Open Carry => 911 Call (Virginia)

[Rexster]

Regarding badges, I cannot think of a reason why I would want to carry a badge, as a private citizen. When I was an LEO, I did not tend to carry any kind of badge, while not wearing a uniform. I did keep a generic-looking badge, with “Texas Peace Officer” engraving, on a badge holder with a neck chain, inside my personal vehicle, which I only used when I stopped to direct traffic, at crash scenes. When I retired, I removed it from my vehicle.

I actually have considered having a badge made, with “Retired Peace Officer” engraved on it, perhaps built upon the traditional silver Mexican Cinco Peso coin, but tend to doubt that I would carry it with me.

 

[Insignificant bill]

I was open carrying today.

 

[481]

Unfortunately, this happens a lot.

Just because open carry is legal—or enumerated as a right in a state's constitution (e.g.: Ohio Rev. Code §§ 9.68)—doesn't mean that local law enforcement personnel and/or agencies will treat it as such. It also doesn't mean that the general public, many of whom disagree with open carry as a lawful exercise or right, will permit you to go peacefully about your day with your favorite pistol on your belt.

Here is one such example:

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-6th-circuit/1700723.html

 

[Insignificant bill]

i live in DFW have an LTC the State has permitless carry just like Ohio. i have done it for years. nobody around here even notices open carry. Every interaction with law enfocement has always been positive. They want law abiding people to carry a firearm. so you do you and I'll do me

 

[Speedo66]

Badges is a dumb idea. We don't need any stinking badges

Although "stinking" was the term used in the movie, "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", in the book the author used a much stronger word. lol

 

[DR505]

How is it different for police, uniformed or otherwise? Public perception maybe? Do we need our own badge?

I don't believe a concealed carry badge is a good idea at all. Badges are for law enforcement, and law enforcement only, and are for advertising their authority. Security guards have them on their uniforms too as a means of identification of their limited authority. Joe Citizen has ZERO authority, and does NOT need a badge. I would arrest anyone displaying such an item as impersonating a police officer.

 

[The Glockodile]

I don't believe a concealed carry badge is a good idea at all. Badges are for law enforcement, and law enforcement only, and are for advertising their authority. Security guards have them on their uniforms too as a means of identification of their limited authority. Joe Citizen has ZERO authority, and does NOT need a badge. I would arrest anyone displaying such an item as impersonating a police officer.

They actually sell these things!

 

[DR505]

View attachment 1092363

They actually sell these things!

As PT Barnum allegedly said, "There is a sucker born every minute."

 

[entropy]

The problem with open carry is that there are multiple shootings a day. There is no way for the public to know who is the shooter and who is the good guy with a guy. Being afraid of someone open carrying isn't anti-gun. It's smart.

The bad guys rarely open carry, and if you see them doing so, you're on their home turf. They flash their guns on Facebook and Snapchat and such, but they attempt to conceal, though not always with the same care most law abiding folks do.

 

[Charlie Martinez]

The question is not whether or not open carry is too much for some to handle but whether or not we should be willing to freely exercise our rights or should we refrain from doing so in order to do what is politically correct?

These days political correctness is dictated by anti-America groups. While the anti-America groups are allowed to break the law with personal assaults, violence, looting and burning property to protest right wing ideas, conservative law abiding people complacently accept that they must refrain from exercising their rights in order to not offend the lawless mobs that oppose them.

I wonder exactly how serious freedom loving conservatives are when they write or talk about how they will all rise and take arms against an oppressive government. Yet every time someone is chastised for doing something that is"politically incorrect" like legally open carrying a firearm they say they had it coming because they were needlessly offending gun haters and stirring the pot.
I disagree 100%.

I believe that in view of what is happening in our country, ie how rapidly we are losing all of our rights, everyone that lives in an open carry state and wants to carry a gun should make it a point to open carry to show support for the freedoms we love and supposedly are willing to protect with our lives if necessary. This BS about not open carrying because it offends those that are offended or disagree is cowardice and precisely why a man that is legally open carrying has to contend with police as result of a call from a dumb anti-gunner to an equally dumb police dispatcher.

We should not be discussing whether or not this man was open carrying or if the pistol he was legally carrying was too gaudy. Everything he was doing was perfectly legal and should be celebrated and appreciated because thank God there are still a few places in our country where we can be free to exercise our God & Constitutional given freedoms and a few brave people that are willing to exercise their rights regardless of what others think

 

[entropy]

I understand your sentiments, and somewhat share them, but the cold hard truth is it just makes a criminal's choice on who to proactively shoot first easier.
For me, security considerations trump symbolism. They are why I carry.

 

[The Glockodile]

Possums and raccoons probably won't go for your guns in the thick of the woods...

But something else may come down in the 'hood!

 

[buck460XVR]

The question is not whether or not open carry is too much for some to handle but whether or not we should be willing to freely exercise our rights or should we refrain from doing so in order to do what is politically correct?

These days political correctness is dictated by anti-America groups. While the anti-America groups are allowed to break the law with personal assaults, violence, looting and burning property to protest right wing ideas, conservative law abiding people complacently accept that they must refrain from exercising their rights in order to not offend the lawless mobs that oppose them.

I wonder exactly how serious freedom loving conservatives are when they write or talk about how they will all rise and take arms against an oppressive government. Yet every time someone is chastised for doing something that is"politically incorrect" like legally open carrying a firearm they say they had it coming because they were needlessly offending gun haters and stirring the pot.
I disagree 100%.

^^^Charlie hit the ball outta the park with these statements. Funny how so many here want to belittle others for exercising their RKBA, while chanting "from my cold dead hands!" Seems a tad bit hypocritical to me. "I carry concealed....me smart, he carry open, he dumb Walmart person!". Yet....the infamous "Walmart Walk" is all about CWC. Folks want others to support their 2nd Amendment rights, yet feel the need to show no support or even chastise the 2nd Amendment rights of others. Sounds like a Fudd, right? What's the difference between not showing support for a type of firearm and not showing support for a type of carry? None. If you are for the RKBA, you support even those legal things you don't do, own or use, as long as they are legal and safe. Chastising the choice to open carry is no different than chastising why anyone needs more than 5 rounds. kinda like......"Me have 5 rounds in the magazine, me smart. He have 30 round mag, he dumb Walmart person!".

Are there idiots out there open carrying? Yep...sure are. But there's also a multitude of idiots out there carrying concealed.

but the cold hard truth is it just makes a criminal's choice on who to proactively shoot first easier.

...and you have proof of that where? Cold hard truth or your opinion? This is a common logical fallacies/Hasty generalization that is common on Gun Forums. No different than claiming carrying open may actually deter a criminal because he knows he will be confronted with a gun. No real proof of either except in one's mind. There are actual studies that show evidence suggests that right to carry concealed laws are associated with increases in aggravated assaults with guns. There are also studies that show in states where open carry is legal, violent crime is 23% lower than in sates where open carry is not allowed. Things that make one go .....hmmmm

Carrying open may not be your choice, but to claim the choice of others to open carry is wrong, when it's just as legal, and there is no real proof to your argument? CWC has only been legal in my state for 11 years. There was only one legal option for us before than if we wanted to protect ourselves. Maybe that's why folks around here that open carry, barely get noticed.

 

[The Glockodile]

Sounds like a Fudd, right?

You used the F*** word!

 

[DR505]

View attachment 1092363

They actually sell these things!

I noticed it says CCP at the bottom of the badge...Chinese Communist Party?

 

[bdickens]

Unfortunately, this happens a lot.

Just because open carry is legal—or enumerated as a right in a state's constitution (e.g.: Ohio Rev. Code §§ 9.68)—doesn't mean that local law enforcement personnel and/or agencies will treat it as such. It also doesn't mean that the general public, many of whom disagree with open carry as a lawful exercise or right, will permit you to go peacefully about your day with your favorite pistol on your belt.

Here is one such example:

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-6th-circuit/1700723.html

Thus aptly illustrating what I have said before: what is legal and what you can get away with are not necessarily the same thing.

 

[The Glockodile]

I noticed it says CCP at the bottom of the badge...Chinese Communist Party?

Why not?

A lot of MIM parts in our most esteemed pistol brands come from India

 

[481]

Thus aptly illustrating what I have said before: what is legal and what you can get away with are not necessarily the same thing.

While that may be the case, I agree with Charlie Ramirez' opinion regarding those who chastise those for exercising a constitutionally-enumerated right (agree with it or not), while demanding that the government respect the 2nd Amendment.

 

[the Black Spot]

I don’t normally open carry. But, there have been instances where I have because my vest was in another vehicle(ex. Rode to the parts store for auto part with someone using their vehicle).
That badge clipped on the belt could prevent hyperventilating in some people.
My daughters cc instructor said he uses one occasionally in the right circumstances

 

[Kleanbore]

That badge clipped on the belt could prevent hyperventilating in some people.

How would a "concealed carry badge" pertain to open carry?

 

[Craig_AR]

My daughters cc instructor said he uses one occasionally in the right circumstances

If your daughter is also on central Arkansas, I would like to know who that instructor is. I routinely refer CHCL training requests to other AR CHCL/ECHCL instructors, and would not want to send anyone to that one, since my opinion is that there is never a "right circumstance" for a CCW badge.

 

[sgt127]

I actually have considered having a badge made, with “Retired Peace Officer” engraved on it, perhaps built upon the traditional silver Mexican Cinco Peso coin, but tend to doubt that I would carry it with me.

My department actually issues a retired badge. Same style as issue with “RET” in the number panel.

Since I retired, I have never displayed my badge. On my belt or, around my neck. It’s in my badge case with my retired creds and qualification sheet.

I really strive to be invisible.

 

[the Black Spot]

People see gun-“oh my”-sees badge-“oh ok”(they don’t even get close enough to read it, they just see it on a belt, where a normal badge is carried)

 

[481]

My department actually issues a retired badge. Same style as issue with “RET” in the number panel.

Since I retired, I have never displayed my badge. On my belt or, around my neck. It’s in my badge case with my retired creds and qualification sheet.

I really strive to be invisible.

Words to live by.

Since retiring from LE 17 years ago (as of tomorrow), I can count on one hand the number of people who have laid eyes upon my retirement creds in that time. I always attempt to remain the ''gray man'' who fades into the background and goes 'unnoticed' against the mundane.

 

[Mosin77]

Open carry is not a simple open-and-shut question.

1. It should absolutely be legal, if guns are legal. If I can own a gun I should be able to carry it in public.

2. It has practical advantages in the outdoors, because it’s a lot easier to grab a handgun in a purpose-designed easy access protective holster at your belt than to draw from concealment particularly when you may be wearing extra layers.

3. If it’s legal it negates silly questions of “printing” or exposure when carrying concealed. Of course the whole point of carrying concealed is for the gun to be hidden, but in real life, day to day, clothes don’t always do exactly what you want them to. Legal OC removes the worry that your gun may be inadvertently visible and get you into legal trouble.

4. In a city/town/non-rural environment (where the purpose of a gun is primarily people defense, not animal or pest control) open carry is generally less practical for civilians because it makes you a target for theft, neutralization, or attention. LEOs carry open for the same reason they wear a badge and drive a car with bright graphics emblazoned on the side: their office is a public one, and they are known already to be armed. For tactical purposes they probably also have a CCW somewhere on them in addition to their open carried sidearm.

5. I don’t really have an opinion on whether it’s a good idea to open carry in town where Karens are about. In theory I guess we all should, at least sometimes, to normalize it in the eyes of those who might otherwise be shocked. If we carry visibly it asserts our rights which might otherwise fade through neglect. But in the short term it can have undeniably bad consequences (getting the cops called on you, or maybe worse as discussed in the previous point.) And although it’s unpleasant to think about it, it’s true that provocation like this may well lead to anguished mothers crying that they don’t want their children or cats growing up in a “dangerous place where guns are carried on the streets” and pressure to restrict the practice. I think this is just an inevitable question of the urban vs. rural culture. City folks tend to be less self-sufficient, more fearful, more anti-gun, etc. Open carrying is probably not going to change that.