"Wouldn't the bad guy target the OC person first?"
I too would like to know where this myth came from. 9 out of 10 criminals who would "scope" out a place, would be looking for an easy target. If they see a couple guys in the establishment with guns, I don't think anyone short of a Mob Boss would rob the place. (It's just common sense, why rob an armed locale when there are so many others who have no protection?)
OC to draw attention -
The only attention I've drawn in my two years of daily OC is from people who are interested in my gun or the possibility of carrying themselves. I calmly and politely tell them why I do, and how it's legal. I personally know of two people who are now gun owners do to our conversations that started from them seeing my sidearm.
OC while drinking -
If you can't handle liquor you shouldn't have a gun, open or concealed. If you are like a lot of people, who can drink responsibly and only take one drink while talking to your buddies for a couple of hours, I see no problem. The only caveat is that some states (mine included) wont allow you to carry concealed or otherwise in an establishment that sells and allows consumption of alcohol on the premises.
This is the same point as DUI, IMO. If you can have one beer and drive without breaking the law, you should be able to have one beer and OC without breaking the law. Most court cases I've seen where someone crashed a car, they only mention alcohol if they can prove the person was over the legal limit. I think this would be the same thing in a self defense case.
Carrying an empty holster - this is also a regular part of my routine. Any time I go into a bar, stop by the post office or enter any other federal building my sidearm stays in the glove department of my truck, but I don't take my holster/belt off. I've had a couple people working in federal buildings who asked me about it, and I explained that until we can change the laws we will abide by them.
Why even carry concealed?
there are a few reasons why I occasionally carry concealed, but they are few and far in between. i think open and concealed both have value, but neither should be looked upon in a bad light. It's kind of like the debate between using an AR15 or a Remington Hunting Rifle chambered in .223. Many people will say the AR15 just "draws attention", "isn't needed", etc. BUT we the people can have both, and we should fight for both and use both as a means of keeping ALL of our rights. If the general populace of gun owners decided that hunting gophers with an AR is "too risky", they would probably be banned again.... kind of the same thing with OC IMHO.
/speech of the week