Open Carry: How do you feel about it?

[DanielBrown]

Doesn't happen in Sweden, nor the rest of Europe.
Guess why we don't have people getting shot all the time?

We get stabbed instead.

 

[senordesol]

I don't like the idea. I'm in the militry, and there is a time and place for carying weapons. I've been on plenty of exercises where we have carried rifles, and that doesn't bother me one bit, but when we go into certain communal areas like dining facilities or headquaters you go through an armed checkpoint, and you can leave them in a rack. You don't carry if you don't need it!

Ive also been deployed, and the American militry police carry pistols and rifles, but will continue to carry them loaded in paces like the chow hall... This never fails to make me nervous! There is no need for it in the dining facility, like there is no need for it in the HQ!

Don't get me wrong, I love shooting pistols, rifles and guns, but I don't want to see them when they are not needed! And thank god I am British, because out in Civi-street they are definately not needed!

If they're MPs, don't they always have to be prepared for any incident at any time? Fort Hood jumps to mind as an example of an MP being ready to return fire at a moment's notice might be a good idea.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Open carrying is fine. The bigger question is why the hell you need to carry a gun to go to a restaurant. I doubt if there is going to be a shoot out from you just driving into town. Are people worried about someone assaulting them all the time or something? Is there just a lot of scum-bag towns? Hell I've heard of people doing this in small towns in Arizona where crime never happens. What is the logic here?

 

[Bomberman4000]

I live in a rural area of South Carolina (I know, I'm amazed this ass-backwards state has internet too) and I'm not sure if it's an "open carry" state but guns are a common site in cars/trucks. When I was in high school, my cousin who is a year younger than me got expelled because he went hunting that morning and left his gun in his truck. Understandable on the school's part, but that happens at least twice a year at that school. I used to work in a body shop when I was a little younger, and I would bet one out of every 3 cars that came in had at least one gun in it.

I personally am not a big fan of guns. I was never around'em much as a kid and my experience with shooting them is limited to turkey shoots around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've never really thought about this subject until now, and honestly my gut reaction would be to feel uncomfortable to just see someone walking around with a gun. I don't know who that person is. I don't know what mental state of mind that person's in. I don't know why he or she is carrying a gun.

It would freak me out because it's out of what I consider normal. Seems weird because I'm used to seeing a gun laying in the back seat of a car or in someone's house, but outside of that it would be weird.

 

[ZeroMachine]

I dislike guns. They make me uncomfortable because they are dangerous*. You can argue if you like, but you won't change my mind. They're MADE to be dangerous. That's the draw. If they weren't dangerous, they'd have no place in personal protection. It seems to me that allowing people to walk around with guns (open or concealed) is really just asking for trouble. Regardless of a person's history, it is completely possible to lose one's temper.. which, even without a gun, can lead to disastrous consequences. Adding guns increases the chance of tragedy, in my opinion.

* dan·ger·ous
Adjective: Able or likely to cause harm or injury.

Have enough people actually argued that guns AREN'T dangerous that you needed to do that?

My brain is kurfluffled and I don't even know what that means O_O

Anyways, I'd rather no guns at all. But if people are carrying them, I damn well want to know.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

SNIP

Not when they are at lunch! There are loads more armed personel actually working that can respond to an incident. They should be made to leave them, at the door! In the UK we have armed guys on patrols, and on the gates and in reserve for incidents, but we don't have armed guys walking into the messes for lunch, its just not proffessional! And with the example of Fort Hood, are they really that scared that they are going to have that big an attack on the base at all times that they need to be armed when eating?

I don't know, from working with the Americans, I have found that their priorities are very different to our own.. I suppose with a nation of civilians carrying small arms around you probably need the militry to be armed for self defence on your own soil!? Hmmm... A question I will put to my colleagues later!

 

[Palademon]

I find either choice being exclusive in states disturbing.

Either you look like you're trying to intimidate people or you look like you're trying to hide it. There's no winning.

 

[Vivi22]

The gun by itself isn't dangerous. You can put one on a shelf, and it will just sit there. They become dangerous when someone with the will to use them, does.

I'm fairly certain that's the point he's making though, even if his wording could be better. The reality is that while I'm not against the right to bear arms necessarily, the people carrying them are often not trained in anything beyond their use on a target range and the safe operation of them in the calmest of circumstances. If you're lucky, you might get someone who's taken courses on the operation of a firearm for self defense, but even then, we're not talking about trained professionals here.

Hell, military and police are rigorously trained in the operation of firearms, and even they can't always be trusted to operate them safely and properly all of the time. The idea of your average Joe carrying a weapon with them in public should give any sane person at least a moment's pause. Sure, many people will carry and never have to use their weapon, let alone use one improperly. But there will be those who that can't be said of, who may do something extremely regrettable in part because they had easy legal access to a firearm.

 

[senordesol]

SNIP

Not when they are at lunch! There are loads more armed personel actually working that can respond to an incident. They should be made to leave them, at the door! In the UK we have armed guys on patrols, and on the gates and in reserve for incidents, but we don't have armed guys walking into the messes for lunch, its just not proffessional! And with the example of Fort Hood, are they really that scared that they are going to have that big an attack on the base at all times that they need to be armed when eating?

I don't know, from working with the Americans, I have found that their priorities are very different to our own.. I suppose with a nation of civilians carrying small arms around you probably need the militry to be armed for self defence on your own soil!? Hmmm... A question I will put to my colleagues later!

It doesn't pick your pocket, so why not?

 

[Kenjitsuka]

Pretty much what has been said. In aus guns arent legal, but if you were able to carry one around, id prefer to know someone was carrying it, rather than it being concealed.

Here neither, but if it was I'd "open carry" a big ass gun around.
Because if all people might be carrying, I *don't* want to be the one without equal "protection"/DPS.

Would make for some fine laughs to secretly film people's reactions in open carry areas when someone with a (few) guns open carries them coming out from a building with a big sign "Psychiatrists' Office" or something even more suggestive of being mentally unstable.

 

[major_chaos]

Before I reply, a little context: I occasionally hear (illegal) automatic gunfire in the distance when I visit my friend who lives close to the..."unsavory" side of town. Drive-bys and firefights are entirely too common for my tastes (fortunately, he lives on the "good side" of the "DMZ", which is regularly patrolled and separated by two large treelines, but I can still hear the gunfire clearly enough).

Years of attempted "crack-downs" have ultimately proved ineffective at keeping that kind of firepower out of the hands of gangs and criminals. Honestly; I'm far more worried about the gangster with a modified Tech-9 or sawed off shotgun in their pants/jacket than the guy openly packing.

Bloody hell where does your fiend live? the bad part of Mexico? and I thought Chicago was bad, at least we don't have automatic gunfire.

OT: I am (shockingly) going to agree with what seems to be the majority and say that I prefer open carry to concealed, but in most situations you don't need to carry at all. (and this is coming from a gun enthusiast)

 

[RandV80]

Yeah as a Canadian this is too much of a culture shock for me. I don't know, American's take pride in having the right to bear arms to protect oneself, as a Canadian I feel pride in the fact that we don't actually need to bear arms for either self defense or to keep the option of an armed revolution open.

Now Canadians on a per capita basis do have lots of guns, but these are mostly as if not for hunting then farming tools. Sometimes you just have no choice but to put a bullet in old Bessy, or have the protection available to protect your self from real bear arms!

 

[Dense_Electric]

Years of attempted "crack-downs" have ultimately proved ineffective at keeping that kind of firepower out of the hands of gangs and criminals. Honestly; I'm far more worried about the gangster with a modified Tech-9 or sawed off shotgun in their pants/jacket than the guy openly packing.

Exactly. I'm not worried about the guy who walks into a convenience store with a holstered pistol clearly visible and buys a drink, I'm more worried about the guy who walks into a convenience store and pulls a 1911 out of his ass.

Now unless you're in a really bad part of a city I don't think there's a real need to carry a firearm (I understand the need for one in more rural areas though, especially if you're a rancher or hunting), but generally if it's in a visible case or holster it means the person isn't using it for nefarious purposes.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Bloody hell where does your fiend live? the bad part of Mexico? and I thought Chicago was bad, at least we don't have automatic gunfire.

He lives west of Chicago in Rockford (I live in the western burbs of Chicago myself).
Most recently: I was out there visiting on New Year's, and heard what could only be described as an assault rifle being fired in the distance, followed roughly 10 minutes later by police sirens and an ambulance.

Incidentally; the last time I visited my grandparents in southern Texas was back in 2009 in Brownsville...when the drug lords were having a small war down on the border. National Guard got called in to back up local law enforcement.

...Come to think of it, I've grown up around a lot of firearms and gunfire (there was a gun-club who had a firing range across the lake behind my house where I grew up), but do not own a firearm myself.

Huh.

 

[Lilani]

I probably will get a concealed-carry license at some point when I'm old enough and live in a place where I can keep one. And I think even if open-carry were allowed and accepted, I still would conceal it when I carry. It'd draw too much attention, start conversations I probably don't want to have and put me in situations I probably don't want to be in. And the LAST thing I want is somebody tampering with or going after my gun when I'm looking the other way.

As for others carrying open...I dunno, I think it would lead to a lot of unnecessary and awkward situations. Of course nobody should stroll into a store and act all threatening, as though they want some sort of a threat, but I have no doubt many will do exactly that because they can. Most of them probably won't do anything, but it's just an extra unnecessary pressure for the rest of the world. In that sort of a situation, I fully endorse "What you don't know can't hurt you."

 

[FalloutJack]

So, I was mulling the issue over in my head dear readers, and I thought about this question. How do you feel about Open Carry? I.E. people who walk around in public places with guns strapped to their side or too their back.

Ah, well, if asked...I would point out that that concealing firearms without a license or something will get you arrested. But if pushed, I would have to say that neither case is good...but unconcealed weaponry leads to less paranoia and more reality checks. To whit, instead of imagining that someone could be a gun-toting so-and-so, YOU KNOW he is one. Confirmation of a terrifying fact is proof of sanity. It doesn't make the situation less problematic, but at least people don't finger YOU the lunatic.

 

[Henkie36]

Guns are very strictly regulated here in the Netherlands, so I never see people carry weapons outside of police officers. But yeah, I would want to see what someone is packing.

 

[DEAD34345]

I'm strongly against gun ownership in the first place, but if that had to be legal, I would definitely prefer enforced open-carry laws. The only argument I can think of for carrying a gun is using it as a deterrent against criminals, and if it's concealed it's not even doing that. So what would you be carrying it for? Murder?

 

[Cowabungaa]

Man, the fact that some people still think that in this day and age they have to walk around like a cowboy says a lot about the mindset in those parts. Paranoid bunch.

And if your area really is dangerous enough to warrant walking around with a deadly weapon in your belt I'd put some serious thought into what the fuck you as a whole, country or state or county or anything, are doing.

Given, I prefer it over concealed carry. Heaving a pistol is going to do nothing against a mugger if he doesn't know you have it, since has the element of surprise anyway. But it's still bloody crazy to carry a gun with you if you don't live in a friggin' warzone or something.

Before I reply, a little context: I occasionally hear (illegal) automatic gunfire in the distance when I visit my friend who lives close to the..."unsavory" side of town. Drive-bys and firefights are entirely too common for my tastes (fortunately, he lives on the "good side" of the "DMZ", which is regularly patrolled and separated by two large treelines, but I can still hear the gunfire clearly enough).

Years of attempted "crack-downs" have ultimately proved ineffective at keeping that kind of firepower out of the hands of gangs and criminals. Honestly; I'm far more worried about the gangster with a modified Tech-9 or sawed off shotgun in their pants/jacket than the guy openly packing.

Something like this, that's really sad, and honestly I can't blame any citizen for walking around with a weapon in that case. But damn, I didn't expect the United States to have such, sorry to say it it ain't personal, barbaric areas.

 

[godofallu]

Concealed carry- The guys who walk into the room and start pointing guns at you while you're eating have no idea you are armed, and have no reason to fear you or disarm you.

Open carry- The guys who walk into the room and start pointing guns at you notice you have a gun it your holster. They decide to either disarm you or shoot you.

So as far as safety goes, concealed is much better.

As far as general public is concerned, the majority of people don't like being around people with guns. With concealed they don't know you have a gun, so they don't get freaked out. With open carry a lot of people are going to get scared.