Open carry simply says leave me alone I don't want to be involved!

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frogfurr said:
Open carry in Ohio has been legal for many decades. I have never seen anyone open carry in Ohio.
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Ohio's a blue state in every single city. Red counties have some OC'ers.

Saw a lady with 4 kids OC'ing last week in Medina. Discrete OC. 1911 IWB holster. Just the grip sticking out.

Another with a Glock, completely OWB, the week before.
 
Have not seen my favorite open carry comment yet, "Nobody ever says anything".
Some that conceal but are unconcerned about printing use the same "Nobody ever says anything".
I see people open carry, I've seen some obvious printing, didn't ever say anything.
Wasn't because I didn't notice and the term "care" is inapplicable.

Make the topic something other than guns, like smoking or neck tattoos.
If you dislike smoking do you approach strangers and say "Smoking is bad for you"
If you see a neck tattoo do you approach a stranger and say "Neck tat make employment difficult?"
Probably not.

That is why using "Nobody ever said anything" as a rationalization/justification is invalid.
 
Personally I choose to concealed carry most of the time. Living in Metro Atlanta I just don't want to call attention to myself. I do open carry if in the woods. I do see people open carrying once in a while. We each make our own choices.
The OP being in a wheelchair is in a completely different situation than me. I would imagine having access to ones weapon might be more difficult if concealing in a wheelchair. I would think the wheelchair itself might make it more difficult to see the OP's weapon from a distance. I have no issue with open carry & I am glad the OP is still able to defend themselves & their family.
 
CoalTrain49 said:
Even in a wheelchair I would carry concealed. Any person can be an easy target with open carry just walking around with no handicaps. Even tanks get hit when targeted.

Do yourself and all of us a favor. Get a permit to carry concealed.
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Even with a permit to carry concealed I most often open carry. It's only a few times a year when it is cool enough to wear a shirt over a shirt or long pants instead of shorts so on the waist carry is a reasonable option. Of course even when I do carry a handgun openly there is almost always at least one concealed as well.

But just as with my cars, I tend to use things that are neither tactical or cool, preferring an old wheel gun over a modern striker fired light & laser Polymer Brazillion round semi-automatic. Kinda like stick shift, hand cranked windows, no auto door locks, no back up cameras and manually adjusted car seats.

Car thieves and gun snatchers alike will most likely need to get me to give them directions before they use either.
 
CDW4ME said:
Have not seen my favorite open carry comment yet, "Nobody ever says anything".
Some that conceal but are unconcerned about printing use the same "Nobody ever says anything".
I see people open carry, I've seen some obvious printing, didn't ever say anything.
Wasn't because I didn't notice and the term "care" is inapplicable.

Make the topic something other than guns, like smoking or neck tattoos.
If you dislike smoking do you approach strangers and say "Smoking is bad for you"
If you see a neck tattoo do you approach a stranger and say "Neck tat make employment difficult?"
Probably not.

That is why using "Nobody ever said anything" as a rationalization/justification is invalid.
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Agree. But those things help me spot people I don't want to interact with.
 
For me, open carry says "Shoot me first". It also advertises the existence of a weapon you can sneak up and grab from me. I fully support everyone's right to not conceal--but my opinion is that it's not in my own best interests to do so and makes me the stand-out No 1 target. It says exactly the opposite of 'leave me alone'...it says I want to make a statement, but it leaves the nature of that statement up to you to determine--which I don't care for. In any kind of problem scenario, the last thing I want to do is differentiate myself from the crowd so the threat can identify me before I identify the threat. It's just extremely poor defensive behavior IMO.
 
I carry legaly 99 percent of the time and it is concealed, and totally agree with the above post. if the SHIF the open carry will most likely shot first.
 
Can open carry make you a target? Yes.
Can open carry be a deterrent? Yes.
Really depends on which criminal(s) are around.
Both sides of this argument have valid points.
Then there is the permit issue. There have been times when I open carried because I didn't have a permit to CC. Permits take time & money. OC was my only legal option, other than being unarmed.
I have a friend who "discreet carries" black gun, black grips, black holster, black belt, black pants & black shirt. It's OC, but you really have to look to notice it. He would prefer to CC, but he is philosophically opposed to paying "extortion money" to the government for a permit.
As for me, I do both, now that I have a permit. Depends on where I am & what I'm doing.

Why is it bad for children to see armed adults? Even if I disagree with some of the arguments, I understand the points, except this one. In fact I believe it's good for children to see responsible armed adults. It counteracts the indoctrination that "guns are bad, mmmkay."
 
CDW4ME said:
Have not seen my favorite open carry comment yet, "Nobody ever says anything".
Some that conceal but are unconcerned about printing use the same "Nobody ever says anything".
I see people open carry, I've seen some obvious printing, didn't ever say anything.
Wasn't because I didn't notice and the term "care" is inapplicable.

Make the topic something other than guns, like smoking or neck tattoos.
If you dislike smoking do you approach strangers and say "Smoking is bad for you"
If you see a neck tattoo do you approach a stranger and say "Neck tat make employment difficult?"
Probably not.

That is why using "Nobody ever said anything" as a rationalization/justification is invalid.
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Smoking crack is illegal, and Im sure if someone walked around in public doing so, the cops would be called and people would openly object.

Most people don't say anything or care about Neck tattoos because they're legal and Its none of their business or concern. It's not their body... They are more then welcome to not agree with how a stranger chooses to live their lives; however, most people know it's not their place to say anything. Even more just don't care. Plus, tattoos are common place now, and whether you can find employment depends on the field you're in. Yes, there are some old fashioned, judgemental, stuck up people out there when it comes to tattoos, but the sigma behind them isn't the same as it was years ago.

I have seen several people open carry in VA. In Walmart, super markets, the library, while riding motorcycle, etc. People do not say anything or call attention to it. Everyone goes about their day as if it is not there. It just is not a big deal.

I personally don't open cary, but I do print sometimes. I never had a problem. Plus, I do not care is someone objected to my peacefully and legally exercising my rights. If they don't like it, they don't have to look or be around me, but like I said, I never had an issue.
 
Most people probably wouldn't object. It is the folks who are not 'most' people that might take notice.
But to each his or her own. I go with Greg's reasoning for practical reasons.
 
The OP is wheelchair bound so the circumstances for him are not usual. If he feels discreet carry works best for him and family great. In thinking is over when I occasionally open carry it is really discreet carry since the gun, belt, and holster are where my arm falls naturally and are black along with dark pants.
 
frogfurr said:
If they were there I would have seen them. This is my view on the disadvantages of open carry: I think it is bad for children to see people armed in public. And, after two home robberies, I am not too fond of carrying an expensive gun around to be seen and that could be snatched out of my holster.

I stand to be corrected.
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You need a retention holster. I carry in a Safariland Level 3 holster. I believe you would pick me up off the ground by the grip of my pistol before you would get the handgun out, unless of course you know where the latch is.
 
DeepSouth said:
For what it’s worth, you can’t know you would have seen them, you can think it, and believe it, but at the end of the day you don’t know what you don’t know.
If you’ll OC for about a month you’ll realize just how unobservant people are, obviously their are exceptions but I’ve gone into stores and had conversations with police officers that never looked down and realized I was OCing.

I’m curious as to why you think it’s bad for children to see armed people in public. I’ve never thought about it, but I can’t really think of a real negative to it, nor can I think of a significant positive either...
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This is so true.
 
It's probably just me but I have yet to see one of the people OC in the local Wal-Mart that I thought anything other than "hmm, wonder what he's so worried about". But I think pretty much the same thing about other people who carry a gun for no other reason than they can, OC or CC. And I used to carry a gun whenever I had the armory keys on me.
 
Praxidike said:
Smoking crack is illegal, and Im sure if someone walked around in public doing so, the cops would be called and people would openly object.

Most people don't say anything or care about Neck tattoos because they're legal and Its none of their business or concern. It's not their body... They are more then welcome to not agree with how a stranger chooses to live their lives; however, most people know it's not their place to say anything. Even more just don't care. Plus, tattoos are common place now, and whether you can find employment depends on the field you're in. Yes, there are some old fashioned, judgemental, stuck up people out there when it comes to tattoos, but the sigma behind them isn't the same as it was years ago.

I have seen several people open carry in VA. In Walmart, super markets, the library, while riding motorcycle, etc. People do not say anything or call attention to it. Everyone goes about their day as if it is not there. It just is not a big deal.

I personally don't open cary, but I do print sometimes. I never had a problem. Plus, I do not care is someone objected to my peacefully and legally exercising my rights. If they don't like it, they don't have to look or be around me, but like I said, I never had an issue.
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Point is that "Nobody ever says anything" as a rationalization/justification for whatever behavior is invalid - worthless.
Saying nothing about ____ is not indicative of oblivion or acceptance.
However it doesn't keep people from posting that crap logic, had not seen it in this thread yet.
 
my dad was in a self propelled wheelchair for a couple years. He carried a pistol in a fanny pack, but turned around so that it sat in his lap. I thought that was a good idea.

I understand the idea of keeping a weapon visible as a deterrent. If you were to be the target of a crime, a visible weapon may very well change a criminals mind about who to accost that day.

But!...
what if for example, you're in a store and some jackwagon steps in to rob the place? He may have left you alone, if you looked toothless and of no threat to him.
but if he knows you're armed, you may just invite his aggression, because he cant knowingly turn his back on a threat, while he goes about his "business".

I will always feel that its a better idea to be able to surprise an attacker with a bite he didnt see coming.
 
I disagree with the premise of the thread, wheelchair or otherwise.

But as of today it's still a free country and I have no problem with one exercising those freedoms.
 
CDW4ME said:
Point is that "Nobody ever says anything" as a rationalization/justification for whatever behavior is invalid - worthless.
Saying nothing about ____ is not indicative of oblivion or acceptance.
However it doesn't keep people from posting that crap logic, had not seen it in this thread yet.
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There is your problem right there. It is not about gaining or even seeking the acceptance of strangers. The point of and logic behind "nobody ever says anything" is to points out the fact that it's not a big deal. People aren't running for the exit, no one is making a scene, absolutely nothing happens. It is business as usual irregardless of whether they support carrying outside the home or not...
 
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beag_nut said:
Open carry seems much like "C'mon, just try me!". I prefer to be more subtle.
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Yea, and a home alarm system outside someones home says "C'mon, break in!" Or, as with OC, it could mean, "find an easier target."

In my state, it could just mean "I want to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights, but I do not have a conceal carry permit (open carry without a permit is legal). It could also be the case that some just find OC more comfortable.

Whether you like guns or not, hate tattoos or not, like OC or not, if people spent less time worrying, being judgemental, and/or getting upset about how others look, dress, live their lives, or any and everything else that does not affect them personally, the world would be a much better place IMHO..
 
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Jeb Stuart said:
No telling what else he has and no one's business. He could be CCW a backup. Let some fool try and grab the gun. Anyone who underestimates a opponent is a fool anyway. And no telling how fast he can pull that gun from the wheel chair. Might even be quicker than many would think.
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Why grab the gun if you can just walk behind someone and shoot them or whack them in the back of the head with a sock full of quarters or a short thick steel pipe you hide in your sleeve, or knife, or whatever your preferred method of a sudden attack is ? It’s not like people don’t walk right past or behind you all the time when you are in a public space. You’re not pulling a gun every time someone passes close to you, or you’d be in prison by now.

If the criminal wants something you have, they can chose the perfect time and place to engage you, and have the element of surprise. They can send their nice clean looking girlfriend to ask you for directions and distract your attention. You don’t have the luxury of planning your defense in advance knowing the place, time, and perpetrators. Open carry only puts a huge target on your back and makes your element of surprise disappear. And it only “works” in a safe, well protected area where the potential attacker is far more afraid of whatever else may be there (police, security guards, other armed citizens) than the unsuspecting target. Just my two cents...
 
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Praxidike said:
Yea, and a home alarm system outside someones home says "C'mon, break in!" Or, as with OC, it could mean, "find an easier target."

In my state, it could just mean "I want to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights, but I do not have a conceal carry permit (open carry without a permit is legal). It could also be the case that some just find OC more comfortable.

Whether you like guns or not, hate tattoos or not, like OC or not, if people spent less time worrying, being judgemental, and/or getting upset about how others look, dress, live their lives, or any and everything else that does not affect them personally, the world would be a much better place IMHO..
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Not a valid comparison.

A home alarm system doesn’t advertise exactly what it is you’re trying to protect, and many people are installing them for personal protection while they are in the house, not necessarily because they have anything really valuable. It is there to keep meth heads away, not dedicated burglars.

Now, put a safe in a window in your house that says “guns and diamonds inside”, right under your security company’s logo, and see how well that alarm really works...
 
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