But come on guys. Before you start bashing you should have all of the facts.
The O.P. states his location in Colorado. Since he doesn't list his city the population of Colorado varies greatly from big cities like Denver to little rural farming communities. Eastern Colorado is so very rural as Western Kansas that you cannot tell what State you are in. In Kansas we have a lot of small rural communities where guns are a daily tool. The largest town in the County have a Walmart and /or Dollar General store and most folks have to shop there unless that what to drive 100+ miles to a bigger city that have more stores to shop. It is not uncommon to see cowboys and ranchers in local stores packing a handgun, especially as Predators such as coyotes, wild dogs. feral cats and raccoons are very common. Long guns are often in the truck. We are pretty laid back in small towns so someone showing their gun to someone else doesn't create excitement.
If you really want to see a lot of folks packing iron do to a local small town diner during hunting season. Some of you will probably have a melt down when you see hunters showing the shotguns and other guns they are packing to other folk in the parking lot.
So before you big city folks start bashing remember there are country folk that don't get as excited about firearms as you do.
We have the facts as the OP reported them. Gentleman was in a store and was asked about his gun. Gentleman proceeds to unholster and handle a loaded firearm in said store. Your paragraph about rural folks is your opinion and perception of your state's varying communities.
I live in a town of 1800 in the middle of nowhere. It's a very gun friendly environment as the area is full of hunters, ranchers, people who live out in the woods, out door recreating folks, people who just carry for protection, and people who just plain enjoy firearms. Based on my small assembly of firearms, it's a reasonable guess that there are more guns in my town than permanent residents.
Show and tell is a common thing. You go to a friend's house, and it almost always involves a 20 minute or more discussion and pass around of a gun someone got, and what the next one is of course. But NEVER in any circumstance have I ever unholstered a loaded weapon in public just to show it to someone. I have been out shooting with friends, and someone has asked about my carry gun. In that case, I unholster in a safe way, minding muzzle direction and keeping my finger off the trigger, unload and safety check the gun before showing it to someone. Even if they aren't going to handle it.
I don't see how we could use the context of the community as a logical argument that drawing a firearm in a public place like a Wal-Mart isn't that big of a deal, but a Wal-Mart in a bigger city is a less appropriate setting to do so. Urban, rural, store, park, restaurant, parking lot, it doesn't matter. Drawing/unholstering a weapon in public simply to show it to someone is a bad idea. It can lead to accidents, and can frighten people. Open carry is fine, but the gun should stay holstered unless you need it. It's just my opinion. Do what you like.
