Open carry or concealed?

[hatt]

Not to be overly obvious, but wouldn't every attack on a uniformed, openly armed, officer fit that description

Most uniformed police aren't shot while they're buying a Big Gulp. They're shot because they're interacting with and/or trying to arrest criminals. Big difference.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Activists in Missouri have been open carrying in municipalities in which they have discovered that there is no prohibition, and ordinances against open carry have been enacted with amazing speed.

What defines an activist? A person who chooses to engange in a legal behavior because they have evaluated the facts/theories presented to them and have come to the informed conclusion that open carry is the most effective means of personal protection using a firearm?

Do you have example/citations to these new ordinances against open carry that have been enacted with amazing speed in Missouri?

 

[Owen Sparks]

Whatever opinion you have, it should be left up to you how you carry and not the state. A holstered pistol is no more a threat than a parked car.

 

[Creature]

I tend to agree with Mr Grant Cunningham's point of view on OC...

http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_files/dd165d86ba5c261e7b5315f1ee492f6c-899.html

 

[Losov]

Absolutely concealed. Don't want to invite unwanted attention or conversation, don't want to give up a tactical advantage.

 

[Mainsail]

Kleanbore, let me compliment you on a good argument. We may never agree, but it always makes for a good conversation when someone can back up their opinion with some reasonable thought.

I was about to predict that someone would come in, having not read any of the other posts, and repeat an assertion that was already flattened, but I'm too late.

Cheers!

 

[9mmepiphany]

They're shot because they're interacting with and/or trying to arrest criminals. Big difference.

This might be true if you include talking to folks at vehicle stops...but I would suggest that most recent shooting of officers have been through ambush. Either because someone stalked them or because they happened to be a target of opportunity because a shooter was intending to commit another crime.

That is why officers wear body armor, it isn't so much for the folks we think are dangerous, it is for the folks who surprise us with their violent intent

 

[Kleanbore]

Posted by NavyLCDR: What defines an activist? A person who chooses to engange in a legal behavior because they have evaluated the facts/theories presented to them and have come to the informed conclusion that open carry is the most effective means of personal protection using a firearm?

I define an activist as someone who demonstrates against or in favor of something.

Regarding these open carry activists, I know neither their beliefs nor their motivations.

I do know that most, if not all, of my friends who support concealed carry believe that all they are doing is causing trouble for supporters of rkba.

Do you have example/citations to these new ordinances against open carry that have been enacted with amazing speed in Missouri?

Yes. It's public information, widely reported.

By the way, our state preemption law allows municipal regulation of open carry but prohibits local control of concealed carry. My city council recently passed an unlawful ordnance prohibiting both open and concealed carry.

Let me make it clear that, whatever I think of the idea of carrying openly, I agree with Owen Sparks: "Whatever opinion you have, it should be left up to you how you carry and not the state. A holstered pistol is no more a threat than a parked car.". However, I am in the minority here.

I also believe that having the option to carry openly can give the concealed carrier a big advantage in a situation that may seem to be a little "iffy": if there are indications that casually removing one's jacket to remove the concealment from one's firearm in a non-threatening manner would provide the "deterrence' often discussed here, one should be able to do so lawfully without risking either a weapons violation or being charged with unlawful use of force.

 

[aeriedad]

Let me make it clear that, whatever I think of the idea of carrying openly, I agree with Owen Sparks: "Whatever opinion you have, it should be left up to you how you carry and not the state. A holstered pistol is no more a threat than a parked car.". However, I am in the minority here.

I also believe that having the option to carry openly can give the concealed carrier a big advantage in a situation that may seem to be a little "iffy": if there are indications that casually removing one's jacket to remove the concealment from one's firearm in a non-threatening manner would provide the "deterrence' often discussed here, one should be able to do so lawfully without risking either a weapons violation or being charged with unlawful use of force.

Thank you, Kleanbore. Although I would choose to carry concealed almost all the time anyway, I should have the right to carry openly when it suits me. It shouldn't be up to the state of South Carolina to restrict that right from me.