Open Carry: How do you feel about it?

[lacktheknack]

Seeing how the only time I've encountered someone with a gun was a teen trying to prove how gangsta he was, I'm pretty uncomfortable around them.

But if people are carrying guns, I'd like to see it. I'd prefer they didn't carry them at all, but if they must, I'd like to know.

 

[Mr. In-between]

I have no problem with open carry. I like guns and feel that you should be able to arm yourself if you feel the need and there are definitely places in America where you need to do so.

 

[Saladfork]

Living in Canada, the only weapons I've ever even have been either carried by cops or, occasionally, my grandfather. I've never carried a weapon around, nor have I ever met anyone who would.

I also have never known anyone who's ever been killed or injured by some attacker.

Is the U.S. really that unsafe? I can't imagine it's *that* different down there...

 

[Lev The Red]

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.

guns are not dangerous any more than a pencil is dangerous. it is POSSIBLE to use a pencil to inflict injury. a kid was expelled from my high school for stabbing someone with one.
guns aren't dangerous; people WITH guns are. and that's kinda the idea behind open-carry.

 

[The Funslinger]

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.

I am a denizen of Missouri, which is an open carry state. In rural areas, it's not uncommon to see a farmer or two carrying around a shotgun, nor is it uncommon to see a man sitting in a dining establishment with an pistol holstered at his side.

I ask because opinion on this matter varies, even among gun owners. My father is a NRA member, and he's not a huge fan of open carry. As for me? I'm fine with it. It doesn't really bother me. In some ways, I do feel safer around people with guns, especially those who I can tell have been training with them recently. That, and my state is also a shall-issue state for permits to carry a concealed weapon, so I see it not really different. Either way, I'm around people with guns. And I'm not bothered. I don't think I'll open carry myself, but I'm not bothered by it. Thoughts?

EDIT: Oh, and this goes without saying, but let's try to avoid flaming and hyperbole, ok?

Well, at least here's one person that doesn't hyperbole about guns. Personally, I'd like to be able to do both, so it wouldn't impede any particular way I choose to dress... if it's a hot day, I might just want to wear a T-shirt and go for a simple hip holster. If I'm wearing a jacket, or coat, I'd probably go for a shoulder holster. That said, I'm British, so I can't get a handgun as it is. But I'd like to move to America (not for that reason, obviously)

 

[Jake0fTrades]

I think it's okay so long as people are required to go through some degree of training to be able to carry weapons openly.

 

[ElPatron]

Yeah I'm inclined to agree, if you really absolutely have to have a gun (*sigh*), at least make it noticeable. I mean, concealed firearms can't be a deterrent, since nobody knows you have one in the first place.

In Open Carry only locations, you know who is carrying and who isn't.

In zones that allow Concealed Carry, trying to mug someone is like Russian Roulette.


It doesn't work like nukes.

 

[Snotnarok]

What I find more disturbing than any legal version is that thugs/gangs are illegally carrying and hiding guns and there's people worrying about people carrying guns on their side legally.

 

[theheroofaction]

Let me put it like this.
Lets say there arer some muggers, really ameteurish type, using only knives in a place where people carry guns, this type is surprisingly common due to how expensive guns are. Lest also say there's a guy conceal carrying and a guy open carrying.

Now, they're going to ignore the open carrying guy for obvious reasons. they also wouldn't do it where that guy can see, once again, for obvious reasons.

They would then, at some point accost somebody conceal carrying, at which point the only way to stop this would be to use the business end of the gun.

In short, somebody getting shot is a lot more likely in the second scenario
"an armed society is a polite society" and all that.

 

[carletonman]

A good friend of mine had a nice piece of wisdom about being a police officer. He said "If I could do my job, and not have to carry a gun to do it, I would enjoy it that much more."

I understand that for many people, particularly in rural environments, a firearm is a tool, much like a shovel or a tractor. I understand the pleasure people get from hunting; it goes back to the earliest days of survival.

That being said, I don't understand why people need to own handguns. There is no frontier anymore, and handguns are designed to do one thing: kill other people.

Maybe its because I'm Canadian, but I really don't understand the need for handguns.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I live in a country that doesn't allow firearms, but on the whole if it was legal here, I'd much rather have people walking around openly displaying the fact that they're carrying a weapon, than having people hide them away somewhere.

At the end of the day, I'm not concerned about someone willing to show everyone they're armed. After all, everyone around them will know about it, and behave accordingly.

But someone with a concealed weapon... Well now you're guessing every time something happens...

 

[WanderingFool]

I prefer open carry in a sense, as it means you can see the weapon. Thus, I know to GTFO when I see somebody carrying one.

 

[deathninja]

While I sometimes question the need to carry at all in most areas, open is infinitely preferable to concealed.

 

[Dastardly]

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.

I am a denizen of Missouri, which is an open carry state. In rural areas, it's not uncommon to see a farmer or two carrying around a shotgun, nor is it uncommon to see a man sitting in a dining establishment with an pistol holstered at his side.

I ask because opinion on this matter varies, even among gun owners. My father is a NRA member, and he's not a huge fan of open carry. As for me? I'm fine with it. It doesn't really bother me. In some ways, I do feel safer around people with guns, especially those who I can tell have been training with them recently. That, and my state is also a shall-issue state for permits to carry a concealed weapon, so I see it not really different. Either way, I'm around people with guns. And I'm not bothered. I don't think I'll open carry myself, but I'm not bothered by it. Thoughts?

EDIT: Oh, and this goes without saying, but let's try to avoid flaming and hyperbole, ok?

I'm pro-gun... but I'm anti-open-carry, myself. I don't think open-carry people are dangerous per se, but I think that there's a certain... I'm not sure what the best word is, but I'll say "attitude" behind someone that feels the need to openly carry a firearm. It's almost a big, "I dare you" sign, almost like they're looking for trouble.

Again, it depends on the person, of course. But for instance, the kind of person that would brag about knowing a martial art is also the kind of person more likely to (whether consciously or not) pick a fight for the chance to show it off. In general, I feel that way about open-carry, or about people who brag about concealed carry. If something bad were to happen, the gun would tend to be their first resort, rather than their last.

I believe they should have the gun. And I don't think a person should have to wait until they are shot, or even shot at, to use the gun to defend themselves. But carrying it in the open doesn't accomplish anything.

In fact, there's a chance open-carry could escalate a situation. For instance, if someone is looking to rob you, and they're determined, and you're carrying in the open, they might just decide to shoot you first. Now things went straight to gun violence before any chance to go elseways.

 

[Atmos Duality]

guns are not dangerous any more than a pencil is dangerous. it is POSSIBLE to use a pencil to inflict injury. a kid was expelled from my high school for stabbing someone with one.
guns aren't dangerous; people WITH guns are. and that's kinda the idea behind open-carry.

By that logic, there should be as many people being accidentally/unintentionally killed by pencils as firearms each year.

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.

Fortunately, it's far more of the exception than the norm; That particular part of town has a history of violent crime. Police always tend to respond from the bordering neighborhood, meaning they're probably afraid of regular patrols.

For a time, they had an anti-violence protest-activist group called Ceasefire working it (mostly comprised of non-gang locals; decent people), but as far as I know, their funding dried up when the economy started collapsing.

Even in the absence of such a place, I'm sure there are still people who want to run around like they're Wyatt Earp.

 

[Zaik]

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?

The idea is that crime never happens in those areas because the risk vs. reward is not in the favor of the criminals. It's a low reward due to being a "small town", but if there was no risk(small towns also have incredibly small police forces) there's still no reason to not try to rob people.

If I'm the only person in the room with a gun, I've pretty much got all the power. If four other people I don't even know also have them, I'm not really that special anymore.

 

[Lev The Red]

guns are not dangerous any more than a pencil is dangerous. it is POSSIBLE to use a pencil to inflict injury. a kid was expelled from my high school for stabbing someone with one.
guns aren't dangerous; people WITH guns are. and that's kinda the idea behind open-carry.

Tell you what, let's have a duel. You can choose a pencil or a gun as your weapon, but if you choose the gun, you have to have one hand tied behind your back.

Obviously, since guns are not dangerous any more than a pencil is, you'll be choosing the pencil and keeping use of both hands, yes?

To where should I send the flowers?

seeing as in a traditional duel, people stand back to back and walk forward 10 paces, THEN start, i would just spin around and stab you in the base of the neck with the pencil before we start walking. sure, it may be unsporting, but i would live. now, were would you like your flowers sent? :-D

just because an object is designed to kill doesn't mean the object is dangerous or bad. in our duel, my pencil ended a life and your gun didn't.
when talking about an object that will not operate of its own accord, the use and/or user of the object is dangerous, not the object itself.

 

[Woodsey]

The concept is almost too bizarre to comment on, although I guess if they've got it in sight you know whose got one. Not that that'd give you that much protection against a fucking bullet anyway.

 

[JaceArveduin]

guns are not dangerous any more than a pencil is dangerous. it is POSSIBLE to use a pencil to inflict injury. a kid was expelled from my high school for stabbing someone with one.
guns aren't dangerous; people WITH guns are. and that's kinda the idea behind open-carry.

Tell you what, let's have a duel. You can choose a pencil or a gun as your weapon, but if you choose the gun, you have to have one hand tied behind your back.

Obviously, since guns are not dangerous any more than a pencil is, you'll be choosing the pencil and keeping use of both hands, yes?

To where should I send the flowers?

Well, there's a simple answer to that: Who actually does "duels" anymore? Most of the time it's an ambush in one way or another. And he was going by that one guy's definition of dangerous, and by that definition a pencil is dangerous, along with many other things.

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.

And that's the biggest problem, gun laws don't matter much to those that don't give a fuck about them.

I'd honestly go with both, but I do like to know whether someone has a gun or not. Someone who's got a gun holstered and walking around like a normal person isn't as likely to do something stupid with it do to the fact they know they are being watched closely.

 

[emeraldrafael]

It doesnt necesarrily bother me, but i get rather... anxious in those kinds of environments. that, and I start to judge that person on how they look.

...

I know I shouldnt, but you never know when someone is going to snap or a shooting is going to go off.