Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that toast makes a great midnight snack, and I can’t disagree with you there. You might also be thinking “Good golly, Robb is talking a lot about open carry lately” and you’d be right there too!
However, I see two problems that we seem to be arguing over and I want to clarify them here so that we don’t confuse the two issues, namely the legality of open carry and the benefits of.
From what I’ve read in the comments, I don’t think there are too many people who argue that Open Carry should be illegal. The main point of contention seems to come from the benefits or harm caused by Open Carry. Even that point is broken down into two parts – Open Carry as a form of activism and Open Carry as simply a preference.
As far as activism goes, I’m still of the firm belief that at worst, it’s completely neutral. I’ve not seen any proof so far that in the other 43 states that OC has caused enough people to freak out that they pressure their legislators to restrict gun rights in any shape, form, or fashion.
I’ve also not been able to connect people Open Carrying to any sort of primary push for more gun rights and I don’t think that’s ever going to be the case. Suzy Soccermom isn’t going to see someone openly carrying a Deagle and go “I’m going to go write my senator and demand we rid ourselves of that horrible Gun Control Act of ‘68”.
In my opinion, the best activism that happens with Open Carry is that people simply start to see that there are guns around them all the time and that nothing bad truly becomes of it - nothing but visceral inoculation.
The other side – personal preference – is nothing that we will ever get consensus on. There are hassles with openly carrying involving everything from an overzealous cop to having freaked out hippies approach you. There’s also the benefit of comfort, especially in climes such as Florida where OWB carrying allows you to dress cooler.
So, if you comment on Open Carry, please make sure you ensure everyone knows if you are talking about the legality or the viability of. Hopefully this will cut out some confusion.
While this is technically accurate, I would not recommend it unless you have an acquired taste for asphalt.
At that precise moment in time, I was breaking the law. Even though someone ELSE pulled up my shirt, I was at fault.
the OC folks in California managed to fire up Assemblywoman Saldana enough that she authored a bill (AB1934) that would have outlawed open carry.
The open and legal exercise of people's rights so fired up Assemblywoman Saldana enough that she authored a bill (AB1934) that would have outlawed open carry.
OC has caused enough people to freak out that they pressure their legislators to restrict gun rights in any shape, form, or fashion.