What prompted the current open carry fad?

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bogie

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Guys, I don't get too many of the gun rags anymore... I've ceased to find some parts funny, and I don't seem to need to buy every new and improved whizbang that's out there...

So...

90% of the time something becomes "important," it starts in one of the magazines - is that the case this time? Or did this just sorta spontaneously happen on teh intertoobz? Seemed like it sorta "started up" in a month or so...

I mean, a year or so ago, about the only time I even thought of someone open carrying was when I'd go down to Georgia, and we'd have breakfast in Kennesaw... Yup. That diner. Hope the fellow is still doing okay...
 
I live in VA. It's definitely been going on for years now, especially with the VCDL doing their part to have the public understand there's nothing wrong with it.
 
Hmm , wouldn't call it a "fad" , but rather a reawakening . "Fads" are things like hoop earrings and beehive hairdos.:D
 
A desire to stop being treated as unstable and eccentric by the rest of America. A desire for firearms in the hands of civilians to be seen as normal, just like fire extinguishers and seatbelts. It's not a fad. It's an exercise of freedom.
 
Fad? Nope, just a return to our roots. Nevada, my state, has had open carry since statehood in 1864. OC sort of died out somewhere around 35/40 years ago as the 'norm'. The ever increasing crime rate is a big incentive to bring it back.

Why not CCW? Because it's tough to truly conceal any large handgun. That leaves you packing 'mouse guns' or trying to wear a 'Smart-Carry' in the 110 degree heat out west, and it does nothing for those of us comfortable with shooting and carrying big revolvers. My mainstay is a Colt Peacekeeper with a 6" barrel in a shoulder holster. Yes, I'm getting a CCW, but my only 'concealment' is going to be occasionally a vest whenever I'm around crowds.

I'm a gun owner, an American, with a protected right so I have a hard time seeing why I need to hide? Besides, it's the bad guys that are usually seen digging guns out of their pants. The folks OC'ing aren't the ones too watch out for!
 
I'm in agreeance with the rest here - I don't see it as a "fad" at all. If anything, it's a return to times past, where for one to conceal a gun on their person was seen as a cowardly act, one that indicated the aim of the individual doing the concealing to commit treachery. Gentlemen wore their arms openly, and proudly. Going back to those times, I think, would do us considerable good as a society.
 
I read a few of the gun rags now and again, and havent seen any mention of OC in any of them at all, so I think the answer lies in some or all of the explanations given above. some places have been doing it fairly commonly all along, other have state org's that have gotten more active and encouraged more people, others have just decided they have had enough hiding and acting "ashamed" to be gun owners and carriers and have decided enough is enough, and to exercise thier rights, and start getting people used to the sight of regular, peaceful, law abiding Joe's with guns.

I have been doing it off and on mainly because I find it to be SOOOOO much more comfortable, regardless of what gun I carry, and I feel if I were to ned it, I could get to it a whole lot faster and 100% snag free without having to pull it out from under any clothing.The only time mine is ever concealed any more is if the weather is cool enough that I'm wearing a jacket, and it just happens to cover it somewhat.
 
I think some people open carry because you don't need a ccw for it.I need to take the class for my ccw and have not had the time to take the 12 hour course. So, the only legal way I could carry would be to open carry. Different states different rules.
 
90% of the time something becomes "important," it starts in one of the magazines...
Click to expand...

Sounds like a quote from one of the increasingly slender, poorly written, expensive gun magazines that still haven't figured out potty-mouthing the internet isn't a form of competition.
 
it's a return to times past, where for one to conceal a gun on their person was seen as a cowardly act, one that indicated the aim of the individual doing the concealing to commit treachery. Gentlemen wore their arms openly, and proudly.
Click to expand...

crap, beat me to it.;)

OC is legal in PA. you don't need a permit/license to do it, except for Philthadelphia, where you need a LTCF to CC/OC. i started OC shortly after the Dickson City/old country buffet incident. i didn't know it was legal, and i got tired of feeling like i was getting away with something, like a criminal; always worrying that i'd get made by a cop, having to be secretive around friends and family, etc....plus, it's hot out, now, and i'm tired of wearing button down shirts and other uncomfortable crap just to hide a gun. given the choice of carrying a mousegun or OCing my full size gun, i'll OC.
 
I can't get me a Concealed carry permit, I'm only 19. So I must OC if I want to carry.

And I agree that it is an attempt at a return to better safer days.
 
I am not sure it is eaven a fad. I am out and about frequently and travel several times a year and so far I have only seen 2 people open carrying. I thought there were more but they had badges, plain clothes cops I suspect so I dont count them.
 
I saw a petition going around here in Florida to 'allow' OC. Gosh I hope it becomes a reality! So I the thread originator is correct, but I will rephrase it. There is a revived interest in OC recently - and I love it!
 
loneviking said:
Why not CCW? Because it's tough to truly conceal any large handgun. That leaves you packing 'mouse guns' or trying to wear a 'Smart-Carry' in the 110 degree heat out west, and it does nothing for those of us comfortable with shooting and carrying big revolvers. My mainstay is a Colt Peacekeeper with a 6" barrel in a shoulder holster. Yes, I'm getting a CCW, but my only 'concealment' is going to be occasionally a vest whenever I'm around crowds.

I'm a gun owner, an American, with a protected right so I have a hard time seeing why I need to hide? Besides, it's the bad guys that are usually seen digging guns out of their pants. The folks OC'ing aren't the ones too watch out for!
Click to expand...

+1
 
I can't get me a Concealed carry permit, I'm only 19. So I must OC if I want to carry.
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Actually, you can get a ccw from Maine at 18. It really depends on where you live whether it will do you any good as their permit is only good in 11 states. Checkout handgunlaw.us
 
I See Two Factors:

1. Some people regard it as a political statement and a means to engage others in conversation about the RKBA.

2. At least in Arizona, there are those who fear that the availability of licensed CCW is leading to a decline in open carry, which requires no permit. This, in turn, could lead to legislative and judicial restriction on open carry, resulting in an erosion of the constitutionallly protected "right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the state."

I have one friend who makes it a point to carry one handgun openly and a backup gun concealed. My biggest concern with open carry is that it should be done with holsters that provide some security against a gun grab, preferably backed up with some training in weapon retention. (Yes, a man was killed several years ago in Phoenix, in an attempt to steal his openly carried handgun.)
 
I think it is several things.

1. A reaffirmation of our right to bear arms.

2. Some times and places it is more comfortable to carry openly.

3. In at least one case, it was used to raise awareness of the RTKBA and got CC passed.
 
Are you referring to the tide of open carry threads here on THR?

They are the result of advocacy. There are some people here using facts, logic and personal experience to counter the myths and fears of open carry. That's a bright flashlight in the closet the monster hides in.
 
I wonder if anyone in CT has the Nads to try it... I know I don't.
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I seem to recall a thread at the opencarry.org forum that some CT state agency has recognized that the carry permit allows for both open and concealed carry.
 
I seem to recall a thread at the opencarry.org forum that some CT state agency has recognized that the carry permit allows for both open and concealed carry.
Click to expand...

I actually posted a thread last week here on that. I wonder if opencarry picked up on that? I wanted to pot it there but I never got a confirmation link sent to my email when I tried to register...

Either way, It would be neat to start hearing stories about open carry in CT.

I am not going to be the test case though.
 
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