Open Carry (or concealed) when heavily tattooed

[Sean Dempsey]

I am a gun enthusiast, never had a misdemeanor or felony. A few speeding tickets is the biggest thing I've had.

Never was into drugs or petty "youth" crimes. Was a bookwork through high school and college. Got a degree is Psychology. Now have a family and nice house I built, own a business as a graphic designer.

I don't get drunk, I usually top out at about 3 beers and call it quits.

But - I have many visible tattoos on my arms and legs, and plan on getting many more, including on my hands, feet, and neck. I wear t-shirts, most of which are for skateboard companies like DC, Innes, Element (never skateboarded). I also wear semi-baggy shorts that usually go down past the knee, but I don't lowride them - my belt is done up proper. Also, I wear simple adidas sandals all summer long.

I ususally wear a baseball hat, again from the skateboard companies. Combine that with dark sunglasses, and a massive beard down to my collar bones... I am not exactly your standard banker or accountant.

All this recent talk I've been reading of open carry and the "easy and hard way" has my wondering: Would you view my appearance as helping, or hurting the cause? I am hesitant to open carry, I get enough looks for tattoos on my arms and legs from people, especially cops who pull me over for something minor and see the inked forearm out the window.

I have no desire to change, and will continue to do what works for me. I don't mine the curiosity or looks people have, I realize I look like a questionable person. I'm not asking about the consequence to ME of open carry, I'm asking about the consequence to the gun community. I realize that most of the men here are of the older, more traditional type with more conservative and traditional dress, so of course those are the type of people you want portrayed as responsible gun carrying citizens.

But if you saw a guy who looked like a 30 year old skateboard pro with a 10 inch beard and tattooed arms and legs, with a nice shiny 1911 in a nice leather holster on his hip, would you say he's creating more panic, or less panic concerning open carry and sheeple?

 

[The Bushmaster]

And I'm 66 bearded with LONG gray hair. Five grown kids, eight grand kids, two horses and live in a Redneck area...... You have a problem?

 

[highorder]

But if you saw a guy who looked like a 30 year old skateboard pro with a 10 inch beard and tattooed arms and legs, with a nice shiny 1911 in a nice leather holster on his hip, would you say he's creating more panic, or less panic concerning open carry and sheeple?

Someone else here said it best;

"as for scaring the sheeple, everything scares them."

BUT, If I saw someone OC'ing (knowing that it is lawful) that matched that description , I might be more enclined to think that they are less cautious, safe, proficient, etc. than someone that "looks" more conservative.

gut reaction folks.

 

[jahwarrior]

welcome to my world....i'm a heavily tattooed as well, and i'm a puerto rican living in a largely white community. ask me about my headaches! i don't have too many problems, though. once in awhile, i get the odd LEO hassling me, but no arrests yet. most of my problems come from private citizens. i think it mostly has to do with my ethnicity, more than my tattoos.

 

[dvcrsn]

Get the CCW--and don't give the idiots on the anti side any ammo:banghead:. I say that because I wear a full beard when I can and being built like a main battle tank have learned that the hoplophobe freak at some unusual things.

 

[yourang?]

unfortunately, for many many many people

PERCEPTION IS REALITY

and they dont care to go beyond the surface

so we are stuck with all sorts of misplaced/misdirected thoughts
and actions by all sorts of people which are based on what they
think to be true

which arent necessarily true at all

so...we have to realize that they are basing their thoughts and
actions on what they think to be real...and it might not be so at all

i dont know what more to say except to say that it is wrong to
judge some one by the way they look, but that wont stop it from
happening....or stop us from feeling the unjust results of their misperceptions

 

[Aran]

I have no issue with anything but wearing skateboarding company swag when you've never skateboarded.

 

[Tribal]

deleted

 

[Picard]

I think it would be advisable to conceal, for now at least until the OC movement picks up more. If your appearance makes people uneasy now, adding a firearm into the mix will not be good and I think it would hurt the cause. Sorry to tell you something that you don't want to hear, but that's just the way I see it happening.

Maybe in a few years, when the movement picks up and OC is more "normal", you may not have to worry about people caring as much.

 

[Trebor]

Are you asking if your tattoos might cause a problem? Well, yes, they might. Any part of your apperance that someone can react negatively to can cause a problem. And, for many people, tattoos are still seen as a negative. Unfortunately, that could include someone who sees you open carrying or a responding police officer who (justly or unjustly) considers the tatoos as part of his reaction when he approaches you.

Yes, appearance matters, and to some people tattoos are a turn off still.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I heard (what I feel is) a wise statement once; If you deliberately present yourself in a way that is out of the ordinary, do not be surprised when people treat you out of the ordinary.

 

[jahwarrior]

I have no issue with anything but wearing skateboarding company swag when you've never skateboarded.

+1! that bugs me to no end.

 

[Ske1etor]

Some people in this country walk around hoping for the next person to offend them so they can make themselves feel better about their petty existences. We need heavily armed, heavily tattooed men just like you to help fill that quota. If it weren't for men like you, they would have to hassle someone else about something much more trivial.

Just remember, if someone (Even a cop) hassles you about the OC or even the tattoo's... They live a petty existence. They are waiting for the next complete stranger to provide something they can talk about to seem more important. They have nothing else to fill their day with other than hassling someone for something that is completely legal.

Brush it off. Be you and keep you and yours safe.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

If you deliberately present yourself in a way that is out of the ordinary, do not be surprised when people treat you out of the ordinary.

I don't feel I am deliberately presenting myself in a way that is out of the ordinary. But, I'm not sure if you're referring to open carry, or visible tattoos.


I suppose my inquiry wasn't about me personally - I realize and fully accept the nature of the beast with peoples perceptions and their reactions. I live in a smaller city in Utah that is predominantly Mormon. They love guns, but don't condone tattooing.

I guess I was asking this small segment of the Gun Community if I would be hurting the cause, endorsing firearms publicly. The gist of the "easy way or hard way" thread seemed to be "appear as nice, normal, and friendly as possible, but with a gun!".

Again, people's opinion of me is none of my business. I just wanted to see if the THR folks would say "Best to not confuse people".

Which guy do you want the PUBLIC seeing with a gun on their hip? Should those of us who aren't "conservative" appearing stay out of the movement, since people automatically will assume we must be criminals or irresponsible?

 

[Ske1etor]

Which guy do you want the PUBLIC seeing with a gun on their hip?

Which one? I would rather see BOTH.

 

[Joey_the_Wolf]

Based on how you've described yourself, you look like most of my friends. Most of which are also responsible gunnies. Myself, I don't exactly fit into the stereotype of a typical or average person either. I look/dress alot like the Postal Dude if you ask me (I do NOT share his sociopathic tendencies though, but that's the best way I can describe how I look). No tattoos for me yet, but I certainly don't adhere to most people's views of an "Average Joe". My theory is that people need more positive exposure to other lifestyles. It's human nature to fear what you don't understand, so why not help them understand you by exposing them to positive experiences. I say by all means carry open if it's legal to you. It's 2008. There is absolutely no reason why anyone should discriminate against you based on the colors of your skin...

Personally, I have never seen why some are so afraid of the tattooed crowd. The vast majority are pretty decent people whom I have zero problem trusting with firearms. There's always bad apples, but you will find those everywhere and in every cultural group. So long as you stay within the law and behave responsibly, I don't see why anyone would give you any problems.

 

[DWARREN123]

It is not appearances but actions that tell about a person. I don't like tattoos but it doesn't bother me that others have them.

 

[Oana]

I suppose my inquiry wasn't about me personally - I realize and fully accept the nature of the beast with peoples perceptions and their reactions. I live in a smaller city in Utah that is predominantly Mormon. They love guns, but don't condone tattooing.

Sounds like your community doesn't have a problem with guns (or, I'm assuming, OC), so I think you're fine. Just be sure to smile a lot and act very friendly & upbeat. *Scowling* in a beard, tattoos and shiny 1911 is more likely to create nervousness.

If you were in a more anti area and wanted to OC, I'd probably say "no"...just for appearances' sake.

 

[elChupacabra!]

I'm very interested in Bogie's perspective on this, since he started the "easy way / hard way" thread.

I'm not all tattered up, but I do have some ink.

Should I keep my gun tucked in, too?

It seems half of this community would tell me to keep it out in the open or else I'm "trading eternal liberty for temporary safety" while the other half would tell me that I'd better not dirty up their movement.

 

[Hutch]

Since you felt a need to ask, you probably know the answer. You have decided to distinguish yourself, permanently, in manner that is different from the local norm. You must forgive people if they expect you to ACT different than the local norm. I am mindlessly prejudiced against tats. I admit that, I try to mentally correct my emotional response, but I can't deny it. I don't think you do the Cause any favors. I believe you think that too, or you wouldn't ask. Go with CCW, please.

 

[abrink]

As long as your state constitution doesn't say you can protect yourself with a legally owned firearm only if you have no tattoos you will be fine. We're all different and we have the right to look the way we want. You're fine in my eyes.

 

[jordan1948]

It wouldn't bother me in the least to see someone with your description OCing but that's probably because I'm a youth lol personally I think we NEED more OC or at least CC in this country so the "nansie pannsies" can get used to it. I live in a neighborhood with mostly senior citezens and I've never had a problem when carring a firearm(i.e. shotguns and rifles) from my front door to my truck which involves walking through the front lawn and I do it quite often but even with all this there's ALWAYS going to be at least one person who's gonna give you crap about it or call the police because they think they're doing the community a favor, so in conclusion I suggest CC but it's your decision to make.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

I agree. I was looking for more opinions is all.

But, I'll say that I really don't like tattoos on others most of the time either. I fully get the basis for peoples preconceived notions.

As far as assuming tattoos are mainly for attention and show, many are. Mine aren't, but I run out of skin that hides under a shirt.

 

[springmom]

As the resident Old Lady on this board let me say that I am one of those who grew up in a time when the only people who had tattoos were ex-sailors or Marines, and they were sort of expected to for whatever reason. But regular average everyday Joes, and NO average Janes, had tats. None. Nada. Those who did were assumed to have, at least, colorful pasts.

Fast forward to today. It is difficult to shed the "this is not right" stuff that got imprinted a half-century ago, but I think I do a pretty good job of it. My oldest son has a couple of discreet tats; my son in law, one that is not so much (ankle tat). My younger two sons have toyed with the idea and decided that if they don't like needles, and they don't, this might not be the ideal form of self expression for them. All that by way of saying, even for old fuddy-duddies such as myself, I think there's an overall relaxation of attitude.

Except in much of the business community, that is. If you want a job with a high powered firm (business, legal, medical, whatever) you probably will be required to hide the tats. I know my husband's firm has a strict policy on that. So there is "prejudice" out there still.

If you look like a walking talking tapestry, though, you're going to get a lot more sideways looks. If you look like a tapestry that has a Desert Eagle attached, you'll get the looks as people sidle away. That's because it becomes far more difficult to "read" you re: threat. The rest of us can't know what, exactly, you are trying to express, and something that far away from the norm (even today's norm) is going to cause unease, and caution, at least.

Is it fair? Maybe not. But I work hard at keeping my situational awareness up. If you are an "outlier" on the bell curve of social appearance, you're going to draw a second, and a third, look, and probably be avoided accordingly.

I'd rather hurt someone's feelings about this and be alive to apologize later, all in all.

ETA: Just saw the pix. You're fine. At least you would be to me.


Springmom

 

[Sniper X]

I am very clean cut, look like a plain clothes cop, 5'7" tall (ur uh, short), wear a $5000.00 watch most of the time or some other fine timepeice, and dress like I make money although I make a modest living. Heck, even when I open carry, and I have nO visible tats, I scare the sheeple. I have never had the popo called on me for OC as far as I know. At least never had a LEO come up to me and ask why I was carrying a gun. I guess because here in NM doing that is like a LEO asking you why you are walking or talking or driving a car...it is all legal. Don't swaet it man, and keep up the cool apearence!