Also, if one shoots a guard dead, I'd think CC or OC, either way they're toast because the thugs wanted the money.
Very true that the money is the attraction. I'm not sure that if the crook could get the money from a man without a gun he would necessarily shoot, but who knows?
OC Is an obvious deterrent and anyone who says it's not is a fool.
Depends on the circumstance. No one in his right mind would approach an openly armed citizen in the open for the purpose of attacking him, or come up to him from the front. Yes, OC will deter, in such instances.
But tell me, how would OC "deter" a couple or three ruffians moving about among others closely behind and around the man with the gun? Seems to me that if they want his gun, outnumber him, have the element of surprise, and are already in contact proximity, they have the complete upper hand and he is completely vulnerable, and there's no deterrent value--just the attraction of valuable property. Perhaps you can explain the error of my reasoning.
Also seems to me that if there were a sufficient deterrent value, off-duty LEOs might be more likely to carry openly. Many if not most departments forbid it. Police officers tell me that they believe that the gun would make them vulnerable to someone who wanted it.
Crooks, including meth heads, are not that brazen as a majority.
Law enforcement officers, corrections officers, and parole officers who deal with meth users tell me that in general, they are completely fearless, extremely aggressive, incapable of being reasoned with, and very, very mean. Of course, they are also usually very, very desperate.
If you have something they want badly (meth would be first on the list, money would qualify, and I think a gun would too) or are perceived as a threat to their escape, you are very likely going to have to use deadly force.
There are exceptions to every generality. A police SWAT team lead I know was once able to induce a meth head to surrender by illuminating his chest with gun-mounted laser. But that doesn't mean he wasn't rather "brazen." They are usually so "brazen" around here that patrol officers do not try to apprehend them once they are identified--they dispatch heavily armed SWAT teams.
I wouldn't rely on a gun in a holster to deter them, though it would probably determine the direction from which they attack.
