grampajack
AR Junkie
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2016
- Messages
- 1,714
Man oh man, lots of moving parts in this one. Open carry is to gun rights as rapture dogma is to protestant churches. It seems everyone is firmly on one side or the other, and it's bound to ruffle some feathers.
First off, I think it's important to distinguish between open carry as a practical measure vs. open carry as a political statement. Those are two very different debates, and when they get mixed up the fur starts flying.
As a political statement, I think we can all agree that it is important to preserve our right to bear arms (actually bear them, not just keep them in a safe and fondle them occasionally). Guns don't do us much good if we can't carry them, both from a perspective of tyranny prevention, and from one of self defense. It stands to reason that we need to desensitize the public to the idea of civilians carrying guns, as we've got about 100 years of firmly planted status quo to overcome. We also need to retrain law enforcement to see a citizen with a gun as just that, a citizen, whereas for nearly 100 years anyone with a gun was pretty much an automatic bad guy.
Thus, it stands to reason that, seeing as how we've got longstanding psychological barriers to overcome, we should adopt the "boil the frog" strategy. With that in mind, I think most of us can agree that it's not a great idea for a lone nutjob to be wandering around with an AR15. That's akin to turning the stove on high, causing the frog to jump out of the pot. Likewise, if one is going to open carry, it would behoove one to do it in such a way as to cause the least amount of alarm as possible, to be as non threatening as possible, and to choose a time and place that is best.
This is where we diverge from practical considerations. First of all, the weapon and carry rig should be chosen to convey a message rather than be practical. Steel and wood are markedly less threatening to non gun people, as is leather, as opposed to kydex and nylon. In Texas, there's a term called "BBQ gun," which denotes a gun that is reserved as a fashion accessory for Sunday BBQ's. One has a good suit of clothes, and a gun to go with them. That's the look we're going for here. A nice single action with color case hardening, shiny wood grips, and a nice leather carry rig would be ideal. A nice steel and wood 1911 in a dapper leather carry rig looks good if you can't pull off the western look. Let's face it, the general public sees open carriers as one of two things: threatening and eccentric. We're going for eccentric.
Age and gender is also a factor. Someone in their senior years is automatically less threatening than a strapping young twenty-something year old, as is a woman. Think about it, when was the last time you saw a 60 year old female commit a mass shooting? Personality is also a factor. Whenever you're open carrying, you're an ambassador of the Second Amendment. If you're not a people person, you probably shouldn't be doing it. You should also be well versed in the Constitution and the laws regarding your activities, and be ready to answer questions, and ideally have the ordinances printed out. This is especially important when dealing with law enforcement. If they're not already aware of the laws, then "I have the right" probably isn't going to convince them. They'll want to see the actual law in black and white.
Most importantly, be judicious in selecting the time and place. For example, your local small town hardware store is a better place than Home Depot. It's better to avoid chain stores altogether, as the manager is likely to call the police, whereas the owner of a sole proprietorship will likely ask you to leave at the very worst. You should also check corporate policies in advance. For example, Sam's Club in Oklahoma instructs its employees to ignore openly carried handguns.
..................................................
Now on to the practical side of it. There are certainly times and places when it might be practical to open carry. If you're a rancher on the southern border, by all means carry a rifle when you're out on your ATV or horseback. Or if you venture away from your truck to go check the fences on foot, take that long gun with you.
If you're backpacking in Montana or Colorado, I don't see any problem with having a big arse revolver on you. And I wouldn't go anywhere in Alaska without a hand cannon.
As mentioned, it's also difficult to conceal full sized handguns with Summer attire. However, this doesn't mean you have to go full on open carry, unless of course your state requires it by law. In my state, for example, only permit holders can open carry, so there's no requirement that anyone ever openly display a firearm. So just because you can't conceal it 100% doesn't mean you have to give up everything. Even a T shirt does a pretty good job of concealing a full sized pistol worn OWB. Sure, it's gonna print, it may show when you bend over, but the casual observer isn't going to notice it, so you preserve your element of surprise. For those who live in states where it's one or the other, you have my condolences.
The point is, just because you're technically open carrying, doesn't mean you have to rub people's noses in it.
Lastly, I would submit that we should all consider our outward appearance when carrying. It's important to look like a responsible citizen, and conduct yourself that way.
..............................
In conclusion, I don't think the public is ready for people carrying AR15s down main street. Let's get to the point where we can openly carry a Glock in all 50 states without raising alarm before we start doing that.
First off, I think it's important to distinguish between open carry as a practical measure vs. open carry as a political statement. Those are two very different debates, and when they get mixed up the fur starts flying.
As a political statement, I think we can all agree that it is important to preserve our right to bear arms (actually bear them, not just keep them in a safe and fondle them occasionally). Guns don't do us much good if we can't carry them, both from a perspective of tyranny prevention, and from one of self defense. It stands to reason that we need to desensitize the public to the idea of civilians carrying guns, as we've got about 100 years of firmly planted status quo to overcome. We also need to retrain law enforcement to see a citizen with a gun as just that, a citizen, whereas for nearly 100 years anyone with a gun was pretty much an automatic bad guy.
Thus, it stands to reason that, seeing as how we've got longstanding psychological barriers to overcome, we should adopt the "boil the frog" strategy. With that in mind, I think most of us can agree that it's not a great idea for a lone nutjob to be wandering around with an AR15. That's akin to turning the stove on high, causing the frog to jump out of the pot. Likewise, if one is going to open carry, it would behoove one to do it in such a way as to cause the least amount of alarm as possible, to be as non threatening as possible, and to choose a time and place that is best.
This is where we diverge from practical considerations. First of all, the weapon and carry rig should be chosen to convey a message rather than be practical. Steel and wood are markedly less threatening to non gun people, as is leather, as opposed to kydex and nylon. In Texas, there's a term called "BBQ gun," which denotes a gun that is reserved as a fashion accessory for Sunday BBQ's. One has a good suit of clothes, and a gun to go with them. That's the look we're going for here. A nice single action with color case hardening, shiny wood grips, and a nice leather carry rig would be ideal. A nice steel and wood 1911 in a dapper leather carry rig looks good if you can't pull off the western look. Let's face it, the general public sees open carriers as one of two things: threatening and eccentric. We're going for eccentric.
Age and gender is also a factor. Someone in their senior years is automatically less threatening than a strapping young twenty-something year old, as is a woman. Think about it, when was the last time you saw a 60 year old female commit a mass shooting? Personality is also a factor. Whenever you're open carrying, you're an ambassador of the Second Amendment. If you're not a people person, you probably shouldn't be doing it. You should also be well versed in the Constitution and the laws regarding your activities, and be ready to answer questions, and ideally have the ordinances printed out. This is especially important when dealing with law enforcement. If they're not already aware of the laws, then "I have the right" probably isn't going to convince them. They'll want to see the actual law in black and white.
Most importantly, be judicious in selecting the time and place. For example, your local small town hardware store is a better place than Home Depot. It's better to avoid chain stores altogether, as the manager is likely to call the police, whereas the owner of a sole proprietorship will likely ask you to leave at the very worst. You should also check corporate policies in advance. For example, Sam's Club in Oklahoma instructs its employees to ignore openly carried handguns.
..................................................
Now on to the practical side of it. There are certainly times and places when it might be practical to open carry. If you're a rancher on the southern border, by all means carry a rifle when you're out on your ATV or horseback. Or if you venture away from your truck to go check the fences on foot, take that long gun with you.
If you're backpacking in Montana or Colorado, I don't see any problem with having a big arse revolver on you. And I wouldn't go anywhere in Alaska without a hand cannon.
As mentioned, it's also difficult to conceal full sized handguns with Summer attire. However, this doesn't mean you have to go full on open carry, unless of course your state requires it by law. In my state, for example, only permit holders can open carry, so there's no requirement that anyone ever openly display a firearm. So just because you can't conceal it 100% doesn't mean you have to give up everything. Even a T shirt does a pretty good job of concealing a full sized pistol worn OWB. Sure, it's gonna print, it may show when you bend over, but the casual observer isn't going to notice it, so you preserve your element of surprise. For those who live in states where it's one or the other, you have my condolences.
The point is, just because you're technically open carrying, doesn't mean you have to rub people's noses in it.
Lastly, I would submit that we should all consider our outward appearance when carrying. It's important to look like a responsible citizen, and conduct yourself that way.
..............................
In conclusion, I don't think the public is ready for people carrying AR15s down main street. Let's get to the point where we can openly carry a Glock in all 50 states without raising alarm before we start doing that.
Last edited: