Why Aren't More People In South Carolina Open Carrying?

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We went through that entire process in Oklahoma several years ago. We had “shall issue” concealed carry laws for years. The only problem with the way the laws were written is that if you accidentally exposed your weapon, or it printed in your pocket, you were in violation of the law. That’s all some police agencies needed to give law abiding citizens a hard time and a citation. Our current Constitutional Carry Laws corrected the problem with one small exception. Business owners, and buildings that are publicly owned, can post the “No Firearms” placard on their door and that carries the full weight of the law behind it. IMO those placards make us all targets for those bent on committing a mass shooting. I do not support, enter, or spend any money at such business establishments.
I agree with you 100%. I think such establishments should legally be regarded as "attractive nuisances." They WANT you to come there, but have unsafe conditions.
 
I agree with you 100%. I think such establishments should legally be regarded as "attractive nuisances." They WANT you to come there, but have unsafe conditions.

Roger that! They want your money but, when the lead starts to fly, they’ll be the first ones to wet their pants and dive for cover. I will never understand the mentality that thinks that criminals will see the no firearms placard and obey the law.
 
Roger that! They want your money but, when the lead starts to fly, they’ll be the first ones to wet their pants and dive for cover. I will never understand the mentality that thinks that criminals will see the no firearms placard and obey the law.
Oh, come on! You don't mean a person bent on robbery and murder would DISOBEY a sign, do you?
 
The topic of this thread is, in my opinion, a symptom of how spending a lot of time with/exchanging views with special interest groups tends to give people a false sense of majority.

The fact is that there aren't a lot of people who carry guns. Even the vast majority of people who get permits don't seem to carry in my experience. In states where no permits are required, a lot of people still don't carry even though there's nothing stopping them and nothing they would have to do other than just start carrying.

But if a person spends a lot of time taking input from gun-specific groups and throws in just a little bit of "interpretation", they might get the idea that just the opposite is true. "Almost everyone on <insert website here> says they carry a gun." becomes: "Almost everyone carries a gun."

Why aren't there a lot of people open-carrying in NC? Same reason as any other place. There aren't a lot of people carrying guns in the first place--and the ones who do are mostly carrying concealed.
 
The topic of this thread is, in my opinion, a symptom of how spending a lot of time with/exchanging views with special interest groups tends to give people a false sense of majority.

The fact is that there aren't a lot of people who carry guns. Even the vast majority of people who get permits don't seem to carry in my experience. In states where no permits are required, a lot of people still don't carry even though there's nothing stopping them and nothing they would have to do other than just start carrying.

But if a person spends a lot of time taking input from gun-specific groups and throws in just a little bit of "interpretation", they might get the idea that just the opposite is true. "Almost everyone on <insert website here> says they carry a gun." becomes: "Almost everyone carries a gun."

Why aren't there a lot of people open-carrying in NC? Same reason as any other place. There aren't a lot of people carrying guns in the first place--and the ones who do are mostly carrying concealed.

So true. Local FFL and firearms instructor is a friend of mine. He teaches the course required in Mississippi to gain your enhanced ccw.

He was telling me recently that he does a lot of transfers for people that he’s instructed over the years that have let their ccw expire, never got it (despite taking the course), or that have told him that they never use it.

Re: open carry. I support peoples right to do it, but personally choose concealed.
 
I’m in Central Texas where we’ve had open carry since 2016.
I have seen exactly two people OCing in all that time, and they were a couple exiting a Wendy’s burger joint several years ago.
 
Personally I have no use for open carry, except when I walk my dog at night in the park behind my house. It's a comfort and ease of access issue in an otherwise empty public space
 
Another non-fan of open carry here.
Thankfully Ohio is open carry though so they can't crucify you if your shirt rides up or your coat opens and your gun is seen.

Ohio is just knee-jerk enough that something as innocent as that would net you a felony brandishing charge.
 
I have no problem with open carry. As an adult I can use reason and logic to determine to situation I am confronted with. If someone legally open carried their firearm than more power to them.
 
In an important sense, the law un-prohibited "showing", meaning it's no longer a crime to break concealment. That's good, and prohibiting showing was always stupid.

In rural contexts, open carry is perfectly sensible, but "in town" I can't imagine any reasonable person deciding it's the better everyday option. It makes you the focus of the room, even moreso than blue hair or an obscene tshirt, and that focus is avoided by competent adults under almost all circumstances.

This is the predominant reason OC shouldn't be restricted. Too many places made OC illegal, and that included printing and unintentional display.

With regards to the latter, I'd say it highly depends on the exact locale. I've OC'd in more dense population areas and saw at least no overt reactions towards it (no pearl clutching, no screaming and running, no dragging little children away.) I honestly believe that in areas that it's more common, most people frankly don't even notice.
 
This thread has dragged on longer than I expected. In the mean time, I have been thinking more about this and my carry behavior. I actually open carry more than I realized, but it is limited and situational. Between my home, the gas station, a couple of properties I manage, I commonly open carry. Between home and each of my hunting properties, I open carry or don't consciously worry about being concealed. Generally speaking, I am not interacting with too many other people while doing so, often zero. People do see me, but they are usually at a distance. However, these forays away from home comprise a goodly amount of my time away from home.

However, if I am planning on going inside of other people's businesses, I cover up.
 
So my question is this, if so many people in South Carolina were chomping at the bit to pass open carry legislation, why aren’t more people in South Carolina open carrying?

Yes, I am aware that the Bill that passed is a compromise Bill but that does not negate my question.

Three probable reasons
1) Open carry is generally not a tactically sound decision
2) People don't want the hassle of being stopped and questioned by the police
3) Most gun owners don't carry anyway regardless of concealed or open.
 
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My guess is most people simply don't want to open carry.

While I do think there are times and places that it might be desirable, I would not consider those the majority, simply because of the attention it draws.
 
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