Sharp as a Marble - Open Carry haters

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Open Carry haters

Open Carry

Almost as bad at projection as anti-gunners

Trying to separate the politics from OC is hard to do. 9 out of 10 times people who OC do so as armed activists. They do so for the shock value. They do so for the attention, negative included, that accompanies OC. While they will tell you that they OC for ‘tactical” reason, this is the same crowd who seems to despise formal training, and rarely shoots their OC gun.

Ain’t no question that there are some very loud Open Carry people, just like there are loud [insert any sort of cause here] people. Every movement has them. As someone who’s fought for OC here in Florida, I stand by my assertion that the worst opponents we faced were not the anti’s, but other gun owners like this guy. Some people are so hell bent on preventing others from exercising their rights, they’ll go to extreme lengths of pulling the same tactics the anti’s do; namely broad brush strokes and condemning entire swaths of people based on the actions of a few. Then, they take one or two instances of people losing their pistol and extrapolating it to indicate that it is a major phenomenon that should be regulated!

I love how there is a time and place to openly carry, too. Many opponents claim there’s no need to OC at certain places (the list changes daily) where some people’s gentle constitutions might be rendered ill by the sight of a firearm not on the hip of a police officer or other authority figure. I carry everywhere and just because it’s concealed doesn’t make where I carry OK.

Will some people OC to places they normally wouldn’t carry a gun to make a point? I guarantee you they will. Will some people be utter jerks about it? Yup. If you’re willing to punish everyone for the actions of a few, might as well sign up for a Brady membership since they like to claim small, isolated events mean all gun owners are crazy murderers just looking for an excuse to kill.

I understand some people don’t like Open Carry. That’s fine, then you have the option to not. The difference between Open Carriers and militant Concealed Carriers is that OC’ers don’t really care if you don’t want to OC.

posted @ 9/6/2011 2:12:20 PM

Incoming Links

yesterday, at sharkey’s | walls of the city on 9/10/2011 9:01:46 PM

Comments

Weer'd Beard says:

on 9/6/2011 3:06:27 PM

Also a lot of people's feelings to carry in general is that it seems odd to them.

I've had people bad-mouth or make crude jokes about people who carry guns wherever they go in front of ME! And these are people who know I'm a gun nut, and they just assume that since they can't see my gun, and I don't lead a conversation with "well I'm packinng 'heatm today..." that I don't have a gun on me.

Furthermore when I carry in OC friendly states like Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire, I carry concealed, as I'd be the ONLY OC guy there, and by nature would be the spectical.

Without people OCing it can't be "normal", and without OC being "Normal" the people starting the trend will generally be looked at as activists.

Of course the big question to these "common sense" types should be "Should people be sent to Jail for OC or accidental exposure?"that. And of course "If weather doesn't permit a well-concealed firearm that the user is proficient in, should they be forced to disarm?"

There is where the truth lies. People should have the right to keep AND BEAR arms, and one should understand that there are times when weather, comfort and the arm chosen will dictate if it is concealed or not.

I pocket carry...I simply can't choose to open carry my gun without buying different hardware. It is not wise or comfortable to Open Carry outside in a New England winter.

Its also very difficult and uncomfortable to carry a full-size gun outside in a Florida summer.

If we have the right to keep AND BEAR arms, then open AND concealed need to be honored equally.

RobertM says:

on 9/6/2011 3:09:03 PM

Every time I put my gun on it's a political statement, no matter how I carry it. And I'd like to see something besides conjecture when it comes to 'tactical advantages' of concealed vs. open carry for armed civilians.

TexasFred says:

on 9/6/2011 3:25:11 PM

I live in Texas and open carry works for me, it's too hot most days to carry under a jacket, it is after all, Texas, but I can carry an XD-40 Sub concealed under a T-shirt, so, I'm OK with concealed too...

Bottom line; I'm OK with carrying a gun... :)

ExurbanKevin says:

on 9/6/2011 3:46:24 PM

Bottom line; I'm OK with carrying a gun... :)

*ding*

I think it was Michael Bane who pointed out that the arguments against OC sound vaguely like the arguments against CCW that he heard 20 years ago from the hunting/target shooting community, namely, "Stop screwing things up! You're going to get ALL our guns taken away!"

And then CCW happened and... nothing happened. Nothing at all. In fact, crime went down. If open carry were more common and accepted, crime would go down: Ever hear of a cop getting mugged? Me neither.

Me? I don't open carry because I don't want the gun to get in the way of how people react to me, but if others want the right to open carry, I say go for it. Just be extra-nice while doing so, because people who OC are ambassadors for the rest of us.

Fred says:

on 9/6/2011 4:45:57 PM

Rarely shoot our OC pieces? Shit, I guess that 150 rounds of 9mm just evaporated on Saturday. Guess I need to store my ammo I never use better.

In a couple months when I can actually legally conceal, I'll probably still open carry at times as well.

deadcenter says:

on 9/6/2011 10:35:45 PM

here's an open carrier making a statement that will make hippy heads explode:

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/08/why-does-this-guy-have-an-assault-rifle-at-the-apple-store/

John A says:

on 9/6/2011 11:00:00 PM

Weer'd Beard, yes, I would feel odd seeing someone Open Carrying. Because, as you add, no-one (except LEOs and a few private security personnel) does so around here. So it would be rather like seeing someone walking around in full Elisabethan clothing or Buck Rogers costume.

None of these things are likely to inspire me to scream, run away, or call police but merely arouse my curiousity.

Oh, with additional info, perhaps. If I am at a grocery and some guy in Shakespearian regalia starts using a sword to split melons I might well fear gizzards and weazands would be next on the agenda...

Matt says:

on 9/6/2011 11:42:53 PM

I'm with TexasFred, but in Tennessee instead (and yep, the xd40sc does tuck nicely under a t-shirt). I open carry a lot, and in the big town I live closest to, the police aren't even allowed to OC when off duty. I've never had the cops called on me, though I do tend to get some looks and occaisional conversations. The employees at the places I frequent don't even pay attention to it anymore when I walk in, including the bank. As people have been saying, the key is being a GOOD ambassador, not a loud one.
In my area, I've noticed quite a few folks OC, generally at least level 2 holsters, and I have yet to hear of someone's gun getting taken from their person. Not even blood running in the streets. Sheesh, almost enough to make you think all that stuff is a lie...

mike w. says:

on 9/7/2011 10:19:30 AM

Plenty of us OC'd in Ohio this weekend. Not one of us was doing it for the attention. I am SO sick of people making that claim.

markofafreeman says:

on 9/7/2011 11:02:49 AM

None of these things are likely to inspire me to scream, run away, or call police but merely arouse my curiousity.

And that is another plus of carrying openly: arousing curiosity, and promoting conversation. As I said in my recent post, you'd think from the way anti-OCers talk that I'd be walking through a gauntlet of frightened moms shielding their children from the scary sight of a gun. It's just not the case.

Peter says:

on 9/7/2011 6:11:57 PM

At the end of the day, I want to carry a gun without either breaking the law or having to ask permission to do so.

The likelihood that Florida will enact Vermont/Constitutional isn't terribly great (no shortage of Obama stickers down here in SoFla), so I'm willing to settle for OC. Especially when I discover there's no milk at 2AM and the nearest Wal-Mart has a history of "situations" and "occurrences" in the parking lot.

Linoge says:

on 9/8/2011 8:29:03 AM

It always amazes and disappoints me when people who have been targeted by the shameful and despicable demonization tactics employed by the Brady Campaign and their ilk then turn around and use the exact same tactics against those folks who dare to carry a firearm in a way that they might not like.

Yes, there are jackoffs who open carry... Just like there are jackoffs who own firearms in general. But using those jackoffs as a basis to attack open carry as a whole is logically equivalent to using those other jackoffs to attack firearm owners as a whole... logically equivalent, and equally logically lacking. And just as we should respect a person's choice to own or not own firearms as their desires demand, so too should we respect a person's choice on how they deecide to carry, if they carry at all, so long as they do so in a safe and responsible manner.

Of course, being one of those non-in-your-face open carry activists, no one is likely to listen to me...

Robb Allen says:

on 9/8/2011 8:33:09 AM

Linoge, that is because the Andy's of the world know you better than you know yourself. He is absolutely certain that since the only reason he would OC is to be a dick about it, that's the only reason YOU would do it.

It's classic projection, and it's sad it comes from our side. But, thems humans for ya.

Cowboy Blob says:

on 9/8/2011 1:07:50 PM

I find that the people who bitch about OC and CCW folks eschewing formal training are people selling formal training.

Caleb says:

on 9/8/2011 2:52:19 PM

My only gripe with open carry any more is that it's most often practiced with holsters that are less than ideal. Sure that sharkskin custom job looks pretty, but it's also a level 1 retention holster. A safariland ALS/SLS, blade-tech thumb-drive, or Galco MX-7 (I think that's the right model) all offer level 2 retention.

Now, I don't think that a gun grab is a very likely circumstance, but I don't carry a gun because I'm an optimist either, so why not add that layer of protection?

zach says:

on 9/9/2011 11:24:22 AM

How can a person love the 2nd amendment and not at least respect the right of people to open carry?

I really hope the situation here in Fl, it really is intolerable. I have had only positive encounters or disinterest while open carrying in other states and I believe OC is the best crime deterrent available.

Comments have been closed on this topic.