How to respond to "Why do you have a gun" while OC

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I usually reply with: "The same reason I carry a cell phone or any other tool. Just in case the need arises for use of it."


Antis don't views guns as tools, so the abrupt shift of mindset usually ends the convo right there.
 
stressed said:
One thing I notice the most, especially from women oddly, is when they see you Open Carrying they stare and the first thing they blurt is probably the first thing oin their mind -"Why do you have a gun"

I usually say "because I am an American" or "It's our right" etc but I would like something witty to say. What do you guys say, or what should be said?

One of the best things I heard when asked the question "Are you a cop" was when the persona responded "Would it make you feel better if I said I was?"

Some girl (adult) saw me today and said "You're scary, you have a gun" all nonchalantly, can't really respond to that witty. But would really like to the know the best way to respond to "Why do you have a gun"
Click to expand...

Ask her back... Why not?

If she says it's 'scary' then cover the gun and ask... Is it not scary now?

And if so, why is one way scary and the other not?

Deaf
 
Well Miss, I usually keep it inside my pants but today it got all hot and stuffy and wanted to come out for some fresh air.
 
I was in a car wash waiting on my truck last year for more than thirty minutes with a S&W model 66 on my hip before anyone in the waiting room noticed. Suddenly this lady says Oh my god, he's got a gun. A gentleman in the group looked up and said So? And then remarked that it was a nice piece. The woman looked at all of us like we were from Mars. I then explained that it was legal and the lady calmed down nicely.
 
Reply with "Because I am not politically important enough to warrant police following me around and not rich enough to hire an armed body guard...or do only the richest 1% have lives worth protecting?"
 
I personally don't think cute sacrastic remarks win you any points. Better to just shrug and say I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable.
 
How to respond to someone saying, "You're scary, you have a gun"? Just say something like, " Good then maybe the real bad guys will be too scared to bother decent folks like us.".
 
Once had a woman ask me why I carried a gun. I said that I chose to exercise all of my rights, not just some of them. Her reaction seemed that of one who had never thought of that before. She never mentioned it again.

For more persistent others, I simply say that I've been the unarmed victim of violent crime and will never go through that again. They are then generally more interested in hearing about the crime than worrying about the gun.
 
If I think it's someone looking for an argument or to cause a scene, I don't even acknowledge them. It's become fairly common here in Utah and usually no one even comments. If it's someone who seems truly curious or pleasant, I'll have a conversation with them and see where it goes. Usually I OC when I'm doing something outdoorsy like fishing, hunting, or hiking which makes it even less noticeable.

The one time I actually got irritated with someone who wouldn't leave me alone was a guy following me around while shopping. He followed me around Wal-Mart for about 20 minutes before he finally asked me why I thought it was necessary to carry a gun, if I was some kind of big-shot, or if I was compensating for something. After I had had enough, all I said was "Everyone in the flash mob is supposed to be carrying them."

The manager told me that wasn't very nice, but that he thought it was hilarious. This was well before flash mobs started trying to rob stores a couple of months ago, so it was still funny then.

Matt
 
Nobody has asked me, but if they did, I would most definitely try to respond in the most calm, rational way I could. I can be witty and snarky with the people I'm around every single day. I don't need to use it on some random person who might be genuinely curious about why I'm carrying a gun. Being witty at other people's expense isn't how we win people over to being pro-gun, but it is a fantastic way to lose potential allies.
 
Personally, I always try to keep mine out of sight so as not to draw attention to myself but laws vary from state to state. I was fishing in Alaska once and walked into an ice cream shop after a day on the river. I still had my .45 and as many of you know, once you become accustomed to its weight, you forget about it. A very large lady tourist began to scream, "He's got a gun". I thought she was talking about someone else and quickly turned but she was face to face with my .45 and red as a beet. She was still laying over the table hyper-ventilating after we left. That's the kind of ruckus most business owners hate and I don't care for so I keep it under wraps. My daughter said she didn't like to see guys oc but I told her, "Look, if someone comes in with an AK you know he's gonna take a bullet for you." She was kinda alright with it after that. Always be a gentleman, even to knuckleheads.
 
"So I don't have to use it".

That's one of the answers I've used when asked, "Why do you carry like that"? I've used others, from funny to serious, and adjust my answers based upon the type of individual I perceive who is asking the question. If they are dead serious, then I will avoid the funny stuff and stick to serious and rational responses. If they show a sense of humor, I will generally respond in kind.
 
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Here's what Massad Ayoob has to say about it,,,

Here's what Massad Ayoob has to say about this topic,,,
This just arrived in my gunbroker newsletter.

Click here please,,,

In general I found his answers to be a bit snarky,,,
But I would bet money he wrote those answers for us,,,
Not especially to use when we get asked those same questions.

But I could be wrong,,,
That happened once. :rolleyes:

Aarond

.
 
I'm chuckling here,,,

"Shhh!! I'm hunting wabbits..."
Click to expand...

I actually used that once.

I don't open carry even though it's legal,,,
But I have relaxed quite a bit about printing or accidental flashing.

About 4 months ago I was in this little mini-mart,,,
It's a dive but it has a "Handguns are Welcome Here" sign.

I bent down to get something off of a low shelf,,,
My shirt rode up and exposed my snubbie,,,
I didn't notice it at the time it happened.

All of a sudden I hear this shout,,,
GUN!

Scared the heck out of me and I hit the floor.

The Apu-like owner just looked at the lady who screamed and said,,,
Please calm down Ma'am,,,
I allow guns in here.

She looked at me and said,,,
Why are you carrying a pistol,,,
That's when I did my Elmer Fudd impersonation.

It just came out,,,
I had never thought of it before.

Aarond

.
 
I was in a sporting goods store a couple of days ago, a friend is the owner of the store. I was carrying concealed, a gentleman was inquiring about taking a CCW class, where, how much, the usual questions. As the owner answered his questions, he gestured towards me, "Jim carries concealed too, bet you didn't even notice did you?" The gentleman looked my direction and inquired, "And, if I may ask, why do you carry anyway?" I answered him with the reply, "Because I'm exercising my Second Amendment rights." , just left it at that. The gent didn't answer back, just murmured a "Hmmm", end of conversation.
 
99% of the people that are going to say anything are going to be anti's. In my experience they are going to see what they want to see and no matter how polite, or correct, or snarky we are, we aren't going to change their minds.

I was in the doctors office waiting room about 6 months ago waiting for my wife. I was heading to work immediately after her appointment and I wasn't in full uniform (LEO), but my t-shirt did have my dept logo on it and said "police" across my back. I had my weapon on my hip and right next to it was my badge and were in the small of my back. My wife came out of the doc's office and walked over to the receptionist to do paperwork. I stood up to walk over to her and the lady who was seated next to me threw a hissy fit when she saw my gun. I calmly pointed to my badge and it didn't calm her down at all. She was literally yelling at me that there was no need to have one of those "things" in a doctors office. Other patients were telling her to calm down and pointing at me saying "he's a police officer, don't worry". I really believe there was nothing I could have said or done that would have helped the situation (short of getting a tranquilizer from one of the doctors!). It took her a good 30 to 45 seconds to calm down.

Sorry for the little rant, just thought I'd share a pretty odd OC experience with everyone.
 
I would take this as a teachable moment.

The person asking inherently seems to indicate that you perhaps need some explicit reason for having a gun, like being a police officer or something.

I would state the simple truth and avoid allowing it to escalate to some kind of constitutional debate.

"I carry a gun because it's every American's right to do it."

Were it me being asked, I would likely also add:

"I'm sick of seeing criminals destroying the rights of safe and responsible gun owners, shooting random places up, and I have a right to defend myself against them."
 
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