjoy it, some will be angered, maybe to the point of a confrontation. I’ll save my gas, if at all possible, until I am in more appropriate surroundings.
Having said that, there are people who seem to have a need to draw attention to themselves, be confrontational, and go around bent on getting a reaction. I would hazard a guess that the individual in the video spends more time trolling in public for just this type of confrontation than he does on the range becoming proficient in the use of his weapon. If he had not gotten any reaction to his intentional attempt to cause a confrontation, he would have been very disappointed. I would not be surprised to learn that he had moved his operation to the vicinity of a school due the inability to draw a negative response at other locations. I would not be surprised to find that his love for the second amendment is a new found love.
If one feels the need to open carry long guns in public for no other reason than “it’s my right and I’m going to exercise my right even if it offends you”, go ahead, offend as many people as you can. In today’s fragile environment, don’t be offended if you’re walking by an elementary school with your “black rifle” slung over your shoulder, exercising your rights, and another citizen, who lives a block away and has a child in that school, puts a .308 slug through your skull, daring not wait on your intentions to be manifested.
In conclusion, these “open carry activists” are not, in my opinion, helping anyone’s cause, except their own (which is their egos). As for the punk in the video? I wouldn’t worry about him too much. In the environs I’ve lived all my life, folks like him will eventually push a confrontation with someone who will “stomp a mud-hole in his a##, then stomp it dry”. Just saying.
KevinC said it best:
“…Concealed carry is good, open carry is good. Both are needed, and both should be supported.”
I carried concealed in Texas, because there is no legal open carry of handgun there, and I resented it every time the thermometer went above 80 (i.e., about 350 days a year).
Now that I live in New Hampshire, I don’t OC on purpose, nor to make any kind of statement. I simply don’t worry about having a cover garment, even though about 120 days a year here, we’ll wear some type of coat, jacket, or even just a flannel shirt as a light jacket.
All summer long, I let my freedom show, and I’ve never gotten a negative reaction — and only on a couple of occasions have I gotten any reaction at all. Those were either positive, or neutral curiosity.
I do see others OCing, but not to make a statement. Like me, they’re just ordinary folks going about their daily business and not bothering to hide it.
I have to make one statement about the old argument of “tactical surprise”: if you ever have to draw your handgun or use it defensively, YOU are the one who’s already been surprised. There is no such thing as a defensive element of surprise. If there is, it is only to surprise the aggressor by not being there.
If you think you have a “tactical advantage” by carrying concealed, then one of two things must be true: either you believe you can draw from concealment in time to stop someone who has already attacked you; or, you believe you can draw and engage someone who has not already attacked you; or, you intend to watch a situation unfold until you are justified in jumping in, instead of getting out of Dodge.
The first makes you delusional. The second makes you the criminal aggressor. The third makes you a fool with a Batman complex.
Concealed carry gives me the tactical advantage of “surprise”should I need to respond to a situation – an advantage I give up with open carry. Open carry simply makes me the bad guys first target.
I have less of an issue with those carrying openly than guessing who might carry concealed. For the most part, open carry is done by those obeying the letter of the law, which in the PR of CT is allowed if you have a pistol permit. Still, many LEO will still stop and question you and some may try to detain or arrest for incitement.
The most “unfriendly” person I saw carrying openly was a guy wearing a biker jacket (no colors, just black leather) and walking with a confident swagger. I showed him the “molon labe” morale patch on the back of my cap and he smiled. No “in your face” no confrontation, just “I can, therefore I shall”. I noticed another store patron looking at the sidearm questioningly, to which I said “it’s legal with a permit in CT” and that person nodded and said “Oh. OK” with no worry or panic or anything unreasonable.
Speaking of unreasonable, since this is a family blog I shall simply say that the person above carrying a rifle openly is about 13 short of a dozen and is an excellent argument for retroactive birth control. LE can be your best friend in 2nd amendment situations, and it is only fame-seekers like this…person who deliberately bait police. Not bad; you guys should’ve heard the self-censored internal monologue as I was typing that!
Well, I spent about 38 years in the military, and Federal Law Enforcement, and wore a sidearm every day openly, and no one questioned it, because I was wearing a Uniform which the Public accepted as a normal authority to do so.
I don’t hold with the open wearing of a long gun, by civilian’s, although I have never encountered someone doing that, as it’s stupid, and announces you as a target for anyone wanting to arm themselves (How you think WWII partisans got weapons to fight the Germans?).
Whether plainclothes Law Enforcement, or CCW civilians, keeping your handgun concealed is tactically, personal safety wise, the better way to go in every instance that I can conceive of as well.
Ha! Ha! Very funny Mas. But with all that camouflage, how do you engage your adversary?
I like concealed carry. Keep the bad guys guessing. During my stint at Gunsite we were encouraged to openly carry while in town and I felt very conspicuous. I believe my holster at that time was a Chapman hi-ride and is not noted for good retention. I constantly felt that someone would grab my gat.
If anyone wants to call this yo-yo on the video an a–hole you won’t get an argument from me.
In principle, I support Open Carry, but it has caused ‘No Weapons’ signs to proliferate here in Alabama, though a few business only request ‘No OPEN Carry’.
If someone HAS to carry a rifle, at least remove the mag!
Personally, I carry concealed.
I am against most open carry because few people will purchase the same security holster now used by most police departments. How many open carriers will take gun retention courses?
Until a secure holster requirement is added, I am against on safety grounds.
Also, I think it is mostly just showing off. I am all for being armed, but showing off you gun just makes you a target and scares or intimidates non gun people.
Jim
I like the tactical advantage of concealed carry.
However, when on a hike in snake country I do open carry a revolver (with snake load) in a cross draw holster but also carry another handgun with self defense ammo. in a concealed holster. That’s just my way.
Despite my preferred methods of carry I would still always like the option to open carry if for nothing else than issues with brandishing.
I agree with KevinC. I don’t want to have to worry about my piece being seen when I reach for the top shelf in the store. That said, I prefer CC by far. The Bozoids who yell “Allahu Akhbar” and start shooting will shoot at the OCers first. I just wish I could carry a Mossberg 500 concealed.
Just as a side note to those who say that open carry of pistols is constitutionally protected, law professor Eugene Volokh disagrees. Prof. Volokh is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment right to carry in self-defense and was a vocal defender of the right prior to the time the right was confirmed at the Supreme Court. But he believes that the state has the right to limit that right to concealed carry. See this recent article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/02/18/second-amendment-protects-carrying-guns-outside-the-home-but-state-may-require-concealed-carry-rather-than-open-carry/
You guys should be very thankful you have the freedom to even have this concealed carry / open carry discussion. I bet they don’t discuss this topic in most countries of the world. I don’t live in America, I live in New Jersey…………..behind enemy lines. I usually keep a low profile, but sometimes I’ll wear camo, or when I’m feeling brave, I’ll wear a black NRA cap with bright gold letters. I usually wear the more discreet, subdued NRA white cap with posh-looking, golf course-style brown letters.
I used to dream about wearing an empty holster or even an empty bandalero across my chest to gently shock people and make a point. I asked a cop about it. He said there are laws against threatening clothing. So, I guess if someone felt threatened by seeing my empty holster, a cop would ask me to remove it. Maybe if I put flowers in my empty holster or my bandalero, that would make it less threatening to the sheeple.
Governor Chris Christie wants to run for President, but he has two strikes against him. Number one, he is from the Northeast, and number two, he is the governor of New Jersey (yuck). Maybe if he wants to look like a real American he could OK legislation to give us concealed carry in NJ. Nah, never happen. It’s time to move to Texas, or any “free” state.
I’m 100% for open-carry. Too bad some folks are just morons. I once went into a restaurant and my coat had ridden up, exposing the holstered S&W on my belt. Luckily this was in a small rural town and no one was “distressed”. Had that been in an Urban city, I might have been dealing with law and order for years.
The open carry movement has an important purpose and most of the guys I see doing this on youtube are tactful, intelligent and articulate. Concealed carry is more effective in self defense, but that is not the purpose of open carry as a movement. Open carry also used to mean you were carrying your gun openly fro everyday purposes ( as with a gun rack) and there was no reason to hide it.. It’s a tool. The American people and mindset that lived with guns as tools and as essential everyday items is nearly gone. Even people who call themselves advocates for our rights get their panties in a wad because someone is open carrying. I wonder how many 1770’s Bostonians called Sam Adams an idiot.. Mostly Loyalists I suppose.
To Dave the Liberal comment above.. What part of ‘shall not be infringed’ do you not get? Only people have ‘rights’ and governments ( the state) has ‘powers’ – supposedly only the ones we included in the Constitution .. but apparently that means nothing to the govt. The limits on those powers have been violated many times and it is not the purpose of Supreme Court to decide when it may or may not – as we are incorrectly taught in school.
If you’uns want to carry your handgun in wide open plain sight, gofer it.
For myself, I’ll keep it up tight and outta sight but I would appreciate a little leniency when it comes to inadvertent “flashing” the concealed weapon. Long arms? People carrying them in shopping malls and restaurants are being silly children. I don’t know what (good) they hope to accomplish
I open carry in the back country where I am unlikely to come across two legged predators. Rest of time I cc because a bad guy can’t buy a firearm but has probably been practicing taking away a good guy’s guy! Anyone who open carries ahould be routinely practicing retention techniques.
I,ve carried concealed for over 35 years. I’ve been an instructor for 15. I still feel their is something wrong with a person who needs to show everyone at the restaurant or grocery store his military pattern rifle and his sidearm. If I was the bad guy, I’d take him out first. I can see a State like Texas or Arizona with the cowboy guns etc., but Minnesota, no way. Thanks.
I’ve always lived by the motto, “Never let them see you coming.” Teddy Roosevelt also had a good saying, “Walk softly, but carry a big stick.”
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