Should Open Carry Be the Law of the Land in All 50 States?

[IJ1981]

Presently only 5 states deny OC under most circumstances. California, Florida, Illinois,
New York and South Carolina
15 states allow with a permit

30 states allow with no permit, See:
www.opencarry.org.

What are you thoughts on this THR

 

[DMW1116]

South Carolina allows open carry with a concealed carry permit. That wasn't the case a couple of years ago though.

I think open carry should be allowed, but it's not usually a good idea.

 

[Old Dog]

While I support the concept. believe that open carry is entirely appropriate in some settings (i.e., hiking, fishing, camping, hunting, anywhere in Cook County or San Francisco, at my mother-in-law's house and my annual work barbeque) and should be legal nationwide, I'm pretty sure that it won't be very long before someone comes along to say that OC is bad because you're giving up your tactical advantage and/or you'll be the first one shot by the bad guy(s). Or that it will intimidate the soccer moms and result in multiple man-with-a-gun 911 calls and tie up law enforcement resources needlessly.

 

[Gumby0961]

Personally I don't like the bad guys seeing who is armed. Also if open carry was a common sight, I think the bad guys would do the same and blend in.

 

[dweis]

All states should allow Open Carry with out need for a permit. A permit is a restriction on the right to bear arms. It puts the state in command of who has the right to carry either by OC or CC. Open Carry is consistent with the Second Amendment. It is the essence right to bear arms. It is consistent with the interpretation of 2A since the Constitution went into effect. I also think every state should have permit-less CC, but I can accept some restriction if it increases public safety. Yet, I have no idea if permit-less carry has resulted in a decrease in public safety. In brief, if I can only bear arms when the state allows me, i do not an unalienable right to bear arms.

 

[Tinman357]

My personal opinion is that all 50 states should be constitutional carry. No permit, license, open, concealed, no restricted placed. Period. Simple.

Any restriction is infringement. "Shall not be infringed" is a very simple concept that even a lot of gun owners don't grasp.

I'll bet than in a few minutes some yahoo will accuse me of wanting incarcerated prisoners, to be armed.

All that said, I choose to conceal carry.

 

[IJ1981]

My personal opinion is that all 50 states should be constitutional carry. No permit, license, open, concealed, no restricted placed. Period. Simple.

Any restriction is infringement. "Shall not be infringed" is a very simple concept that even a lot of gun owners don't grasp.

I'll bet than in a few minutes some yahoo will accuse me of wanting incarcerated prisoners, to be

As we say
in the 82nd Airborne, All the way, Sir!

 

[Hillbilly Hydrographics]

I open carry 90 percent of the time. As do alot of people in my part of north carolina. To conceal carry here legally they still require a ccw class and permit. I'm hoping now that we have done away with the stupid pistol purchase permits here soon we can get constitutional carry status.

 

[bangswitch]

Given a choice, I'd rather carry concealed. Open Carry is like a high stakes poker game and you have an ace face up on the table. I'd rather nobody knew the cards in my hand.

 

[LimaCharlie]

Oregon is a constitutional open carry state, except they allow local governments to regulate it. Some counties and cities allow open carry only if the gun is unloaded.

The law that allows the Oregon Concealed Handgun License preempts local governments from regulating it. The theory is if you have an OCHL, you can open carry where counties or cities regulate open carry.

It is very confusing and don't trust the beat cop to know the law. Without an OCHL, you can be alright on one side of yellow line on a street and a felon on the other side of the yellow line. There are areas where it is a city on one side and county on the other side of the street.

 

[hso]

Being legal isn't the same as being smart.

 

[Elkins45]

I feel about open carry like Bill Clinton said he felt about abortion. It should be safe, legal, and rare. I didn’t vote in the poll because I find the options too limiting to align with my thoughts.

 

[tactikel]

“Shall not be infringed“

 

[J-Bar]

Ignorance speaking here...

Are there any reliable statistics on crimes committed by those who carry openly? I have seen statistics that say those who carry concealed are more honest than police officers, but my internet search efforts have not produced a similar comparison for those who carry openly.

I suspect ( but so far cannot prove) that open carriers are as law abiding as concealed carriers. It would be nice to have some objective facts to support my suspicion.

 

[mljdeckard]

Allowed, sure.

However, just remember that just because something is legal, doesn't make it a good idea. I CAN walk down 400 South in Salt Lake open-carrying, past all the U of U snowflakes with their dreadlocks in front of the coffee shops just to make them mad. "See me? You can't do anything about it." The problem is, the closer you are to the flagpole, the more likely you are to run into someone who cares, and WANTS to do something about it. In Utah and many other states, we have been so successful in advancing gun-friendly laws because most people don't know or care about gun laws. If they don't care now, the last thing I want to do is give them a REASON to care. Let them live in their oblivion.

So, If I'm out playing in the desert in the towns outside of Salt Lake, sure, I'll open carry. In town.....just not a great idea.

 

[Beck]

I voted yes because agreeing it should be lawful is the easy part. Now comes the hard part. When and where is it appropriate? As hso said, "Being legal isn't the same as being smart." Open carry as the law of the land has certainly been trending favorably over the last several years as more states have adopted it.

I open carried for several years as an LEO, but as a civilian I see very few reasons in an urban setting that I would open carry. As an LEO it was a great responsibility to maintain control of a visible duty weapon. Handgun retention is a very important part of training.

For me concealed carry is my preferred way as it is one less thing that could go wrong. If I'm in remote areas, camping, fishing, hunting, etc, then open carry may be preferable.

 

[Robert]

While I don't, and never will, open carry I don't care if someone else does. But can they please buy a better holster than a nylon Uncle Mike's? It's just embarrassing...

 

[BushMaster-15]

BAD IDEA ,IMO . Open carry within certain criteria is just fine ,however in Urban downtown and it's immediate Suburbia NOT a good idea .

I'm ALL in for constitutional concealed carry in ALL #50 States . Open carry may first sound like and ideal solution but REALITY pops up and BAD things can happen within close quarter ,auspicious display entices and encourages STUPIDITY . An while everyone thinks they're Matthew Quigley the reality is ,there's far more Barney Fife's and want a be Quigley's . A well trained Martial arts practitioner inside #15 feet of your person is gonna WIN 98% of the time .

So Leave em concealed for YOUR BENEFIT ,until needed .

 

[nettlle]

I think open carry is OK. Open carry in Ohio has been legal for decades and I never once seen anyone in Ohio open carry other than law enforcement. I didn't start carrying until Ohio legalized the ability for a licensed CCW carrier to keep guns in their vehicles while at work.

 

[AlexanderA]

Open carry should be legal (with or without a permit) but it should be rare.

Which is exactly how it is here in Virginia. I'm fine with that.

The danger here is that if too many people started openly carrying, the legislature would soon put a stop to that.

 

[Old Dog]

Ninth post. 'Nuff said.

 

[Old Dog]

But can they please buy a better holster than a nylon Uncle Mike's? It's just embarrassing...

Yeah, for sure, there's that. I see this a lot up here (not gonna trash Wal-Mart in this thread, I promise) and it makes ya wonder.

Lately, though, I see a lot of the young "Tactical Tommies" wearing skin-tight black tees with short-short sleeves (the better to show off their "guns") or polos, 5-11 pants and the pricey "battle-belts" with high-end Kydex rigs. Maybe it's simply our proximity to the JBLM and NBK military bases.

 

[Big_Al]

It's still legal here in our pitiful state, just saw a guy & his spouse oc at the grocery store tonight. Didn't bother anyone. It's not something I would want to do.

 

[CDW4ME]

I've never open carried (lived in KY 54 years) and wouldn't if it was legal here in FL.
Yet I voted yes, but with a caveat...
If one open carries they "MUST" do it everywhere, no picking & choosing; for example, if they think open carry advantageous at Wal-Mart it is equally advantageous when visiting relatives, family reunions... ect. Exception being work, if they are prohibited from carrying at work I'll let that slide. But if they like exercising their "right" of OC while out shopping then a get together with anti-gun, parent/ relatives or on a 1st date is their "right" too. Don't be wishy washy exercising your "right".

 

[rust collector]

It's a great concept, but we will always have folks who do it "because I can", folks who need to fidget, and people whose guns drop or are left in the bathroom stall, and the Venn diagrams have more than a little overlap.