open carry poll

[pilotguyo540]

I hope this is in the right section.

First, I know how many of you are against open carry. I for one agree you. After inquiring today, I was told that I would almost certainly be denied CCW because of traffic violations.

My question is very specific. If open carry was your only option, would you?

Please don't tell me I should move, or that my laws are BS. I can't, and I know.

I understand thatevery open carry experience is an invitation for a street interview with the local LEO. On the up side, I could typically be mistaken for a cop.

Sorry for beating a dead horse.

[Hmac]

You will inevitably draw the attention of the local cops, and each time a report will be filled out. Assuming you don't get shot, or arrested for "disturbing the peace", the reports of those "MWAG" encounters will likely come up at CCW application time long after your driving record has become clean.

[pilotguyo540]

I hear that. The bitch of it is, that I have a "clean" record. I was issued tickets that are no longer on my record or never counted as points.

These policies can easily push well intentioned stand up citizens into the "assclown" catagory easily.

[ghostrider1]

At least you have the option to open carry. Here in the peoples republic of Maryland, we can't do either. Coming from someone that can't carry in his home state but can go 20min down the road and open carry or CCW, I say open carry it is. Better to be safe than sorry. You can carry your gun, you can't carry a LEO on your hip.

[one]

This is such a loaded question for me. I don't want to see OC go away. There are plenty of valid times to utilize it. But in my opinion strolling around town scaring the hell out of all the soccer moms and getting the local LE called out isn't the best of times to be doing so.

[xcibes]

I open carry often and I have to see anyone cowering in fear from seeing me walk around the city with my weapon....people sometimes ask if I have a permit or if it is ok to open carry but I have yet to see anyone freak out over it. I do have a chp buti like to have options, and no I do not do it to be "in-your-face", it is simply for my convenience. there are some places where I don't usually carry openly, but like I said, having options is good.

[muzlblast]

I agree with one. If open carry is the ONLY option, then yes I would go with it. I think there are many times when it is appropriate such as being out in the woods, or maybe working on a farm but for the most part I think it just looks ridiculous for ordinary people even though I agree with and support their right to open carry.

[one]

If it matters I voted for "Yes, on occasion".

[William B.]

Originally Posted by one

This is such a loaded question for me. I don't want to see OC go away. There are plenty of valid times to utilize it. But in my opinion strolling around town scaring the hell out of all the soccer moms and getting the local LE called out isn't the best of times to be doing so.

Well said. I OC every once in a while. I know a few people who only OC. They realize that they are putting themselves out there and that this makes them very forward ambassadors for Second Amendment rights. It reflects in the way that they dress, speak, and act when they are OCing.

I have also seen the guys who are wearing wife-beaters and baggy pants while OCing and having vulgar conversations with their thugged-out butt buddies Not so good.

For the record, if OC was my only option that is exactly what I would do just like I CC now. I think that if you go about it in the right way you won't have too many problems.

[Lincoln7]

I OC everywhere I am allowed. I have never been harassed in the 2 years since I started. I have received numerous props from cops and citizens alike. I know there are pros and cons to OC (as wells as CC) but for me it fits my lifestyle well. I attempt to provide a positive image at all times when OCing by dressing decently, acting politely, etc. I am also mistaken for LE once in a while. (Their minds seem at ease when I tell them I am ex-military) Just know the laws in your state and follow them. I also recommend carrying a small voice recorder with you (OC or CC) as it may protect you in court. This is assuming that if your state allows you to carry, it allows you to record audio.

[Dienekes]

Even though I checked "occasionally", as a general rule I think OC is ridiculous. We don't live in the Balkans and we don't need internal passports to move from an oppressive state to a freer one. I prefer the NW and Rocky mountain states to other parts of the country and other than military service have managed to stay in that area.

There are some states that if I found myself in them, I'd hop the first freight out of town. Life is too short to spend it as a subject.

[Long Tom Coffin]

Originally Posted by Dienekes

Even though I checked "occasionally", as a general rule I think OC is ridiculous. We don't live in the Balkans and we don't need internal passports to move from an oppressive state to a freer one. I prefer the NW and Rocky mountain states to other parts of the country and other than military service have managed to stay in that area.

There are some states that if I found myself in them, I'd hop the first freight out of town. Life is too short to spend it as a subject.

I would have to agree with you. I don't personally see either the necessity or desirability of OC, but I can't legitimately say that people can't do it either. I do believe that the ability to carry a firearm for self protection, whether concealed or openly, is a fundamental right. While I think OC causes more harm than good (actually, I rephrase that, I know it causes more harm than good. Several municipalities here in St. Louis County have banned OC because of over-zealous OC proponents), I'm not going to be the the person going around telling people that they can't do stuff, being the libertarian that I am.

From my own standpoint, OC simply scares the sheep. I don't believe it serves any real tactical purpose other than offering pseudo-machismo and freaking out the fat, dumb and happy people who live in their own little condition white bubble of obliviousness. Again, that is from my own standpoint.

[warlord260]

I OC when i am hunting or fishing the rivers. I dont think i would in a more public place. For the record most think i am a LEO anyway.

[pilotguyo540]

Just food for thought, the courts have ruled in my AO that because we are allowed OC, CCW is not a right, and "shall issue" need not apply.

If OC were removed, theoretically CCW would have to become "shall issue."

When I lived in AZ, people OC'd all the time. You stopped paying attention after a few weeks. I understand that Oprah's minions may get their depends undergarments in a wad, its still a silly emotional response.

Their are tactical advantages to OC. There are a lot of disadvantages too. I think a balance could be reached if you dressed well and walked with purpose. I am way over thinking this thing today.

Interesting poll results so far.

[one]

Originally Posted by Long Tom Coffin

it causes more harm than good. Several municipalities here in St. Louis County have banned OC because of over-zealous OC proponents
.

We recently went through the same thing here. A local individual walked his dog every night and OC'd. The PD got so many calls on it that the city commission was seriously considering an ordinance against it. The biggest concern was it wouldn't take long for the local gang bangers and wannabees would learn that it was, in fact, legal for them to OC their pistols and they'd be carrying more. And before anyone comments on the criminal element not being smart enough to figure this out I can tell you. Some of them certainly are here. And then more will follow.

What's ironic about this is that what the guy was doing (walking his dog late at night) is one arena I think he's likely justified more than not in OC'ing. Theoretically there's fewer people out and the time frame and dark hours pretty well provided him with a natural blanket.

But in reality what he was doing was choosing the downtown area where the most people were and carrying a 6" barrel L or N frame Smith and Wesson revolver in a cowboy rig. Calls came in every night.

The final disposition was that he eventually lost interest in his dog walking excursions with the big gun and now you rarely ever see him, and when you do he's not carrying it anymore. It all pretty much went by the wayside with the city commission. But because of his brief love affair with gunslinging after finding out he could do so, he almost cost a lot of sensible citizens a valuable tool for the right situation.

[zodtgr8]

I live in a Shall issue state but didn't get my CCW until literally just last week when it arrived in the mail. OC on the other hand is something for which there is no legislation and its practice has become more common (despite a few growing pains with LE agencies).
I have OC'd every day that I was legally able to since (I am a working student so days I go to class I keep my carry gun at home).
I've never had any unpleasant run-ins with the local LEOs and the most greif I've ever gotten was a lady at the Home Depot who asked me why I was carrying. Hell, I once had a stranger voice his support of my choice to carry.
I even wrote up a small piece on OC for another forum that I frequent
http://operatorchan.org/st/res/8292.html

Yeah, with my CCW I will be doing it a whole lot less as I move to my concealment handguns, but OC will not cease to remain an option, particularly in a place where a concealment garment isn't always a feasible option, especially in the summer time.
Stilll if OC was the only option for carry, I'd do it without reservations. If your AO has a solid community of citizens who care about their right to OC, it can be done despite some resistance at first depending on how pro/anti-gun your AO is.
Just remember, with that firearm out in the open, like it or not, you are now a representative to the rest of the world as to what a responsibly armed citizen is like. Be professional, be polite and for the love of God, don't fuck it up for the rest of us.

But in reality what he was doing was choosing the downtown area where the most people were and carrying a 6" barrel L or N frame Smith and Wesson revolver in a cowboy rig. Calls came in every night.

Yeah, people like that aren't helping set a good image for responsibly armed citizens.
While I personally haven't seen it, it honestly grinds my gears more than the white trash looking guy who OCs a Jennings in a POS nylon holster he picked up at a gun show.

[ZombieDefenseHQ]

Originally Posted by Lincoln7

I OC everywhere I am allowed. I have never been harassed in the 2 years since I started. I have received numerous props from cops and citizens alike. I know there are pros and cons to OC (as wells as CC) but for me it fits my lifestyle well. I attempt to provide a positive image at all times when OCing by dressing decently, acting politely, etc. I am also mistaken for LE once in a while. (Their minds seem at ease when I tell them I am ex-military) Just know the laws in your state and follow them. I also recommend carrying a small voice recorder with you (OC or CC) as it may protect you in court. This is assuming that if your state allows you to carry, it allows you to record audio.

Lincoln7 has it summed up pretty well. It's all about image when you OC... Now there are people out there who OC to make a 2A statement, but you can usually pick them out on how they carry themselves... their walk isn't natural, the look and wear of the gun and holster and their mannerisms... you can tell that if things went bad quick you wouldn't want to be near that guy.
I tend to OC more in the fall/winter months and CC in the warmer months, and when I do OC I make sure I'm not dressed like a douchebag, maybe it's my ex-military attitude... but if you dress and act respectable and you really know how to use that shiny-attention-getter-on-your-hip people will sense that and respect you for it.

[montanadave]

I'll open carry when hiking in bear country and occasionally when walking the dogs in some of the county parks around town (as we've had more than one incident with mountain lions skulking about), but for the most part I carry concealed.

The problem I would face if unable to obtain a CCW and restricted to open carry would be how to dress in Montana during a good portion of the year and still "open" carry. Don't most open carry laws stipulate that the weapon has to be plainly visible? So if my only option was to open carry and it's cold outside, I've got to strap on a gun belt outside of my jacket or coat? That's a little Old West for me. Might as well just carry a shotgun on a sling or am I missing something?

How do you "open carry" when it's cold outside?

[TriviaMonster]

I do not want to see open carry vanquished, but I'm not someone who does it a lot. I open carry when I hike and when I thru-hike. Most small towns in Missouri don't mind the open carry. I also open carry at bass pro(headquarters) because they encourage it and its the norm. But other than that, its ccw. If I didn't have the choice to ccw, I would open carry at appropriate times as in places I feel unsafe etc. Open carry has a time and a place, but anymore its not worth the hassle of mwag Leo visits. And to be honest I don't want to make people uncomfortable with it, that's not what its for and only gives power to the Brady bunch.

ETA I did read something funny the other day not totally on topic. It was about carrying with one in the chamber and about how much faster it is to draw an already loaded weapon than not. The person then went on to say that its funny people are always "one in the chamber or not at all" even though open carry is so much faster than concealed you never hear anyone say open carry on the hip or not at all. Food for thought. BTW I always have one in the chamber.
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[Nephrology]

I have OCed while hiking but I do not think that I would ever be comfortable doing so in public areas.