For those that open carry - why?

[jad0110]

Quote:
I could only imagine that OC would be a deterrent for bad stuff more than anything. The only downside is a situation when two OC's happen to have a disagreement while they are OC'ing, like a traffic accident or something where either side thinks they are in the right.

I'm grabbing my popcorn for this one. Please tell me you're just joking.

Maybe he was simply referring to how bad it might look to sheeple/bystanders.

Of course, carrying a gun (either OC or CC) means that you forfeit the option to get into shouting matches with others. In such a situation (a car accident), one is best advised to keep their mouth shut (other than to make sure everyone else is ok), and be polite and curteous in responding to responding officer(s).

 

[NMGonzo]

Because is more comfortable than concealing.

 

[Magic_Man]

Of course, carrying a gun (either OC or CC) means that you forfeit the option to get into shouting matches with others.

I'm going to have to disgaree here.

Regardless, it's best to keep your cool whether you carry or not.

 

[CorpITGuy]

I must say that my road rage calmed substantially the day I began carrying a gun. We are denied our right to OC in Arkansas, but CC is enough for me fix my act. I don't want to use deadly force unless I had no control over it. It'd be the psychological death of me, indictment or not, if I somehow made the situation worse and aided it in its escalation.

And yes, I can see where OC would make me even more polite.

Tactics aside (as there just isn't enough scientific data on this) OC is our right and, if we dress well and present ourselves like the kind and competent men and women we are, it is good for the gun rights cause.

 

[oldman1946]

Experience

Just a few observations I have made over my many years of life.

1. There are few victims in life. Most are willing accomplices. Ask your gun hating neighbor why they do not put a sign up showing their home to be gun free? People refuse to protect themseves for many reasons. This does not make them a victim when something happens but rather a willing accomplice.

2. Open carry will get the police called to you often. We are one of the two original open carry states. Walk into a restaurant without a badge in view and the manager will not confront you but often the cops will be called. I found that those not commissioned to wear a badge can slip a pair of handcuffs on their belt and few people will question the gun.

3. An anti gun person will use the open carry in arguments against guns.

4. That said, I have often carried openly without my badge but have been confronted by police that did not know me. Look at the records of any 911 area to see how often people call to report someone carrying a weapon.

Still I believe that Vermont has it right in CCW. LA and AZ has it right in open carry. Washington DC does not have anything right

 

[Mainsail]

Open carry will get the police called to you often.

That is not absolute. I have been carrying a 1911 every day this week (and the last three years), if the cops were called, they didn't respond. They had time to; I walked down Pacific Ave in downtown Tacoma (along the UW Tacoma campus) and sat in the coffee shop for over an hour. Twice I parked in the garage a half mile away and took the metro trolley (so I can avoid the one hour parking limit). Trust me, Washington has far more libs than LA too.

I found that those not commissioned to wear a badge can slip a pair of handcuffs on their belt and few people will question the gun.

This is something I would strongly recommend against. If a police officer wants to stop you for open carry, he must have reasonable articulable suspicion that you are involved in a crime. If OC is not a crime, then he cannot legally detain you for doing so. That said, the presence of handcuffs visibly on your belt could provide him the suspicion that you are impersonating a police officer. Whether or not it’s a reasonable suspicion will be left to a judge, and even if the judge rules it wasn’t, the officer is still protected by qualified immunity. The cop has nothing to lose really. If someone elects to open carry, open carry as a free American, not as someone trying to make people think you’re a cop.

An anti gun person will use the open carry in arguments against guns.

Please elaborate or provide citation. Is this pure fantasy or is there some logical argument to back it up?

Look at the records of any 911 area to see how often people call to report someone carrying a weapon.

At one time people often called the police to report someone walking in their neighborhood with the wrong skin color. A call to 911 doesn’t always suggest a crime, and as an officer I’m sure you're aware of that. Here in Tacoma, a ‘man with a gun’ call does not guarantee a police encounter. Listening to the scanner one Saturday afternoon I heard just such a call. Two cars were dispatched to the Target store, outside of which a man with a gun was reportedly walking. The first officer called it in as “just an open carrier” and the backup car was cancelled. The man (with a gun) was never contacted and had no idea the police had been called on him. The officer observed and drove away. You see, the officer observed that no crime was in progress, and thus knew it would be illegal for him to detain the man with the gun.

 

[w_houle]

Open carry in Ks is free
To concealed carry you have to pay for training and licensing fees, so until I can find the wherewithall to afford to cc, I'll OC