OPen carry in CC states

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exbrit49

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This evening my wife and I were in the local drug store picking up prescriptions when in walked a guy wearing Khakis and a Tee Shirt that said ‘Firearms Instructor.” My wife and I are avid shooters and are used to being around firearms. We live in Indiana where concealed carry is allowed and I bet that 99.99% of firearms are carried concealed.
There were several older customers in the store and when I looked at them they had that alarmed look on their faces. It was obvious they were very uncomfortable, probably more so since in the local area we have had numerous armed robberies at pharmacies for prescription drugs.
I carry pretty much all the time, and I do carry concealed and if one of my sidarms happens to show accidently, I am usually more than a little embarrassed.
Sometimes coming back from the range I often need to stop and do some shopping or whatever and I immediately take off the OPEN carry items and leave one CC on me. I can’t imagine walking in to a store with an open carry, I would feel like an idiot. These are sensitive times due to some of the unfortunate rampages and incidents of the past few months, I don’t think that open carry in areas that allow concealed carry helps our cause. My wife is an avid shooter and spends a lot of time on the range with me and she was really upset to see this guy swaggering around the drug store with that 9mm on his hip.
What’s everyone one else’s thoughts on this?
Roger
 
I think you are getting way too excited over nothing. If it was legal in the area, then the man had the right to do so.

If people are alarmed when they see OC, it is because they don't understand the law.

Now, I don't OC, (except occasionally, some places), but for those who want to, I think it is fine. How do you expect to stop them, anyway? After all, its legal, (some places).
 
Yes it is legal but in this area virtually NEVER used.
Its not a problem in as much as its legal but as I noted, the apprehension on some of the faces in the drug store didnt make us any supporters
 
I know people who really don't like the make up of my investment portfolio.

Should I change my investment style to accomodate their views?

I don't think so. The same applies to OC. If you don't like it, contact your state representative and try to get the law changed. Trying to force other people to change their legal behavior is not going to work.
 
I think you are really over stressing it, just like everyone else did. Some one exercising his right to open carry is likely the last person you should be worried about. Need we really describe the likes of those that would be coming into a drug store to rob the place?
 
exbrit49 said:
...if one of my sidarms happens to show accidently, I am usually more than a little embarrassed. ...I can’t imagine walking in to a store with an open carry, I would feel like an idiot.
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Perhaps you will consider that saying this reflects that you must think anyone who would open carry should be embarrassed and feel like an idiot for doing so.

I have OC'd on occasion, and I have never felt like an idiot or been embarrassed. I've either been ignored completely or I've had an opportunity to talk about why I carry and what I'm carrying with a curious person. It's a positive, not a negative, that there are places where OC is legal, whether it is common or not.
 
I don't think I would ever OC, but I think it's a great idea in one regard: For most people, I think, firearms have a shadowy mystique about them. This ignorance leads to fear, presupposition and avoidance. Perhaps if John Q. Public saw more normal, law abiding people OC'ing in the store, park, etc, he would be less malleable to the media and more likely to see firearm use and ownership as legitimate and mainstream.
 
A right not exercised is a right lost. If its legal in the area to open carry then why not?

Do any of the people in the store have a hissy fit when they see a cop walking in carrying on his belt? I'm guessing not. So if he has a permit and is legally allowed to open carry in that state and in that business what's the big deal? Is it wrong because it might offend sensitive people?? Not hardly. Besides if he had been there to rob the place he'd a probably had it in his hand not in a holster on his side.

I really wish SC could get open carry, Sometimes its just a pain in the rear(all puns intended) to fit a gun in your pants.
 
honestly, it seems that most people dont even notice. Example: I was at my local hobby store on my way back from the range, so I was OCing my 1911 (legal in WI) and honestly, it wasnt very subtle. I was chatting it up with the store owner for a good 5 minutes until he says "oh... you have a gun?" He wasn't upset and just asked that if I carry in his store that I have it concealed.
Lesson learned: Out of sight, out of mind...And as much I love to exercise my OC right, I try and remember it isnt for everywhere.
 
On the rare occasion I OC I just brush off any odd looks. However I prefer to CC because of some places that might see an OC and get all huffy that there are no "weapons" allowed. I'm not going to disarm myself just to do some shopping or stop for a burger (not that ALL places around here forbid it but some do).
 
probably more so since in the local area we have had numerous armed robberies at pharmacies for prescription drugs.
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I wonder how many of those robberies were committed by a guy wearing a "firearms instructor" T-shirt, and open carrying a sidearm?

He got looks? People tend to look at things they don't see everyday. I'll stare at a Plymouth Superbird when I see one. So what? That doesn't mean I'll vote against someone driving a Superbird.
 
I do it all the time including riding my motorcycles. I figure it's like this: Falla and his gal are walking past my property one evening and he comments on the fact that my Rottweiler - while remaining calmly on our property - was scaring his chick and I should have it on a leash. I told him I'm not responsible for his fears and shined him on.

Another way to look at possibly initiating someone else's discomfort is - few things make me more jittery than inherently nervous people but I'm not about to alter my life in any great way, instead, I get over my own jitteryness and watch the world turn.
 
It depends on the context.

I think there are two ways to look at this. I will open carry if I am doing something like, riding my ATV out in the desert of western Utah. If I pull into a convenience store for gas, I won't bother to conceal it. I am in a place where the attitude is very tolerant of guns, and I'm not too worried about what people think. One time in 17 years of carrying, I heard one guy mutter; "I hope he has a permit for that." I didn't even look at him, I suppose he was a tourist. If I am in downtown Salt Lake, walking past the coffee shops full of hemp-wearing U of U students, I will certainly scare the sheeple. I will give people who heretofore had no reason to complain about guns a reason to complain.

At the same time, we have to work as a community to shift the public perception that people who carry guns are bad. Imagine if Rosa Parks had kept the philosophy; "I don't want to ruffle any feathers. If I defy conventional thinking, all it will do is make people angry and want to be more aggressive in suppressing our rights." SOMEONE has to be the one to force a public conversation about the subject. If we are ashamed about our rights, if we feel we have to HIDE it, then we are admitting that it isn't really a right, it is a dirty habit that we don't want to share in public.
 
Yes it is legal but in this area virtually NEVER used.
Its not a problem in as much as its legal but as I noted, the apprehension on some of the faces in the drug store didnt make us any supporters
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One of my pet peeves with gun owners is they think we should hide like thieves in the night.
Oh my, don't upset the "citizens" by letting them know that good people own and carry guns.
That is our major problem. We allow the anti side to paint us as the bad guys and we just hide like scared children.

IMO open carry would be a great way to educate the citizens as to the gun rights they/we have.
There would be a short learning curve but just like when states first get CC, there's concern at first but it quickly blows over.

Besides OC would get our side a lot of new recruits. I know this for a fact because I bring up guns/CC with people every chance I get and this brings new shooters to my range.
You would be surprised at how many people want to get into guns/CC but don't know how.

Texas doesn't have OC but when they get it I will OC some of the time just as a conversation starter.


Lets educate the "citizens", not hide from them.
 
Everything does NOT have to be about PR for gun owners. Yes, OC scares some sheeple, but that's just too bad for them. Remember why we carry in the first place. It has nothing to do about guns, and everything to do about protecting yourself, and not about what people think about it.

If OC is the way someone can best protect themselves, then they should do it, regardless of how the sheeple view it.

I think people sitting there shunning his method of carry is doing the harm to gun owners, not open carry.
 
My wife and I are avid shooters and are used to being around firearms.
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Apparently not.:scrutiny:

I don’t think that open carry in areas that allow concealed carry helps our cause.
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So open carry should only be allowed in areas that concealed carry isn't allowed? Which cause are you trying to help? The one that helps to teach the general public that law abiding citizens have the right to exercise an inalieneable right? That law abiding citizens aren't the ones to be feared merely by the possession of a holstered firearm? I lived in an open carry state for 30 yrs and although open carry was not super common it was accepted without people freaking out. Several municipalities were sued and that help to teach the police dept about the legality of open carry.

I think the attitude of embarrassment and shame over the lawful carrying of firearms speaks volumes. I am not ashamed or embarrassed to either open carry or conceal carry. My gun doesn't leave my holster unless there is a life or death situation and I think more people should exercise their rights because most people don't even realize they have a right not limited by gov't in most open carry states.
 
Texas isnt an OC state? Thats a shocker to me I woulda thought it was. KS allows OC but it is kind of touchy because its written in such a way that each individual county has control over it so it basically depends on how the county sheriff feels about it if they will hassle you or not. I personally have never OC'd unless on my inlaws farm land. I've only seen one person OC in about 5 yrs and that was in my local pawn shop. The main reason I dont OC is because the wife would probably beat me with it if I did :p. As the saying goes "happy wife, happy life", plus I prefer concealed myself.
 
exbrit49 said:
Yes it is legal but in this area virtually NEVER used.
Its not a problem in as much as its legal but as I noted, the apprehension on some of the faces in the drug store didnt make us any supporters
Click to expand...

For those asking, Indiana issues a "License to Carry" permit and it's up to the individual to either open or conceal carry.

exbrit, I have not had that experience around central Indiana, especially in the rural areas.:)

LD
 
Whether or not it helps or hurts our cause depends entirely on the carrier. Does he look like some hobo and swear out anyone who mentions his gun, or does he carry himself in a calm, professional manner? I have strongly considered OC, but I haven't made the plunge yet (I liken it to wearing a Speedo instead of swim trunks), but I have nothing but respect for someone who OCs and isn't asking for a lawsuit.

The reaction of people to someone OCing is precisely why MORE people should OC - show that someone who carries responsibly isn't a threat. Generally, you can tell if that gun is going to be used criminally by the fact that it is not in a holster - either tucked loosely into a pocket or belt, or in the person's hand already when they walk into the store.

ETA: How would you feel if it was deemed that because OC is legal, you can't CC?
 
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