Open carry, for many people is controversial.
Now, if you’re new here and you’re not familiar with open carry (versus concealed carry), here’s the difference: concealed carry (as the name implies) is carrying a firearm but keeping the firearm hidden (unless everything goes wrong and you have to pull the weapon). Open carry, on the other hand is carrying but carrying with the firearm in the open for the world to see.
Personally, I choose to carry concealed for two reasons: the first is that I want the advantage of surprise on a criminal if I have to pull my firearm. The second reason is that, frankly, it’s not worth it to me to have to deal with irrational, frantically emotional anti-gunners who may freak out just at the sight of my firearm.
On the open carry side of things, the controversy primarily has to do with the effect of the visibility of the firearm on other people. Some people carry openly as an unspoken warning to would-be criminals. Other people carry openly as a middle finger towards anti-gun people. And there are probably other reasons, too.
Whatever the motivation to carry openly, one person had a reason for opposing it that you may not expect. AWR Hawkins writes,
David French used social media commentary Tuesday to focus on the plight of Kyle Rittenhouse, describing open carry of firearms as “menacing” and calling for laws to be rethought.
French tweeted: “Open carry is materially different from concealed carry. It’s often designed to be menacing, to intimidate the public and public officials. And after the debates around Rittenhouse, it’s time to rethink open carry, as a matter of ethics and law.”
French’s use of Rittenhouse in an attempt to criticize open carry as a means to “intimidate” others brings to mind prosecutor Thomas Binger’s claim that Rittenhouse lost his right to self-defense because he was armed.
Binger said, “You lose the right to self-defense when you’re the one who brought the gun.”
Of course, both French and Binger’s logic is absolutely ridiculous. Carrying a firearm openly is no more a justification for someone else to attack you (to “defend themselves” from you) than a woman wearing skimpy clothing is an invitation for a guy to rape her. Just as the rape would not be justified (and would rightly be prosecuted as a crime), the three men who attacked Rittenhouse were not justified in their attacks because carrying a firearm openly is not, in-and-of-itself, a threat.
Fortunately, Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges which was the right ruling in that case based on the evidence that everyone has been able to see, but the fact that anti-gunners will still make this ridiculous argument is proof that they aren’t thinking rationally on any level about firearms.
So, yes, you should continue to carry your firearm for personal protection and to protect the innocent. Having said that, because of anti-gunners’s irrationality, it may be the better part of wisdom to choose to carry concealed just to avoid a public hassle with them when you’re eating dinner with your family out and about.
Let me ask a question of the person not wanting open carry!
If you are in a bank lobby and there are a dozen people waiting in line for a teller and three men come in, masked with guns telling everyone to put their hands up…..and instead of putting their hands up they all go for their own guns….now you have three criminals facing twelve guns all pointing at them. What do you think that they will do?
I’ll bet they will throw their guns away, get face down on the floor and wait for the police!
Now if the judges would give maximum sentenses and keep them off the streets to reflect the error of their ways, I’ll just bet the crime rate will dissappear.
Nancy – that scenario has played out in the past. At least once in LA – the bandits entered the bank and did the usual ‘warnings’ to the customers. Problem was it was pay day – they figured the bank would have extra cash on hand to cash paychecks (long time ago 😉 – what they didn’t realize was the bank was across the street from an LAPD substation. Guess who most of the customers were.
Open carry should be an individual choice and it should NOT be dictated by fraidy cats who are afraid of their own shadows. Who is the david french character and why should any of us care what he thinks.
Open OR Concealed Carry should be at the discretion of the gun owner. I concur that there are some ‘cream-puffs’ who may quiver and qail at the sight of a firearm.
So concealed carry MIGHT the better solution in many cases. However, if you are in an area where the ‘percieved lack’ of being armed might make a predator consider attacking you, OPEN CARRY might be the better solution!
In areas where open carry is common, such attacks are rare! But in areas where it is KNOWN people are SUPPOSED to be unarmed (schools, churches/synagogues/movie-theaters), such attacks typically succeed PRECISEly BECAUSE thugs are not threatened, because they are inveterate COWARDS! I prefer to be prepared!
People legally carrying would not be carrying in a bank because it is illegal to carry there. And that makes banks soft targets
Well said, but the prosecutors need to push for longer and harder sentences, judges need to sentence them to prison to be punished for their crimes, and the bleeding hearts demos need to keep their foul mouths shut. For the crime of murder, the penalty of this crime should be hanging by the neck till death.
One of many citizens who are tired of criminals getting a slap on the wrist and leaving the courthouse and committing another crime within minutes.
Every law-bidding citizen should be packing
USMC
Thanks to George Soros for backing radical Leftist DA’s wherever he thought he could prevail, we now have DAs who will not prosecute the vast majority of criminals, and bail laws that allow the criminals back out on the street faster than the Cops can finish the paperwork. Best argument I can think of for Constitutional Carry!
Concur on punishment for crimes involving guns! BUT many prosecutors throw out charges aboug gun use in favor of a guilty-plea on lesser charges (plea-bargaining) all to avoid long, drawn-out jury trials. This SHOULD be changed! Let all gun-involved charges be MANDATORY, and mandatory sentences, no bargaining, and stated as such in the laws. Bargain with lesser charges, MAYBE!
Only in Texas at the bank which encourages concealed carry. In my very rural bank people have to go through a metal detector to enter.
I like Open carry, Here in Montana it has Always been Legal and now Concealed without a permit is legal, years ago we used to be able to open carry everywhere Post Office, Bank, Court House not into court but the rest of the building, Schools, we were a Polite society and 99% of the Montanans are still that way, the Liberal Transplants have made it a pain in the butt for us to be a family, the sight of a gun scares them so much it’s ridiculous, here even cops expect you to have a weapon in your vehicle and don’t freak out, they might ask you where it is and if you are suspicious, they might ask you to hand over the gun during the traffic stop but many times they might just ask you to put it on the dash so they can see it during the stop. we aren’t treated like Criminals because we own guns unlike many communist states.
I’ve carried both ways for over 50 years. I only open carried when in uniform on the job. Other than that, why give the criminal the drop on you? You’ll be the first one taken out as the criminal KNOWS that you are a potential threat! You NEVER want the criminal to initiate the gun fire.
de Boner is right. Sane here. In uniform I was a target. Now I want to be seen as the old man cowering in the back begging for his life……. Until you turn away from me.
Keith – that makes at least three of us 😉
Four!
Five!
I have a question for this dumb ass??? How do conceal an AR style rifle you idiot………………….
I approve of open carry 100 percent.
Fortunately, in my area I can do either.
The problem with open carry is that there is so many KAREN’s here that you’d be dealing with the Po – Po every two blocks. Very annoying.
Personally I myself would rather carry openly.
Unfortunately because of the hassle of open carry I carry concealed, but when I’m at my MT. Property I carry open, handguns & long guns.
Long Live MONTANA…!
Probably not a good idea to carry at all as a middle school/junior high teacher, kids being what/who they are, and not always using the most common sense in their “playfulness…” when the teacher is concentrating on something/someone else. The law was heading in the direction of teachers carrying in Texas a few years ago. Not sure what the final result is/was. Armed teachers has been considered a deterrent to school shootings. Any clear conclusions on that?
My suggestion is that ALL teachers must carry! Those with religious, or even personal, objections could carry a very realistic (weight, size, etc) facsimile! No one is to know (except carrier) who actually IS armed and who isn’t! Potental thugs, ill-tempered/scared/insane students also wouldn’t know. Not knowing, why risk it? This would also work in churches, etc. Only the insane or real IDIOTS threaten a gun-store or a police station!
My suggestion is that ALL teachers must carry! Those with religious, or even personal, objections could carry a very realistic (weight, size, etc) facsimile! No one is to know (except carrier) who actually IS armed and who isn’t! Potental thugs, ill-tempered/scared/insane students also wouldn’t know. Not knowing, why risk it? This would also work in churches, etc. Only the insane or real IDIOTS threaten a gun-store or a police station!
Sorry, don’t know how TWO posts happend!
I can see an argument for both styles of carry. However I carry concealed. I want to be the Gray man. Despite being a competitive shooter if three armed thugs walk into a connivence store and there are other customers present, I don’t think turning it into a shooting gallery is a good option. I can also probably hit 2 thugs first but the third guy there’s the problem! There is no perfect solution no perfect scenario. Your carry and your shooting incident will be unique to you. There are times to get involved when defense of one or others is absolutely necessary. Other times it’s best to just be a good witness.
People legally carrying would not be carrying in a bank because it is illegal to carry there. And that makes banks soft targets
I have carried concealed ever since returning from my second tour in Vietnam. For the last ten years or so South Carolina sate law has redundantly reinforced what the second Amendment already protects as a right, bearing arms. So I took the classes, underwent the background check, and obtained my CWP. Until August 15th of this year, I did not carry openly, but do so now because the state law now recognizes the right for CWP holders. Having my weapon on my belt, as opposed to in my pocket, makes the gun much more comfortable and a dozen times faster to draw if it was ever necessary. I carry for personal protection and the mere presence of a weapon prevents crimes!
Florida is next up for Constitutional Carry. Seems the Legislature is making it a priority and Gov DeSantis has said he will sign it if it hits his desk!
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