Open Carry - Your thoughts

[Rickstir]

As I read this I thought the next paragraph was going to be, I needed a car so I bought a Crown Victoria. Then you would get a chill so I bought a tactical vest. Good Lord man, you are a civilian, dress like it. Ditch the badge and cuffs unless you are on a hot date. IF I was an LEO I would have given you the buisness too.

I have carried open in my rural county in MO for 10 years, everywhere except the county buildings. I carry concealed too, but if I am working on my farm I carry open and if I have to run to town I don't bother to conceal.

 

[Amish_Bill]

Not stop to help someone in need? What kind of self-centered "not my problem" person are you suggesting I should be?

I'll almost always stop if I'm in a position to offer aid. Someday I may walk into the proverbial "bad situation" and being armed will help (hopefully) save my bacon. Until then, I'm not going to let a little fear prevent me from helping.

So far my luck has been pretty good - a 70 mile ride to a Marine on leave who needed to go to a place I was passing by anyway and several people who just needed a phone or a tow out of the middle of the street or similar small assists that meant little to me but were immensely helpful to them.

Back to the topic, open carry is one of the things I enjoy about my visits to TN. It's a serious adrenaline/paranoia rush the first few times you do it, but after a while it's not much different than having a PDA or leatherman on your belt.

Just don't look scrungy - use a nice holster and keep it well maintained.

 

[longtab]

I like states with open carry laws. But I do have a CCW and now live in a state with reciprocity (I'm military). Most states' laws state that if someone freaks out from seeing you with a firearm you are in the wrong. So for that reason alone I don't open carry, and when I carry concealed it IS concealed. Ive seen some guys with CCW's "flaunt" their pistol in the restaurant, or bank, or grocery store by flinging asisde a shirt or jacket ensuring everyone gets a gander. My 2¢.

 

[MaMa PyCb]

My .02$..

Ummm, if its Legal to open carry in your state, then it legal, no matter how unconfortable it makes other people. Why bother trying to look like a cop if you are not? You have a right to carry and the other people have a right to leave if it makes them unconfortable. If your state has CCW then getting and carring concield would be the way to go if you worried about what other people think. Honestly LOOKing like a cop is a bit of deception, and I think thats wrong. Put it to you this way, if a woman in a bar looks like a hooker, is saying to you things a hooker would say, and grabing your crotch, you would think shes a hooker right? But when you ask what the going rates are she gets all offened and says " just because I Dress this way dose not mean im that way." and you get sued to the end of time, wouldnt you think that was a bit of a trap?

 

[LaVere]

In Michigan open carry (other than in the field hunting) is considered "brandishing". They will prosecute you and take away your CCW.

Open carry is NOT brandishing in Michigan. See state law


Opinion No. 7101

February 6, 2002

Attorny General Jennifer Grandholm full letter on this.
233 F3d 379, 380 (CA 6, 2000), the
court recognized that in federal sentencing guidelines, "brandishing" a
weapon is defined to mean "that the weapon was pointed or waved about,
or displayed in a threatening manner."

http://lavere.net/WordPress

 

[Control Group]

Opinion No. 7101

February 6, 2002

Attorny General Jennifer Grandholm full letter on this.
233 F3d 379, 380 (CA 6, 2000), the
court recognized that in federal sentencing guidelines, "brandishing" a
weapon is defined to mean "that the weapon was pointed or waved about,
or displayed in a threatening manner."

(emphasis, obviously, added)

There's an awful lot of room for prosecutorial discretion in that last phrase. Who defines "threatening?" To an awful lot of blissninnies, the very existence of guns is threatening.

It could very well be that the standard is "if someone feels threatened, it was displayed in a threatening manner," which means you're pretty much screwed.

It also could very well be that the standard is "if 12 members of the jury decide that they would have felt threatened."

The point is, the text of the law quoted above doesn't give you any practical information on the legality of open carrying. You'd have to know the relevant case law to actually make an informed decision about it.

(All that being said, I didn't follow the link, so there might be clarification of this very ambiguity there, in which case: my apologies for spouting off without doing the appropriate research)

 

[LaVere]

(emphasis, obviously, added)

There's an awful lot of room for prosecutorial discretion in that last phrase. Who defines "threatening?" To an awful lot of blissninnies, the very existence of guns is threatening.

It could very well be that the standard is "if someone feels threatened, it was displayed in a threatening manner," which means you're pretty much screwed.

It also could very well be that the standard is "if 12 members of the jury decide that they would have felt threatened."

The point is, the text of the law quoted above doesn't give you any practical information on the legality of open carrying. You'd have to know the relevant case law to actually make an informed decision about it.




(All that being said, I didn't follow the link, so there might be clarification of this very ambiguity there, in which case: my apologies for spouting off without doing the appropriate research)

Thank you for your responce. My point is we do have open carry as listed in other parts of the law. The other man said open carry is brandishing.
I just wanted to show in ( Michigan ) the definition of what open carry realy is according to the Attorney General and Now our governor.

Best to all
Gordon

 

[fb]

Man, I hope this michigan question is settled one day.
I would carry open at times but have no intention of makeing a great to- do about it.
I dont think we really have RKBA unless a gun can be carried openly or concealed legally.
The "brandishing" thing is clearly defined I think. Are you waveing the damm thing around and pointing it? Well, then you are brandishing it.
I can understand getting hassled walking down the street in Detroit, and for a while at least, having people stare. As long as the pistol is in a holster,its hard to say thats brandishing.
Question needs to be settled, maybe we need some organizing.