Yeah...It's Loaded...

[SteyrAUG]

http://www.washingtonian.com/print/a...174/18165.html

The national "open carry" movement, in which gun owners openly—and legally—carry guns in public, began in Virginia a decade ago. Meet three women who aren't bashful about it.

[ssracer]

nice. OC is legal in KY but I have only done it a few times. Got my CC so I usually go that route.

[skyugo]

it's been said before, but open carry does about as much for gun rights as assless chaps do for gay rights.

seem like some cool ladies though.

[Oscar 319]

it's been said before, but open carry does about as much for gun rights as assless chaps do for gay rights.

Well said.

[SteyrAUG]

it's been said before, but open carry does about as much for gun rights as assless chaps do for gay rights.

seem like some cool ladies though.

I disagree.

One of my favorite pictures is of my father and uncle when they were both around age 12 walking down the sidewalk with the rifles they recently purchased slung on their shoulders (1917 Enfield and 1903 Springfield respectively).

They would routinely open carry their rifles, sometimes with their fathers 1911 in a flap holster on their hip, through town to the outskirts where they would spend a good part of the day shooting tin cans.

It was considered the norm. And in the 1950s our gun rights were much more secure then they are now. And that is because if a person had a gun on their belt, nobody thought there was anything wrong or bad about that.

Once you get used to the idea that "good people have guns" then suddenly guns lose their "bad connotation." Right now the only guns most people see are on the news and associate them with the bad guys and the only other people who have them are the police who are "special status" to most people. And that is why a lot of people now think "only the police should have them" which would have been completely absurd in the days when even small children could sling rifles on the weekend and nobody thought anything of it.

[skyugo]

I disagree.

One of my favorite pictures is of my father and uncle when they were both around age 12 walking down the sidewalk with the rifles they recently purchased slung on their shoulders (1917 Enfield and 1903 Springfield respectively).

They would routinely open carry their rifles, sometimes with their fathers 1911 in a flap holster on their hip, through town to the outskirts where they would spend a good part of the day shooting tin cans.

It was considered the norm. And in the 1950s our gun rights were much more secure then they are now. And that is because if a person had a gun on their belt, nobody thought there was anything wrong or bad about that.

Once you get used to the idea that "good people have guns" then suddenly guns lose their "bad connotation." Right now the only guns most people see are on the news and associate them with the bad guys and the only other people who have them are the police who are "special status" to most people. And that is why a lot of people now think "only the police should have them" which would have been completely absurd in the days when even small children could sling rifles on the weekend and nobody thought anything of it.

that's an interesting point. Thing is, we're not trying to change the minds of people who are already ok with guns, we're trying to change the minds of people who are terrified of weapons. I think with people like this it creates a roadblock to any sort of dialogue if you have a gun on you visibly.
As with assless chaps, there's a time and place for everything.

i will say that i think women open carrying tends to send a better message. Just kinda seems... friendlier? I won't make an assless chaps analogy for this.

[M4arc]

it's been said before, but open carry does about as much for gun rights as assless chaps do for gay rights.

seem like some cool ladies though.

True if you or I were open carrying but these ladies...they're treated differently and I believe more people would be willing to listen and accept open carry if more women did it.

BTW, someone get Carrie some better sights.

[Palmguy]

that's an interesting point. Thing is, we're not trying to change the minds of people who are already ok with guns, we're trying to change the minds of people who are terrified of weapons. I think with people like this it creates a roadblock to any sort of dialogue if you have a gun on you visibly.
As with assless chaps, there's a time and place for everything.

i will say that i think women open carrying tends to send a better message. Just kinda seems... friendlier? I won't make an assless chaps analogy for this.

Why do you suppose so many people are terrified of weapons?

I would contend that the decline in exposure of the general public to law-abiding citizens exercising their 2A rights is a significant factor.

[Gutshot John]

Why do you suppose so many people are terrified of weapons?

I would contend that the decline in exposure of the general public to law-abiding citizens exercising their 2A rights is a significant factor.

To be honest that kind of reasoning is a bit self-serving. I would contend that it's the responsible exercise of 2a rights that will win the public over.

I've been around guns a good bit of my life, and I shoot regularly. I still feel a bit hinky when I see someone carry openly. I don't think they're crooks, I just question their judgment if not in the proper context.

If you're out ranging your spread, on a hunt or if you're attending a gun rights rally where everyone is OC, go for it. Walking around day to day with an AR slung over your shoulder or a han solo holster seems like you've either got a chip on your shoulder or giving the bad guys all the notice they need to ambush you. Neither seems like good judgment to me.

Just because you have the ability to do something, doesn't mean you always should.

[DaBears_85]

As with assless chaps, there's a time and place for everything.

When is an appropriate time for assless chaps?


J