The intriguing history of the jockstrap… We have to visit all the way back to the 1870s, and a Mr. Bennett of Chicago, who was simply obviously *very* concerned about the particular hurt in which cobbled roadways were doing to bike courier’s balls. All of that uncontrolled bouncing about kept him up through the night. Poor Mr. Bennett. Nonetheless thankfully for the bi-cycle messengers (as well as ‘jockeys’), Mr. Bennett had an idea, and that he referred to it as after these folks. The ‘jock strap’ was created. Fast-forward 50 years into the 1920s, and a fresh Canadian called Jack Cartlege. Jack adored his hockey *almost* just as much as he adored slipping on his favourite jock strap, but it wasn’t until one fateful day in 1927 that Jack realized (the hard way!) that his jock strap was no competition for any hockey puck inside groin. Jack wasn’t massively eager on reproducing the experience, and who blames him, so he arrived up with the ingenious idea of slipping a hard cup on the front of his jock strap. The design and style was promptly copyrighted and development begun. Gentlemen no longer had to live in the fear of a stray puck, ball or studded footwear. Jack’s combination of jock strap and shielding cup became the anchor of boys’ secondary school sports kit all over the world through out the 20th century, right up until underwear makes like Andrew Christian, C-in2 and Addicted started out reinventing the traditional layout. Away gone the ugly colour of off-white as well as the ugly waistbands, and in came a completely new choice of innovative cuts and styles, and fun shades. These contemporary jock straps are definitely the ideal balance between trend and functionality – as great around the track or in the gym because they are under a pair of jeans, or suit trousers if you’re game for it. Business at the front, party in the back!
ejharbJanuary 21, 2015, 6:45 pm
We are our own worse enemy.why not try minding your own business.if the world did this it would be the proverbial utopia. If your not a threat then I care Less if you want to sling your ar and stroll.
TomJanuary 14, 2015, 6:13 pm
My opinion… Carrying concealed is best for most of us. If someone has a legitimate reason they feel they need to open carry I’m fine with them doing so. I someone is open carrying to make some sort of a fashion statement, especially if they are doing the CC badge thing I have to seriously question their mental stability. It’s not a “Fashion Statement”. When you carry it comes with some serious responsibility, I have to question how seriously the person doing the fashion statement thing is taking that responsibility…
Ed ColonnaJanuary 9, 2015, 4:47 pm
I do not agree with the “Permitting” of concealed carry. The 2nd amendment guarantees or right to carry without infringement. Because we have concealed carry laws that require a permit we are left with the option of carrying open with out have to announcing to anyone that we have a weapon. Some of us can not afford the permitting process. That is an infringement. I would prefer to carry concealed but do not want anyone to know my business. Getting a permit tells the government that I intend to carry and if they want to confiscate guns I will be one of the first to have them taken away. I live in a state that does not require registration, so the next best thing for government to do is to go after CCW permit holders. I do not want to provoke anyone to confront me because of how they feel about my choice to carry. If you are not going to do me or mine harm then you would have no reason to see my weapon. I have the right to keep and bear arms, I do not read that you have the right to see it.
BigRJanuary 8, 2015, 9:20 pm
I do not want to carry a weapon openly. I prefer to carry my gun concealed. If a perp walks into a place of business to rob it or hurt someone, and he sees a customer carrying a gun in the open, he may want to eliminate the threat to himself, before he commits himself. I feel I may have a better chance to intervene is he doesn’t know I’m armed. But that’s just me!
ok, I’ve read enough. Part of you folks just have an opinion and the rest don’t deserve one. I am a reserve officer and I don’t have an opinion because officers on patrol have to wear open and while most are off duty they go either way. The idiots in the video are just that. I don’t care one way or the other but for those that say its a tactical advantage to carry concealed you are sadly mistaken because odds are you don’t get the proper training on how to draw from a concealed handgun. It takes lots of practice just like drawing from an open carried handgun. The only element of surprise you might have is if you are behind an object and can draw your weapon to the ready. If the perp already has his or her gun drawn on you its game over unless you have been trained in hand to gun defense to give you the advantage. If they have a knife it is even tougher. All of you who are veterans on this site to you I say thank you and yours is the only opinion that really counts as well as my brother / sister officers. If everyone here would admit it the only reason to really conceal carry is to keep the general population from freaking out. Just my $.002 worth it or not. Tj
Mario DJanuary 12, 2015, 12:48 pm
“All of you who are veterans on this site to you I say thank you and yours is the only opinion that really counts as well as my brother / sister officers.”
Am I the only one here who is genuinely disturbed by the second half of this statement….?
RandyOJanuary 20, 2016, 7:00 pm
Hmm having shot with too many LEO’s to count, I would have to rate their skills as a whole as “marginal”.. While many are very practiced with firearms, many more (if not most) view their gun as a tool of the trade and simply do not remain very proficient with it until yearly qualifying comes around.. While I am far from being any kind of super marksman, I do train pistol shooters and your line of work simply is not a good “gauge” of how good you are with a weapon.. Open carry? not for me.. been CCW for 20+ years and never once had occasion to need it.. I do drill weekly myself because I love the shooting sports. It is odd that I do not know of a single professional shooter/trainer or other that has a soft spot in their heart for the OC group..
Bigduke613January 7, 2015, 1:59 pm
Chuck Troupe While I agree store clerks and gun shop owners/employees should be allowed to open carry at least they have a counter as a barrier or some form of seeing the approaching idiot that would attempt a gun grab.
However your comments about the police and deputy sheriffs being victims of gun grabs all the time is unfortunately right on. I am a cop and a defensive tactics and firearms instructor for our department. I have done quite a bit of research on weapon retention and gun grabs. I have found that there is an attempted gun grab from a cop in this country every 48 hours and even more frequently in some major metro areas.
You will never see the stories in the lame stream media because the gun grabs were stopped and the turds righteously taken down and arrested. I myself had three attempted gun grabs in my 15 year career. Fortunately the turds that tried it were small enough and easy enough to defeat otherwise our state laws and I think most states allow the officer to regain full control of his weapon and then kill the suspect. We had a 350+ pound 6 foot 4 guy attempt a grab on one of our cops just last month. The officers holster was ripped and during the five-minute fight he was barely able to retain his weapon until help arrived.
I have seen far too many open carry people who seem oblivious to their surroundings. I’m not saying they were oblivious I’m just saying their actions and demeanor did not make me believe they would be able to stop an experienced criminal from ambushing them and taking the weapon. I know this happens to cops as well but most turds are smart enough to know that we have the training and the law on our side and they very likely will be killed.
I don’t believe the criminals who would think of attempting a gun grab on an officer would even hesitate to try it on a civilian. I’m not saying open carry people need to be ducking behind trees and park benches but if you do open carry you had damn well better have some weapon retention training for it is as important as shooting itself.
Every cop I know would be super pissed if an open carry civilian allowed his gun to be taken and used against one of my brothers or sisters on the job much less some poor civilian. Believe me we are not happy when it happens to cops either. And as you will see in the media a successful gun grab from a cop usually ends up in the cop being killed.
Open carry is your right and I support that right but do the responsible thing and have some weapon retention training and do not cop an attitude when approached by the police after some uninformed citizen calls us thinking you’re the next active shooter. Although uninformed they have the right to call us and we then must investigate.
Most open carry citizens I have approached have been nothing but courteous. However I have had run-ins with a few that get very upset with the “militarized police state” when we are simply responding to citizen complaints and must verify your carry permit. I know some states do not require a permit to open carry but those that do require a permit also require the police to do their jobs when called.
Either way you carry just be safe and get the right training. Carry-on.
RWJanuary 7, 2015, 1:43 am
First I want to say “thank god” where I live I’ve never seen someone carrying a long gun in public or even heard about it till now. When I heard about that in the video I swear the first picture that popped into my head was of a overweight/fat guy (inbred) in some sort of t-shirt and shorts with his long gun. Have you ever gotten an email or video showing all the weirdly dressed, or way obese people that have been photographed/videoed while shopping Walmart? That’s the type of person/personality I see carrying a long gun in public. In my humble opinion it is no different than a person carrying a hand gun in the open. I truly believe it is their way of feeling like a cowboy/cop or saying “look at my bad-ass self”. They damn sure are not promoting the 2nd amendment or the NRA. It has the opposite effect. In Oklahoma you can carry either way and I’m always looking, yet very seldom do I see/notice an armed citizen. Which tells me armed Oklahomans are doing a very good job of concealing their weapons. Thanks guys.
Raymond RJanuary 6, 2015, 1:09 pm
It’s always amusing to me that the invectives fly to and fro when discussing this. I have a CCW and opt for concealed carry; those who favor open carry have a right to their opinion, but, as others have noted, it’s a form of adverisement or intimidation depending on the view of the beholder. Seems to me that better someone does not know you’re carrying than to invite scrutiny or trouble if some miscreant has bad intentions!
How about a higher level of discourse, folks? Don/t we have enough trouble with the antis to be feuding among ourselves!
Bigduke613January 6, 2015, 3:33 am
Bryan is right on.
And…with all the active shooters running around shooting up schools, theaters, etc….Your just begging to get shot by the cops when you do the old “But officer, I’m within my rights.” and reach for the gun even to remove it and lay it down.
Thanks for making all gun owners look bad.
Bigduke613January 6, 2015, 2:28 am
Todd & gym said it all…
Open carry just means you are waiting to get shot in the back of the head or at least hit/tackled and disarmed. Don’t think for a minute that turds are all cowards. Dope/booze has a way of bringing out the retarded courage in many of the turds out there. A bottle to the back of your head in the liquor store line (Where I saw a fat short smelly 300lb+ guy open carrying) is the perfect place (just one example) for a puke to disarm you and then rob the store and/or shoot his way out.
Just because you can do a thing does not mean you should do a thing.
Open carry will not change anyone’s mind in this current environment. It will just inflame the anti-gun pukes who do in fact see OC as an extreme method, and opens all CC/gun owners to attack from the ignorant left.
Police (Yes I was a cop for 15 yrs before being ambushed by a turd carrying a shotgun in the open toward a police station–whole other story–) cannot assume you are a law abiding citizen, and face it…some open carry clowns (you tube) are just looking for a problem or lawsuit if they are lucky enough to survive a police encounter gone wrong when they play games with the cops.
The cops enforce laws made by sometimes ignorant law makers. The cops are caught in the middle enforcing some stupid laws but when called by the public, they must investigate and sometimes things can go wrong. Especially when pushed by extremists or just misguided citizens with a misguided agenda.
I agree the public is uninformed about gun rights, but OC only fuels an anti-gun attitude that will not be changed unless literally tens of thousands of lawful gun owners OC. That’s not gonna happen any time soon. OC only hurts the cause of CC people just trying to get CC accepted by the uninformed public. OC will not inform them. It will only inflame and frighten them into the arms of the anti-gun ignorant choads. Just sayin.
JoshuaJanuary 5, 2015, 10:36 pm
I feel you should know your rights, and what makes this country free. I also know that there is an ever increasing number of people, (with Isis, and 9\11) that regardless of rights, are uncomfortable at the sight of a gun on a non-uniformed person. I feel if you are able to even own a gun, what’s to stop you from just getting your CC permit. Being Free, means also obeying the laws that are in place to keep us safe. Some may be frivolous, but we can’t have chaos and disorder. We live in a free country, because we are more advanced, and ‘Supposed’ to be more civilized. Walking proud! Doesn’t mean strapping an AR, or even a Desert Eagle, to ya, and walking in to a gas station to buy a soda. (most just do it for attention, and or were picked on in highschool) if you can, get your CCP. Be humble. Walk softly and carry a 380 or 9. Maybe a 40. With the right ammo, thats plenty. Unless Isis invades the US in masses, you’ll never need anything bigger. … or a zombie apocalypse…
When I see someone walking into a store with an AR strapped to their back my first thought is “What an idiot”. Are they making a point, yes. Is it well received, NO. There are all sorts of forces at work to remove guns from law abiding citizens without going out of your way to make people uncomfortable. Just because you can.
I’m a lifelong gun owner, and spent 32 years in the military. In the past the only time I’ve openly carried a loaded gun was when I was hunting, in Iraq or Central America. All the rest of the time, unless I’m coming back from the range, I carry concealed when I carry.
If you openly carry and walk into a bad situation, you will likely get shot before you can swing the gun around. And all the while you are alienating the people around you. And they vote, maybe not the enlightened way, but if you make 30 people uneasy simply because you can, if a bill comes up that they can vote on, they will likely vote to take your rights away.
S. RODZ.January 5, 2015, 4:20 pm
It’s not the Concealed Carriers or Open Carriers that worry me, it’s the Anti-Gunners that want to do away with the Second Amendment and who knowingly support Terrorists, Communists, and Ultra-Liberal Sharia Democrats (like the ones we have in Washington D.C. today) with our Tax Dollars (Capitalized Words=Emphasis)!!!
DaveGinOlyJanuary 5, 2015, 4:03 pm
An anti-open carry attitude assures that the sheeple will never learn and appreciate how the armed members of society keep them safer because they will remain unaware of the contribution made to their safety by the armed citizen. “Non-gun people” (whose fear of guns has been inculcated in them by the MSM) should be de-sensitized to the presence of firearms. This can only be done by exposing them to firearms and exhausting or re-programming their fear response. If you believe in not exercising, or severely moderating the exercise of, the right to arms to prevent making people uncomfortable, what other rights are you willing to curtail to avoid giving offense or instilling fear? How much value do those rights lose when you self-impose restrictions on your exercise of them? Does a right you won’t or can’t exercise actually exist? At what point can you take that right up again, and not expect even more resistance to it than when you abandoned it for the resistance you had been experiencing in the first place?
Open carry can lead to incidents unique to the method of carry, but what about the assaults and robberies that are prevented by open carry? Some say concealed carry “keeps people guessing.” What if someone guesses wrong? A wrong guess by a perpetrator puts the concealed carrier at risk (even though he is armed) and can result in somebody’s death or serious injury (and not necessarily that of the perp). A potential assailant doesn’t have to guess when he sees someone carrying openly; he can immediately decide to avoid that person. Isn’t personal safety the point of carrying a gun? Isn’t the safest scenario the one in which an incident never happens? Concealed carry can lead to incidents for the simple fact that assailants don’t know their intended victims are armed; concealed carry can never directly dissuade an attacker because a potential attacker can’t know that a concealed carrier is armed. To be honest about the two types of carry, both can result in, or fail to prevent, attacks for their own reasons.
Open carry cannot be easily dismissed by incidents directly related to the method of carry (Who will condemn concealed carry when concealed carriers are attacked because their assailants didn’t know their victims were armed?), nor by the facile arguments that are thrown up in opposition to it. A fair evaluation of both open and concealed carry shows that there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to weigh those advantages and disadvantages, and how they apply to his personal circumstances and environment. The only hard and fast rule I’d insist on is that if you opt for open carry, use a retention holster.
DaveJanuary 5, 2015, 3:54 pm
From a tactical standpoint open carry has more disadvantages than it has advantages. As far as strengthening our Second Amendment rights I feel it is counterproductive.
DaveGinOlyJanuary 5, 2015, 3:41 pm
As “AnarchyPrime” wrote elsewhere on this subject, “You cannot win acceptance until you come out of the closet.”
Mark WynnJanuary 5, 2015, 3:12 pm
Indeed, the headline says it all … there seems to be a few, “open-carry a-holes” … and they are sophomoric, attention-seeking morons, providing propaganda ammunition by the brick load to anti-2nd Amendment activists. They seem to be ego-driven posers and not responsible gun lovers.
Ben EtheridgeJanuary 5, 2015, 2:50 pm
Ultimately I think OC is counterproductive. Yes, it is our right, but the Second Amendment is under intense attack these days. Why give the opposition ammunition to use against us?
SamJanuary 5, 2015, 4:37 pm
OC is great if you don’t have a bunch of cowboys showing off their hardware.
The great thing is you are not in violation if you show your CC by accident. Its a relief to CC without that hanging over you.
BryanJanuary 5, 2015, 1:34 pm
Open carry is not for me, first off I do not need to make a political statement, secondly I do not want persons around me to know I am armed unless a situation arises.
To me, when I see someone carrying a slick new pistol on there side it just screams do me first! It begs the question, how many confident open carry persons have been busted in the back of the head only to wake up with their shiny new pistol gone? Myself and my family were in Wal Mart the other night and this guy in front of me in one of the isles had himself a nice 1911 style pistol in a very nice pancake holster, all the time I am thinking that here I am behind you, oblivious to you, and silently armed with a Glock 19…I am a good guy, I can only imagine what a bad guy would be thinking under these same circumstances…
When a bad guys sees this it doesn’t instill fear of any kind, to the contrary, it only means that the open carry person is the one to subdue first and foremost…and then they’ll also have another firearm to use…
Open carry is a very bad idea in my opinion.
HobbsJanuary 5, 2015, 1:08 pm
Unfortunately we live in a society that has been indoctrinated to believe that guns are bad. It started with Disney’s anti-hunting movies. Remember “Run Bambi it’s man.”? This has expanded to the point that anyone seen carrying a gun has to be a bad guy. We will never change that attitude as long as the visual media still emphasizes that guns are bad in their reporting.
To open carry in order to bring attention to an inequity in the law is a childish method of making your point. Work to get the law changed but do it quietly by communicating with the elected lawmakers. Let them know what you want. Get all your friends to let them know what they want. Work to get the ones you don’t like or who will not vote how you want out of office. Run for office yourself. Use the system, that’s what your enemies are doing. Oh yeah when you do get the law changed make sure there is a state preemption law involved.
As an aside, I live in a state that finally fixed state law to, partially, eliminate some of the patch work of local laws concerning open carry.
RussJanuary 5, 2015, 11:55 am
I CC and would never open carry except in the outdoors, for many reasons. I would never have a problem with or call people names that do OC, for the same number of reasons. It’s America people, with all walks of life going on around you. Deal with it discretely, and with respect for others, as you would expect them to do the same for you.
gymJanuary 5, 2015, 11:41 am
In NYC, I had a “Carry” permit, for 25 years, it didn’t say concealed just carry. I always wore a shirt or jacket over my gun, because it disturbs a lot of people, and is not worth the aggravation of being stopped and possibly shot by a cop or a bad guy, In Fl, it’s concealed which is better. There is no reason to scare woman and kids by walking around with a loaded weapon exposed. In some areas, you would be knocked out or worse just because someone wanted your gun. It makes no sense. Most of these guys I see doing this, look like they need a bath a shave, and a gym membership, along with a job. They like to shock people and be the center of attention, because they aren’t ever going to be for legitimate reasons.
Dr. JerryJanuary 5, 2015, 11:24 am
Open carry just gives the bad guys a distinct advantage. The surprise factor is gone.
MitkroyJanuary 5, 2015, 10:58 am
I Agree with the guys in the video. I Opt for concealed carry.
M WassonJanuary 5, 2015, 12:33 pm
I also agree with the guys in the video. I Opt for concealed carry. If I lived in Alaska, say on the outside of a small town I wouldn’t hesitate to OC, as that may be the norm for many residents living in and around where protection is necessary to prevent being eaten. Hard enough to keep your pants on with a 9.5″454 strapped to your side let alone conceal it. Camping in the desert, mountains, ranch, etc. It has it’s place. I saw a guy OC in Wallmart waiting in another checkout line with a Glock on his side, didn’t look like a cop to me, just your average respectable looking blue collar working dude and his wife. As I was waiting, walked over to him, said hello, and asked if he has been given any crap from people, his reply was that most people thanked him for knowing there’s a guy that would have some sort of protection if something was to happen. No one else around really seemed to notice or care! If he looked like a wacko crack head, opinions would vary. Judging a book by the cover, carry’s some weight, especially when your in wallmart! Use common sense.
PastabobJanuary 5, 2015, 10:16 am
I grew up during the Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Virginian, Rifleman era & a big western movie fan. One of my prized presents was my set of six guns (fake but real looking) with the leather holster with the rawhide tie. I am now in my sixties & enjoy having the constitutional right to bear arms. I have a concealed carry permit (and have for years) & fill comfortable with my gun not being visible. Why the need for open carry? I think it’s only a big show & draws negative attention. I live in Alabama where we have had an incident where the leader of an open carry group has brought his gun to his voting site. The last time the local police asked him to leave.
We here in Arizona have enjoyed open carry for years. I have never needed to use open carry except when I have had to load or unload weapons from my truck to the store or home. I’m a Class III dealer and find the it is my reasonability to insure that the Class III inventory does not fall into the wrong hands. The only other times are when I’m on a Motorcycle and stop to get something. I would NEVER open carry just to show off the right to open carry. Whenever possible I would Conceal carry.
RedJanuary 5, 2015, 10:03 am
Gun clerks with an opinion…as always, they think they are smart. LOL!
RussJanuary 5, 2015, 11:59 am
I share your amusement Red.
W BoggsJanuary 5, 2015, 10:01 am
I totally agree open carry makes you the first target in a surprise bad situation, YOU are the bad guys biggest threat. I read many posts on forums where open carriers are mad that they OC’d in Walmart and had serious problems as a result, when all they’re doing is flaunting their right and taunting the public. But think of this, you’re standing in the checkout line with your hands full or on the carts handle and the bad guy behind you disarms you and robs the store or kills you. You have a tremendous tactical advantage with concealed carry hands down. I do agree with the scenario of a gun store or something like that where a show of defending force (OC) is a huge deterrent.
RussJanuary 5, 2015, 12:10 pm
It could happen. But you assume OC guys are not diligent and prepared for that scenario. I like to think gun owners are more intelligent than that. If I were in line, I would draw my CCW on the criminal and get the OCW back to it’s owner. Because all the while I would have been admiring the cool firearm that person was OC. And wondering what the guy behind him thought about it.
RobertJanuary 5, 2015, 9:52 am
I understand that the courts continue to rule that CC is a privilege that can be regulated. That is why I must have a ‘license’, by any name, to CC. With that said, how can OC be denied? The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. That protects a flash or print of CC from having disproportionate police resonance. A traffic stop, told to keep hands on top of steering wheel, and questioned if and why we may have a firearm. Not a felony stop with multiple units tied up because someone, maybe traumatized as a child for saying ‘pow in school’, think they saw a gun.
TbillJanuary 5, 2015, 9:41 am
I live in oc/cc state. I normally cc but I like the oc part of the law to avoid complications that have already discussed about a cc weapon being seen. My only concern with oc is that it does make the general public nervous when they see multiple people in Wallyworld packing heat. I just don’t want to help push those average joes to the gun control side. I agree we should have the right to carry how we want but we have to be smart with our choices.
grnliteJanuary 5, 2015, 9:30 am
Anyone that feels the need to open carry is compensating for something. Probably have a pit bull chained to the tree in their unkempt yard.
Mark WynnJanuary 5, 2015, 3:20 pm
grnlite … Insightful Comment of the Hour Award Winner. I’m still smiling ….
NormBJanuary 5, 2015, 9:25 am
There is a process known as “Hegelian dialectic” used by the left (Marxists, socialists, progressives) to get to the unjustifiable ends they desire – no matter the means. This is a process of gradual erosion of belief in stime-proven standards and laws in favor of whatever is expedient to their purpose. We call this process “social norming.”
If our end goal is to desensitize people to the presence of guns, to “normalize” them in every day life, we simply ensure they are SEEN, spoken about, debated, just as NRA, GOA, SAF, JPFO and all the other state alphabet gun owner groups are doing.
This is NOT about the guns. No more so than owning and driving a high horsepower automobile is about cars as much as it is about power and disempowerment and class envy. Gun control is about control. The end game is total victim disarmament and victimization of the disarmed. Exactly as it has played out in every country it’s been done.
If we want a society where we trust others to have/hold/use firearms (you know, to exercise the natural, civil, constitutionally protected, HUMAN right to keep and to BEAR arms), open carry is the normative behavior.
Remember, when Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus there were many people in her community who insisted she was pushing the envelope, was doing more harm than good, that nothing good would come of it.
When Jews were ordered to wear yellow stars in a somewhat more authoritarian regime a generation earlier and an ocean away, there were many who said don’t resist, do what they say and no one will get hurt. When the weapons law was pushed, then enforced circa 1936, resistance became futile.
We have history, and reality on our side. If the “Fudds” would just STHU and let the braver of us make the country safe for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms again, we could all get back to debating something worthwhile.
RussJanuary 5, 2015, 12:22 pm
Thank You NormB It’s real nice to hear from people like you. Very insightful lesson you put down for living in America. Too bad your not teaching history in our school system.
SamJanuary 5, 2015, 4:25 pm
Just think what would have happened if Rosa Parks was waving a long gun. Rational debate and non threatening confrontation is a winner.
Lets encourage and educate every law abiding citizen to be a responsible gun owner instead of scaring the public.
Chris FJanuary 5, 2015, 9:12 am
I prefer open carry to conceal for 1 reason. I would like to know if the shifty, twitchy, shady looking guy in the Circle K parking lot has a gun or not. My opinion (and relax that’s all it is) hiding a gun should be a crime. You should learn how to safely use it and then as a deterrent show it so Mikey Methhead knows not to F with you.
ToddJanuary 5, 2015, 10:35 am
a bad guy will see your weapon long before you know he is a bad guy and will either wait for you to leave or shoot you 1st. before you can draw your weapon. I’m not against open carry, but enjoy the tactical advantage of that bad guy not knowing I’m carrying until it is too late. Your open carry doesn’t scare off the bad guys, it only tells them to wait or take you out first.
FrankJanuary 5, 2015, 12:08 pm
You are right Todd, they can come in from behind, stick a gun on your back and steal your weapon. They know you are armed so they have an advantage that the dumb cowboy does not have.
Chuck TroupeJanuary 6, 2015, 4:09 pm
Chuck … Yep, the bad guys “…sneaking up behind…” and stealing those open carry sidearms … that must happen to cops and sheriff deputies all the time … on a daily basis! Somebody ought to tell all those gun store clerks and owners that wearing their guns is just INVITING … not the criminals … but all these macho dudes who can’t tell a jock strap from a holster … THEY are the guys we need to be worried about … NOT!
Things have really changed in this country. When some nut job shoots up the place everyone knows about it in real time. People are traumatized.
My mother always said I could catch more flies with honey. She was right. The best way to get people on my side is thru kindly persuasion and rational confrontation. I don’t think I ever brought anyone over to my side by in your face contention.
I live in oklahoma where open carry was recently passed. The opponents at the time tried to scare everyone by claiming it would be like the wild west with everyone waving guns around. In the past year i have not seen a single gun waving idiot. We have proven the critics wrong. That’s the way to win the argument, not by trying to scare people out of their ignorance or making them afraid because they don’t understand.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Let’s win the fight not just start one.
Open carry for an adult male is like sending a signal that because you have nothing in your jock you carry it in a holster. Kind of like the feeling of a 6 year old putting on your new cap pistol on Christmas and strutting around for all the relatives to see.
Get a life “bozo” and carry concealed other wise you only cause problems and generate hard feelings for the rest of the pro gun folks. Note:: When you have it out there for every one to see it completely defeats the purpose. If I were planning to do harm to you it would be great to see what you have so I know how to successfully take it away or just not let you know I’m coming at all. Brock
DanJanuary 5, 2015, 6:57 am
These two self-appointed experts sure have a lot to say. I’m cautious of people who like to tell other folks what to do. As for their views on various “tactical situations” (what a criminal would do/who he’d shoot first, what a cop would do/who he’d shoot, etc.), do they have any experience at all? I very much doubt it. As with most know-it-alls who seek to inflict their “expertise” upon an audience, I’m betting their drivel is based solely on conjecture and imagination. I don’t open carry. If you do, that’s your choice. It’s certainly your right.
Steve H.January 5, 2015, 1:08 pm
Right on the point, Dan. They sure seem to have all the answers with absolutely no background to prove their mouths. I was a street cop, then detective, and bottom line is that you can’t predict what the criminal will do as these two geniuses have done. They are surely succeeding in helping divide the gun owners as a whole and this just falls into the anti-gun sentiment and they don’t even realize it. I don’t open carry but I sure don’t condemn those who are pushing to get open carry laws passed. These two geniuses also feel they can group judge the open carry groups and put them all into one category when this isn’t possible. There are total nuts with concealed carry permits, holding judge positions, doctors, cops and every other job that can be dreamed up. If they don’t like the people who are legally advocating for something they believe in, who gives these two the right to belittle them?
Frank DilatushJanuary 5, 2015, 6:12 am
Good for you guys, I agree completely. Sometimes we as gun owners are our own worst enemies.
MikeJanuary 5, 2015, 10:42 am
Amen.
DaveJanuary 5, 2015, 5:07 am
I agree, I saw a youtube video where three young gentlemen waked down their main streets town with rifles slung over Thier back just to get attention it seemed. They were stopped and questioned by a police officer as to what they were doing. He was cool about it but told them they (the police) were getting 911 calls about them (the punks) walking down the street with weapons. Yes I agree guys, Just because you have a right doesn’t mean you need to flaunt it and make people crazy.
Robin 'Roblimo' MillerJanuary 5, 2015, 5:05 am
The only way you’ere going to find out if I’m carrying is if it suddenly becomes necessary for me to shoot something or someone.
RalphJanuary 5, 2015, 4:37 am
Retired, I totally agree. If you want to play army go join the forces. If you think it’s that cool, try it on for real.
Mark WynnJanuary 5, 2015, 3:28 pm
Ralph … Reality-slap Comment of the Hour Award Winner
TEXJanuary 5, 2015, 4:17 am
Great video ! I agree with 100% of what them ole boys said. OC is about to pass in Texas but I will continue to carry concealed. To me concealed carry gives me an advantage,an edge. Why the hell let anyone know that you are armed ?
Kelly LeeJanuary 5, 2015, 4:08 am
The point of open carrying long arms in places like Texas is to show the absurdity of long guns being legal to OC yet handguns are not. While I am a strong believer in and only CC myself, even though I now live in a constitutional OC/CC state, there are states where if that handgun is seen due to bending over to pick something up, and your shirt rides up exposing your firearm, you can be detained by law enforcement or even be charged with a crime. I know this as I was detained after shopping at a Kroger grocery store for this very thing. My shirt rode up over my carry piece, and even though I immediately covered it after standing, someone saw it and called the police. Never mind I wasn’t threatening anyone, or that I continued to shop for another 20 minutes or so, and paid for my groceries without incident, I was still pulled over as soon as I left the parking lot by three patrol cars. The very first thing out of their mouths were “where is the gun?” So, my time was wasted, the police officers time was wasted, all because some pansy freaked out over seeing a firearm. I like and support OC if for no other reason than that.
As for OC’ers being assholes, yes, maybe some of them are. However, calling them that just makes you an asshole as well. While I disagree with some of them and their tactics, I support their freedom of choice in how they carry as you also should. Don’t become like the liberals and start thinking you know what is best for others. Let them choose like any free American should.
Trip 3January 6, 2015, 5:45 pm
Well put Kelly Lee. The reason I like OC is just because what happened to you. It shouldn’t be a crime to accidentally flash your cc weapon. Stuff happens. As for carrying long guns openly, I’ll wait till the zombies get here.
Retired 0369January 1, 2015, 4:13 pm
I never understood all these people wanting to carry long guns just wishing for the chance to use thier gadgets, sign I openly carried plenty of weapons all over Iraq 3 times afganistan 1, notjing cool about it, want to walk around with a rifle all day sign up
MarineReconJanuary 2, 2015, 11:07 am
open carry is fine if common sense is used
praharinJanuary 5, 2015, 3:01 am
I don’t understand why anyone will spend thousands of dollars on a 1911 when a $500 polymer pistol will do the same job as well. I don’t understand why people wear skinny jeans. I don’t understand why anyone watches Reality TV. But none of that matters because they all have the right to do it and it’s not hurting anyone when they do.
jjd76539January 5, 2015, 10:01 am
You do not have to understand it .. That is their money and they can spend it however they so choose..
toddJanuary 5, 2015, 10:20 am
you obviously haven’t shot a 1911. that’s like saying why buy a ferrari when a vw does the same thing. I’ve had both, the polymers and the 1911, and the 1911 is far better. and who open carries an AR? I have never seen anyone walking around shopping with one, and I live in a gun friendly area where you wouldn’t be shocked to see it. I usually carry concealed, mostly because I don’t want a potential bad guy to know I have it on me. and for those of you that get scared when you see a person open carrying, that’s your problem to solve. Criminals don’t open carry as they are not supposed to have guns in the 1st. place and don’t display them if they do. so if you see someone openly carrying and displaying their weapon, they are most likely another law abiding citizen using their right to carry, but this video is ridiculous, it is rare to see people open carry, as most gun owners don’t, and even less likely to see someone shopping with an AR on their back. C’mon people, how about a logical, intelligent open carry video? not one taken to extreme, never seen measures. unless the one or two guy’s in the country that carry their AR’s around walmart see this, how will it help anyone? these two in the video are probably the ones who went to walmart with their AR’s, just so they could make this video. Maybe more of us should open carry until the general public get used to seeing it and learns it’s a good thing. but only idiots carry long guns while shopping,
Mario D.. you could not be more right in your responses sir. Its the comments other then yours that is the basis of the problem at hand. We have changed as a Nation and a People to a lesser form of what we used to be. God Bless
Only a moron would carry a long gun, where women and kids are. I have no problem with a hand gun. If the person uses his or her head when carry them.
Mario DDecember 29, 2014, 4:02 pm
You say that like women and kids are completely incapable of maintaining themselves near long guns…..
bobjDecember 29, 2014, 6:41 pm
some will wet their pants if see open carry
Roberto GouveiaDecember 29, 2014, 2:48 pm
Conceal Carry
Mario DDecember 29, 2014, 1:06 pm
The fact that just the sight of a gun is cause to call the police in this country isn’t right. Until this has changed I will continue to open carry.
William LegaultDecember 29, 2014, 5:08 pm
You “open carry” because someone has the right to call the police if they see you doing so. That is very possibly the dumbest thing I have read today.
Mario DDecember 30, 2014, 3:29 am
Notice how the only part of your reply that is quoted is the “open carry”. Do you know why that is? It is because I never said I had a problem with peoples “right to call the police” for what ever reason they see fit. My problem is the general thought that goes through someones head is oh he/she has a gun they must be up to something no good, I better call the police on them. Even when open carry is legal in said state and no laws are being broken. Someone else’s fear of guns or ignorance of the law does not justify the harassment of so called “open carry a-holes”. Who is the real a-hole? The person minding his/her own business or the person blindly calling the police to harass said person minding their own business?
By the way your rebuttal is most definitely “the dumbest thing I have read today”.
Michael ParkJanuary 5, 2015, 4:18 pm
No your response to his Is still the dumbest “thought” today. Please notice I have thought in quotes because I still believe you as brain dead. Guns are weapons not accessories. Open carry bring unwanted notice to you. Go ahead and let a bad guy take you down first then use your firearm for future crimes. Good job keeping America safe. Just my opinion but so right.
Mario DJanuary 9, 2015, 4:34 am
And that is were you and me differ. You see guns as weapons, I see them as tools. As for this “unwanted” attention you speak of, that’s your own opinion. I welcome peoples questions to why I open carry and if they have a problem with my lifestyle well too bad for them. Hiding my guns from the public doesn’t make you a respectable person. Does it make it easier for you as a gun owner? Hell yea it does but by hiding your guns you are a determent to the gun community as a whole whether they believe it or not. Like they say “out of sight out of mind” well how can you be informed if you never thought about it in the first place.
RobJanuary 5, 2015, 8:52 am
Open carry makes me uneasy. I don’t know the person, their intentions, their ability to handle a firearm, but what I DO know is that they’re saying something without talking by carrying openly. Mall ninjas, rambotitos, and robbers all want to intimidate others with a gun. If you aren’t showing a badge, keep it concealed.
CharlesJanuary 5, 2015, 12:10 pm
You “Need” to use your Brain. Criminals “Don’t” carry guns in the OPEN !!!!
mikeJanuary 5, 2015, 3:57 pm
I like that.
Bigmag47January 5, 2015, 6:32 pm
I see BOTH sides of the argument, however; that being said I believe your point of criminals don`t carry openly is the best comment of all.
FrankJuly 24, 2015, 4:54 pm
You’re so dim witted you think that’s clever. Every weapon that gets used has to be brandished sooner or later son. You open carry guys look like a bunch of bums. We have all seen the pictures. You guys are the people that have to say “sir” to people after you change their tires. And those pathetic sows affiliating with you clowns have zero self esteem and brains. You mark yourselves as noobs in the way you want show off your pee shooters and how you dress. Straighten yourselves up, get in shape and have some self respect. Buy the gun for the job not the gun you and your pals at the nerd convention are popping wood over. If your rifle seems impractical at Chuck E Cheese it’s because it is FOOLS. You think you can handle yourselves because you’ve played Dungeons and Dragons and watched American Sniper when half of you’ve haven’t been in a fight since the eight grade. It shows tough guys, it shows. Some of you guys probably bought your guns with disability money or tax money because you look like you’re on entitlement and living in your mom’s basement. You idiots aren’t fooling anybody but a couple of scared liberals and yourselves. Grow up.
DaveGinOlyJanuary 5, 2015, 3:39 pm
Your name-calling makes you sound like an anti-gunner. They say the same things about gun owners in general – bitter clingers, mall ninjas, Rambo-wannabes, “compensating”, etc.
Why do you use videos by these 2 arrogant young men on an otherwise great blog. They certainly do not speak for MATURE gun owners/shooters. Try to find some level headed, clear thinking people of both sexes to better represent the shooting public. Open carry? Just like it isn’t guns that kill people, it isn’t open carry that causes problems. If there are problems with open carry, it is the persons carrying who cause the problem!
JDJanuary 5, 2015, 10:25 am
I’m 67 and agree with the men in the video. The open carry movement is like the feminists burning their bras in the Seventies. IMO. The mature approach is to keep them concealed in public places until you want to shoot them. Firearms are tools. They should not be made into symbols of something else because that equates them with what they symbolize. We don’t want them to symbolize pushy aggressive people. We will lose that right to keep and bear arms if we become obnoxious about it or abuse it.
Richard BristorJanuary 5, 2015, 12:00 pm
JD, Excellent reply! You are the one with the Correct answer.
William BuchananJanuary 5, 2015, 6:26 pm
I’m 61, and I grew up in the bra-burning ’60’s and ’70’s. It was probably the best time to be in High School ever. Surrounded by women who were not wearing bra’s in school 😉
You may have not liked the process of women becoming/demanding more equal treatment back then, but it ultimately paid off, with better pay, better opportunities, and better treatment in general in this day and age.
Open carry is similar………..
You all have “drank the cool-aid” of Government superiority over the people, by asking permission of the “Authorities” to carry a weapon and paying exorbitant fees to the Government to be “allowed” to carry a weapon the Second Amendment says we have an inherent right to do without Government permission or interference.
You have deluded yourselves that the “element of surprise” is superior to showing that you are armed and anyone who wants to assault you will be met with a fight. You are walking around like sheeple waiting to be attacked. When they attack you with gun drawn or knife, it will be too late for you to draw and defend yourself. You go right on and keep believing that the Element of surprise is superior. You feel smug in that the open carrier will be shot first in any big shooting. Frankly, it would take a very professional crook, to spend the time casing a place to actually look at each individual from both their right and left side, to find the one person open carrying in a group of people. Very few crooks/thugs etc are that patient or professional. Most people never notice my openly carried gun. I am a grey haired gentleman who dresses very professionally, and no one even looks at my waist. 99% of sheeple are not situationally aware of their surroundings.
So you all keep asking your local Government “Mother may I?? Please, please can I carry a gun??” and pay your fees/taxes to exercise your inherent right. Good on you!
Cheers………
Paul SankoJanuary 5, 2015, 1:29 pm
JD, I agree with you wholeheartedly, keep you weapon concealed until you really need it. The days of open carry is like the OLD WEST, gone in the public eye, while the modern day public sees open carry like like stated in previously. This is a very difficult subject to deal with, my sister-in-law is totally against anyone except the police carrying a weapon, I am pro concealed carry, she is 70 and I am 59, we have agreed not to debate this subject because of our deep convictions. This is just one example of how difficult the public can be. So as I stated above JD your have the correct answer.
ScottJanuary 5, 2015, 1:51 pm
“Zat’s a ‘BINGO’…” as Hans Landa might say. Look, I’m pro-gun. I love guns. I grew up around them. I made sure my kids and grandkids were trained on and comfortable with them. Few people are more absolutist in their view of the 2nd Amendment than I am and I, personally, believe that “open carry” is one of those rights guaranteed against “infringement” (after all, the Amendment talks about the right not only to “keep”, but also to “bear” arms), but I think these “open carry” enthusiasts are, as the video put it, “a**holes”. If you feel the need to strap on an AR or an AK to parade around Walmart or to order a coffee at Starbuck’s, then you are, indeed, “making a statement”, but probably not the one you think. You may be proclaiming that you’re a “steely-eyed warrior wannabe/pretender” (one thinks of all those 19 year old “Vietnam Vets” who cropped up in the wake of “Rambo II” – real vets don’t feel the need to proclaim their warrior status). You may be proclaiming that you are possessed of grossly undersized genitalia and a commensurate need to compensate. What you are not proclaiming, however, is the value or validity of the 2nd Amendment. I kind of analogize it to the way my homosexual friends feel about “Gay Pride Parades”. It’s entirely legal to be gay. It may well be entirely legal to parade around in public wearing a florescent feather boa and a sequined athletic supporter in order to demonstrate your comfort with being gay. However, the people who indulge in that kind of display should not delude themselves into thinking that they are “advancing the cause”. What they are doing is simply confirming the worst fears and misperceptions of those who disagree with them. “Gay Pride” displays of outrageousness don’t convince anyone that gays are “not different”. They convince them of exactly the opposite, namely that these are people you don’t want living next to you. Similarly, if you want to make the anti-gunners feel justified in their efforts to outlaw guns, then feel free to sit next to them in a family restaurant, kitted out like Pancho Villa on a raid, fully festooned with bandoleers and firearms. I’m sure they’ll talk about the experience – and what they’ll say is that it is obvious that gun owners are a bunch of irresponsible jerks who have no regard for the comfort and safety of others, which is exactly the message they need to sell in order to forward their anti-gun agenda. And, of course, as the commentators in the video point out, the worst way to protect yourself is to advertise that you are a “target”, by openly carrying. Get a CC permit and pack it in an underarm holster or butt pack, where you can extract it while the bad guy is looking elsewhere. Painting a target on your forehead by accessorizing with an “assault rifle” is just stupid, from any practical standpoint, and counter-productive from a PR standpoint.
Mark WynnJanuary 5, 2015, 3:35 pm
JD, I agree with you on firearms … but wouldn’t mind seeing more open carry of what’s in those bras ….
Dudley097January 5, 2015, 6:58 pm
You are really correct! I don’t anyone ever knows when i carry. I am not a pistoleros.
DMJanuary 6, 2015, 9:07 am
I agree with you and the people in the video 100%. I carry legally concealed on a daily basis. I don’t have anything against open carry per say but there is a right and wrong way to do it. These idiots toting a AR and a giant ego aren’t doing anything but hurting all of us. They are doing more harm than good.
What you said above is spot on. I feel for far too many of those that are in this open carry of long guns it’s less about gun rights and more about attention and being that, “Billy Bad Ass” type and looking for trouble. I have no sympathy for those that tote AR’s and the like whey they are stopped by the police. They aren’t being hassled. At least not in my view. What they are doing, while it may be legal, isn’t normal and isn’t a good idea.
Open Carry has it’s time and place but for God Sake people, use your heads for a change and be smart about it. If you don’t you just may end up causing the rest of us to loose more of our rights and get a bad name. Don’t be that guy!
BCSJanuary 6, 2015, 8:49 pm
JD is correct. Anyone dumb enough to give away the tactical advantage of surprise is a fool. Open carry people are only helping the gun-control fruit-loops out there. All you are doing is stoking their fears. When was the last time anyone heard of an open-carry citizen stopping a crime?
John FernaldJanuary 5, 2015, 3:30 pm
Open carry may be your right, but unless it serves a “real” purpose it is just calling attention to yourself for many wrong reasons and only one “right” reason. Pun intenede.
One moment of forethought. Civilian open carry is actually a public service. Here is why. The repeated statistics on a gun free zone show the consistent rise of crime rates, and crimes committed with a firearm involved. When you introduce armed citizens carrying a firearm in open site into any environment crime rates go down, and stay down. You are not going to threaten violence on some individual who out guns your fist or knife. Even if you have criminals with guns they back off of a group where someone is armed. The implied message is, “if I show you mine and you decide to show me yours, I will shoot you and sort it out later.” Criminals being weak characters to start with, are not weak minded, they do have enough brains to know they don’t want to die, and are sure you will shoot them without hesitation. Self defense is by definition defensible in the justice system. Homicide, on the other hand is too much trouble for the professional criminal, and for the idiot that just wants to flash a gun around and rob you will kill you thinking that they will get away with it if they kill the victim and witnesses. You end up dead and they end up killing a few more folks because they got away with it the first time. I need to live, as we all want to live. I don’t want to live with a disability i got by being shot by some amateur with a gun. The professional criminal only pulls he gun if he is going to kill you, so no hesitation there for either party, and it is winner take all. That criminal has used this gun before and can hit what he is trying to shoot, usually fatally. The person who is open carrying has practiced too, and will yell get down to others in the area as he draws and fires. Or at least yell gun, and proceed to take out the threat. In addition, if things happen so fast that no one has time to duck and cover, everyone is at risk and has the potential to be wounded no matter what. Hostage takers, and politically motivated killers need to be eliminated at the crime seen. If someone had a gun none of the infamous school shootings would have resulted in many deaths. Perhaps the killer and the defender, and one or two victims would be fatalities, however the numbers of multiple murders would not happen because the mass murder is killed before they can make the death toll grow to a satisfying quantity. In the case of the mass murderer, all living people are the satisfying quantity. It is a hard thing to say, but we don’t want more to die because, the killer can try to reach their goal of mass murder. Any loss is too many dead, except for the intended killer. The loss of a killer is a public service so the rest of us don’t need to live in fear.
The ShepherdJanuary 7, 2015, 5:28 pm
Concealed carry allows you to see the look. of suprise on the criminals face that he expected to see on yours! The Shepherd .
James C.January 14, 2015, 4:22 pm
Mario I agree with open carry its legal its honest, and any one afraid of the person that opens carries should run for the hills when they don’t see any Guns. I’ve never been afraid of the gun I could see just the ones I don’t. Bad guys don’t open carry they always want to surprise you and people with no fear and that are good will always open carry ,not to scare ,not to cause fear but to show there not afraid and that they are prepaired to not only protect themselves but to also protect every one else. Open carry should be the law of the land and should still be standard rule every were. I have always open carried and maybe because of were I live I have never had the police called on me and I have had many conversations with people that had no problem with my open carry including police officers. Open carry and don’t be afraid.
The intriguing history of the jockstrap… We have to visit all the way back to the 1870s, and a Mr. Bennett of Chicago, who was simply obviously *very* concerned about the particular hurt in which cobbled roadways were doing to bike courier’s balls. All of that uncontrolled bouncing about kept him up through the night. Poor Mr. Bennett. Nonetheless thankfully for the bi-cycle messengers (as well as ‘jockeys’), Mr. Bennett had an idea, and that he referred to it as after these folks. The ‘jock strap’ was created. Fast-forward 50 years into the 1920s, and a fresh Canadian called Jack Cartlege. Jack adored his hockey *almost* just as much as he adored slipping on his favourite jock strap, but it wasn’t until one fateful day in 1927 that Jack realized (the hard way!) that his jock strap was no competition for any hockey puck inside groin. Jack wasn’t massively eager on reproducing the experience, and who blames him, so he arrived up with the ingenious idea of slipping a hard cup on the front of his jock strap. The design and style was promptly copyrighted and development begun. Gentlemen no longer had to live in the fear of a stray puck, ball or studded footwear. Jack’s combination of jock strap and shielding cup became the anchor of boys’ secondary school sports kit all over the world through out the 20th century, right up until underwear makes like Andrew Christian, C-in2 and Addicted started out reinventing the traditional layout. Away gone the ugly colour of off-white as well as the ugly waistbands, and in came a completely new choice of innovative cuts and styles, and fun shades. These contemporary jock straps are definitely the ideal balance between trend and functionality – as great around the track or in the gym because they are under a pair of jeans, or suit trousers if you’re game for it. Business at the front, party in the back!
We are our own worse enemy.why not try minding your own business.if the world did this it would be the proverbial utopia. If your not a threat then I care
Less if you want to sling your ar and stroll.
My opinion… Carrying concealed is best for most of us.
If someone has a legitimate reason they feel they need to open carry I’m fine with them doing so.
I someone is open carrying to make some sort of a fashion statement, especially if they are doing the CC badge thing I have to seriously question their mental stability. It’s not a “Fashion Statement”. When you carry it comes with some serious responsibility, I have to question how seriously the person doing the fashion statement thing is taking that responsibility…
I do not agree with the “Permitting” of concealed carry. The 2nd amendment guarantees or right to carry without infringement. Because we have concealed carry laws that require a permit we are left with the option of carrying open with out have to announcing to anyone that we have a weapon. Some of us can not afford the permitting process. That is an infringement. I would prefer to carry concealed but do not want anyone to know my business. Getting a permit tells the government that I intend to carry and if they want to confiscate guns I will be one of the first to have them taken away. I live in a state that does not require registration, so the next best thing for government to do is to go after CCW permit holders. I do not want to provoke anyone to confront me because of how they feel about my choice to carry. If you are not going to do me or mine harm then you would have no reason to see my weapon. I have the right to keep and bear arms, I do not read that you have the right to see it.
I do not want to carry a weapon openly. I prefer to carry my gun concealed. If a perp walks into a place of business to rob it or hurt someone, and he sees a customer carrying a gun in the open, he may want to eliminate the threat to himself, before he commits himself. I feel I may have a better chance to intervene is he doesn’t know I’m armed. But that’s just me!
ok, I’ve read enough. Part of you folks just have an opinion and the rest don’t deserve one. I am a reserve officer and I don’t have an opinion because officers on patrol have to wear open and while most are off duty they go either way. The idiots in the video are just that. I don’t care one way or the other but for those that say its a tactical advantage to carry concealed you are sadly mistaken because odds are you don’t get the proper training on how to draw from a concealed handgun. It takes lots of practice just like drawing from an open carried handgun.
The only element of surprise you might have is if you are behind an object and can draw your weapon to the ready. If the perp already has his or her gun drawn on you its game over unless you have been trained in hand to gun defense to give you the advantage. If they have a knife it is even tougher.
All of you who are veterans on this site to you I say thank you and yours is the only opinion that really counts as well as my brother / sister officers. If everyone here would admit it the only reason to really conceal carry is to keep the general population from freaking out.
Just my $.002 worth it or not.
Tj
“All of you who are veterans on this site to you I say thank you and yours is the only opinion that really counts as well as my brother / sister officers.”
Am I the only one here who is genuinely disturbed by the second half of this statement….?
Hmm having shot with too many LEO’s to count, I would have to rate their skills as a whole as “marginal”.. While many are very practiced with firearms, many more (if not most) view their gun as a tool of the trade and simply do not remain very proficient with it until yearly qualifying comes around..
While I am far from being any kind of super marksman, I do train pistol shooters and your line of work simply is not a good “gauge” of how good you are with a weapon.. Open carry? not for me.. been CCW for 20+ years and never once had occasion to need it.. I do drill weekly myself because I love the shooting sports.
It is odd that I do not know of a single professional shooter/trainer or other that has a soft spot in their heart for the OC group..
Chuck Troupe
While I agree store clerks and gun shop owners/employees should be allowed to open carry at least they have a counter as a barrier or some form of seeing the approaching idiot that would attempt a gun grab.
However your comments about the police and deputy sheriffs being victims of gun grabs all the time is unfortunately right on. I am a cop and a defensive tactics and firearms instructor for our department. I have done quite a bit of research on weapon retention and gun grabs. I have found that there is an attempted gun grab from a cop in this country every 48 hours and even more frequently in some major metro areas.
You will never see the stories in the lame stream media because the gun grabs were stopped and the turds righteously taken down and arrested. I myself had three attempted gun grabs in my 15 year career. Fortunately the turds that tried it were small enough and easy enough to defeat otherwise our state laws and I think most states allow the officer to regain full control of his weapon and then kill the suspect. We had a 350+ pound 6 foot 4 guy attempt a grab on one of our cops just last month. The officers holster was ripped and during the five-minute fight he was barely able to retain his weapon until help arrived.
I have seen far too many open carry people who seem oblivious to their surroundings. I’m not saying they were oblivious I’m just saying their actions and demeanor did not make me believe they would be able to stop an experienced criminal from ambushing them and taking the weapon. I know this happens to cops as well but most turds are smart enough to know that we have the training and the law on our side and they very likely will be killed.
I don’t believe the criminals who would think of attempting a gun grab on an officer would even hesitate to try it on a civilian. I’m not saying open carry people need to be ducking behind trees and park benches but if you do open carry you had damn well better have some weapon retention training for it is as important as shooting itself.
Every cop I know would be super pissed if an open carry civilian allowed his gun to be taken and used against one of my brothers or sisters on the job much less some poor civilian. Believe me we are not happy when it happens to cops either. And as you will see in the media a successful gun grab from a cop usually ends up in the cop being killed.
Open carry is your right and I support that right but do the responsible thing and have some weapon retention training and do not cop an attitude when approached by the police after some uninformed citizen calls us thinking you’re the next active shooter. Although uninformed they have the right to call us and we then must investigate.
Most open carry citizens I have approached have been nothing but courteous. However I have had run-ins with a few that get very upset with the “militarized police state” when we are simply responding to citizen complaints and must verify your carry permit. I know some states do not require a permit to open carry but those that do require a permit also require the police to do their jobs when called.
Either way you carry just be safe and get the right training. Carry-on.
First I want to say “thank god” where I live I’ve never seen someone carrying a long gun in public or even heard about it till now. When I heard about that in the video I swear the first picture that popped into my head was of a overweight/fat guy (inbred) in some sort of t-shirt and shorts with his long gun. Have you ever gotten an email or video showing all the weirdly dressed, or way obese people that have been photographed/videoed while shopping Walmart? That’s the type of person/personality I see carrying a long gun in public. In my humble opinion it is no different than a person carrying a hand gun in the open. I truly believe it is their way of feeling like a cowboy/cop or saying “look at my bad-ass self”. They damn sure are not promoting the 2nd amendment or the NRA. It has the opposite effect. In Oklahoma you can carry either way and I’m always looking, yet very seldom do I see/notice an armed citizen. Which tells me armed Oklahomans are doing a very good job of concealing their weapons. Thanks guys.
It’s always amusing to me that the invectives fly to and fro when discussing this. I have a CCW and opt for concealed carry; those who favor open carry have a right to their opinion, but, as others have noted, it’s a form of adverisement or intimidation depending on the view of the beholder. Seems to me that better someone does not know you’re carrying than to invite scrutiny or trouble if some miscreant has bad intentions!
How about a higher level of discourse, folks? Don/t we have enough trouble with the antis to be feuding among ourselves!
Bryan is right on.
And…with all the active shooters running around shooting up schools, theaters, etc….Your just begging to get shot by the cops when you do the old “But officer, I’m within my rights.” and reach for the gun even to remove it and lay it down.
Thanks for making all gun owners look bad.
Todd & gym said it all…
Open carry just means you are waiting to get shot in the back of the head or at least hit/tackled and disarmed. Don’t think for a minute that turds are all cowards. Dope/booze has a way of bringing out the retarded courage in many of the turds out there. A bottle to the back of your head in the liquor store line (Where I saw a fat short smelly 300lb+ guy open carrying) is the perfect place (just one example) for a puke to disarm you and then rob the store and/or shoot his way out.
Just because you can do a thing does not mean you should do a thing.
Open carry will not change anyone’s mind in this current environment. It will just inflame the anti-gun pukes who do in fact see OC as an extreme method, and opens all CC/gun owners to attack from the ignorant left.
Police (Yes I was a cop for 15 yrs before being ambushed by a turd carrying a shotgun in the open toward a police station–whole other story–) cannot assume you are a law abiding citizen, and face it…some open carry clowns (you tube) are just looking for a problem or lawsuit if they are lucky enough to survive a police encounter gone wrong when they play games with the cops.
The cops enforce laws made by sometimes ignorant law makers. The cops are caught in the middle enforcing some stupid laws but when called by the public, they must investigate and sometimes things can go wrong. Especially when pushed by extremists or just misguided citizens with a misguided agenda.
I agree the public is uninformed about gun rights, but OC only fuels an anti-gun attitude that will not be changed unless literally tens of thousands of lawful gun owners OC. That’s not gonna happen any time soon. OC only hurts the cause of CC people just trying to get CC accepted by the uninformed public. OC will not inform them. It will only inflame and frighten them into the arms of the anti-gun ignorant choads. Just sayin.
I feel you should know your rights, and what makes this country free. I also know that there is an ever increasing number of people, (with Isis, and 9\11) that regardless of rights, are uncomfortable at the sight of a gun on a non-uniformed person. I feel if you are able to even own a gun, what’s to stop you from just getting your CC permit. Being Free, means also obeying the laws that are in place to keep us safe. Some may be frivolous, but we can’t have chaos and disorder. We live in a free country, because we are more advanced, and ‘Supposed’ to be more civilized. Walking proud! Doesn’t mean strapping an AR, or even a Desert Eagle, to ya, and walking in to a gas station to buy a soda. (most just do it for attention, and or were picked on in highschool) if you can, get your CCP. Be humble. Walk softly and carry a 380 or 9. Maybe a 40. With the right ammo, thats plenty. Unless Isis invades the US in masses, you’ll never need anything bigger. … or a zombie apocalypse…
When I see someone walking into a store with an AR strapped to their back my first thought is “What an idiot”. Are they making a point, yes. Is it well received, NO. There are all sorts of forces at work to remove guns from law abiding citizens without going out of your way to make people uncomfortable. Just because you can.
I’m a lifelong gun owner, and spent 32 years in the military. In the past the only time I’ve openly carried a loaded gun was when I was hunting, in Iraq or Central America. All the rest of the time, unless I’m coming back from the range, I carry concealed when I carry.
If you openly carry and walk into a bad situation, you will likely get shot before you can swing the gun around.
And all the while you are alienating the people around you. And they vote, maybe not the enlightened way, but if you make 30 people uneasy simply because you can, if a bill comes up that they can vote on, they will likely vote to take your rights away.
It’s not the Concealed Carriers or Open Carriers that worry me, it’s the Anti-Gunners that want to do away with the Second Amendment and who knowingly support Terrorists, Communists, and Ultra-Liberal Sharia Democrats (like the ones we have in Washington D.C. today) with our Tax Dollars (Capitalized Words=Emphasis)!!!
An anti-open carry attitude assures that the sheeple will never learn and appreciate how the armed members of society keep them safer because they will remain unaware of the contribution made to their safety by the armed citizen. “Non-gun people” (whose fear of guns has been inculcated in them by the MSM) should be de-sensitized to the presence of firearms. This can only be done by exposing them to firearms and exhausting or re-programming their fear response. If you believe in not exercising, or severely moderating the exercise of, the right to arms to prevent making people uncomfortable, what other rights are you willing to curtail to avoid giving offense or instilling fear? How much value do those rights lose when you self-impose restrictions on your exercise of them? Does a right you won’t or can’t exercise actually exist? At what point can you take that right up again, and not expect even more resistance to it than when you abandoned it for the resistance you had been experiencing in the first place?
Open carry can lead to incidents unique to the method of carry, but what about the assaults and robberies that are prevented by open carry? Some say concealed carry “keeps people guessing.” What if someone guesses wrong? A wrong guess by a perpetrator puts the concealed carrier at risk (even though he is armed) and can result in somebody’s death or serious injury (and not necessarily that of the perp). A potential assailant doesn’t have to guess when he sees someone carrying openly; he can immediately decide to avoid that person. Isn’t personal safety the point of carrying a gun? Isn’t the safest scenario the one in which an incident never happens? Concealed carry can lead to incidents for the simple fact that assailants don’t know their intended victims are armed; concealed carry can never directly dissuade an attacker because a potential attacker can’t know that a concealed carrier is armed. To be honest about the two types of carry, both can result in, or fail to prevent, attacks for their own reasons.
Open carry cannot be easily dismissed by incidents directly related to the method of carry (Who will condemn concealed carry when concealed carriers are attacked because their assailants didn’t know their victims were armed?), nor by the facile arguments that are thrown up in opposition to it. A fair evaluation of both open and concealed carry shows that there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to weigh those advantages and disadvantages, and how they apply to his personal circumstances and environment. The only hard and fast rule I’d insist on is that if you opt for open carry, use a retention holster.
From a tactical standpoint open carry has more disadvantages than it has advantages. As far as strengthening our Second Amendment rights I feel it is counterproductive.
As “AnarchyPrime” wrote elsewhere on this subject, “You cannot win acceptance until you come out of the closet.”
Indeed, the headline says it all … there seems to be a few, “open-carry a-holes” … and they are sophomoric, attention-seeking morons, providing propaganda ammunition by the brick load to anti-2nd Amendment activists. They seem to be ego-driven posers and not responsible gun lovers.
Ultimately I think OC is counterproductive. Yes, it is our right, but the Second Amendment is under intense attack these days. Why give the opposition ammunition to use against us?
OC is great if you don’t have a bunch of cowboys showing off their hardware.
The great thing is you are not in violation if you show your CC by accident. Its a relief to CC without that hanging over you.
Open carry is not for me, first off I do not need to make a political statement, secondly I do not want persons around me to know I am armed unless a situation arises.
To me, when I see someone carrying a slick new pistol on there side it just screams do me first! It begs the question, how many confident open carry persons have been busted in the back of the head only to wake up with their shiny new pistol gone? Myself and my family were in Wal Mart the other night and this guy in front of me in one of the isles had himself a nice 1911 style pistol in a very nice pancake holster, all the time I am thinking that here I am behind you, oblivious to you, and silently armed with a Glock 19…I am a good guy, I can only imagine what a bad guy would be thinking under these same circumstances…
When a bad guys sees this it doesn’t instill fear of any kind, to the contrary, it only means that the open carry person is the one to subdue first and foremost…and then they’ll also have another firearm to use…
Open carry is a very bad idea in my opinion.
Unfortunately we live in a society that has been indoctrinated to believe that guns are bad. It started with Disney’s anti-hunting movies. Remember “Run Bambi it’s man.”? This has expanded to the point that anyone seen carrying a gun has to be a bad guy. We will never change that attitude as long as the visual media still emphasizes that guns are bad in their reporting.
To open carry in order to bring attention to an inequity in the law is a childish method of making your point. Work to get the law changed but do it quietly by communicating with the elected lawmakers. Let them know what you want. Get all your friends to let them know what they want. Work to get the ones you don’t like or who will not vote how you want out of office. Run for office yourself. Use the system, that’s what your enemies are doing. Oh yeah when you do get the law changed make sure there is a state preemption law involved.
As an aside, I live in a state that finally fixed state law to, partially, eliminate some of the patch work of local laws concerning open carry.
I CC and would never open carry except in the outdoors, for many reasons.
I would never have a problem with or call people names that do OC, for the same number of reasons.
It’s America people, with all walks of life going on around you.
Deal with it discretely, and with respect for others, as you would expect them to do the same for you.
In NYC, I had a “Carry” permit, for 25 years, it didn’t say concealed just carry. I always wore a shirt or jacket over my gun, because it disturbs a lot of people, and is not worth the aggravation of being stopped and possibly shot by a cop or a bad guy, In Fl, it’s concealed which is better. There is no reason to scare woman and kids by walking around with a loaded weapon exposed. In some areas, you would be knocked out or worse just because someone wanted your gun.
It makes no sense. Most of these guys I see doing this, look like they need a bath a shave, and a gym membership, along with a job. They like to shock people and be the center of attention, because they aren’t ever going to be for legitimate reasons.
Open carry just gives the bad guys a distinct advantage.
The surprise factor is gone.
I Agree with the guys in the video. I Opt for concealed carry.
I also agree with the guys in the video. I Opt for concealed carry. If I lived in Alaska, say on the outside of a small town I wouldn’t hesitate to OC, as that may be the norm for many residents living in and around where protection is necessary to prevent being eaten. Hard enough to keep your pants on with a 9.5″454 strapped to your side let alone conceal it. Camping in the desert, mountains, ranch, etc. It has it’s place. I saw a guy OC in Wallmart waiting in another checkout line with a Glock on his side, didn’t look like a cop to me, just your average respectable looking blue collar working dude and his wife. As I was waiting, walked over to him, said hello, and asked if he has been given any crap from people, his reply was that most people thanked him for knowing there’s a guy that would have some sort of protection if something was to happen. No one else around really seemed to notice or care! If he looked like a wacko crack head, opinions would vary. Judging a book by the cover, carry’s some weight, especially when your in wallmart! Use common sense.
I grew up during the Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Virginian, Rifleman era & a big western movie fan. One of my prized presents was my set of six guns (fake but real looking) with the leather holster with the rawhide tie. I am now in my sixties & enjoy having the constitutional right to bear arms. I have a concealed carry permit (and have for years) & fill comfortable with my gun not being visible. Why the need for open carry? I think it’s only a big show & draws negative attention. I live in Alabama where we have had an incident where the leader of an open carry group has brought his gun to his voting site. The last time the local police asked him to leave.
We here in Arizona have enjoyed open carry for years. I have never needed to use open carry except when I have had to load or unload weapons from my truck to the store or home. I’m a Class III dealer and find the it is my reasonability to insure that the Class III inventory does not fall into the wrong hands. The only other times are when I’m on a Motorcycle and stop to get something. I would NEVER open carry just to show off the right to open carry. Whenever possible I would Conceal carry.
Gun clerks with an opinion…as always, they think they are smart. LOL!
I share your amusement Red.
I totally agree open carry makes you the first target in a surprise bad situation, YOU are the bad guys biggest threat. I read many posts on forums where open carriers are mad that they OC’d in Walmart and had serious problems as a result, when all they’re doing is flaunting their right and taunting the public. But think of this, you’re standing in the checkout line with your hands full or on the carts handle and the bad guy behind you disarms you and robs the store or kills you. You have a tremendous tactical advantage with concealed carry hands down. I do agree with the scenario of a gun store or something like that where a show of defending force (OC) is a huge deterrent.
It could happen.
But you assume OC guys are not diligent and prepared for that scenario.
I like to think gun owners are more intelligent than that.
If I were in line, I would draw my CCW on the criminal and get the OCW back to it’s owner.
Because all the while I would have been admiring the cool firearm that person was OC.
And wondering what the guy behind him thought about it.
I understand that the courts continue to rule that CC is a privilege that can be regulated.
That is why I must have a ‘license’, by any name, to CC.
With that said, how can OC be denied? The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
That protects a flash or print of CC from having disproportionate police resonance.
A traffic stop, told to keep hands on top of steering wheel, and questioned if and why we may have a firearm.
Not a felony stop with multiple units tied up because someone, maybe traumatized as a child for saying ‘pow in school’, think they saw a gun.
I live in oc/cc state. I normally cc but I like the oc part of the law to avoid complications that have already discussed about a cc weapon being seen. My only concern with oc is that it does make the general public nervous when they see multiple people in Wallyworld packing heat. I just don’t want to help push those average joes to the gun control side. I agree we should have the right to carry how we want but we have to be smart with our choices.
Anyone that feels the need to open carry is compensating for something. Probably have a pit bull chained to the tree in their unkempt yard.
grnlite … Insightful Comment of the Hour Award Winner. I’m still smiling ….
There is a process known as “Hegelian dialectic” used by the left (Marxists, socialists, progressives) to get to the unjustifiable ends they desire – no matter the means. This is a process of gradual erosion of belief in stime-proven standards and laws in favor of whatever is expedient to their purpose. We call this process “social norming.”
If our end goal is to desensitize people to the presence of guns, to “normalize” them in every day life, we simply ensure they are SEEN, spoken about, debated, just as NRA, GOA, SAF, JPFO and all the other state alphabet gun owner groups are doing.
This is NOT about the guns. No more so than owning and driving a high horsepower automobile is about cars as much as it is about power and disempowerment and class envy. Gun control is about control. The end game is total victim disarmament and victimization of the disarmed. Exactly as it has played out in every country it’s been done.
If we want a society where we trust others to have/hold/use firearms (you know, to exercise the natural, civil, constitutionally protected, HUMAN right to keep and to BEAR arms), open carry is the normative behavior.
Remember, when Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus there were many people in her community who insisted she was pushing the envelope, was doing more harm than good, that nothing good would come of it.
When Jews were ordered to wear yellow stars in a somewhat more authoritarian regime a generation earlier and an ocean away, there were many who said don’t resist, do what they say and no one will get hurt. When the weapons law was pushed, then enforced circa 1936, resistance became futile.
We have history, and reality on our side. If the “Fudds” would just STHU and let the braver of us make the country safe for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms again, we could all get back to debating something worthwhile.
Thank You NormB
It’s real nice to hear from people like you.
Very insightful lesson you put down for living in America.
Too bad your not teaching history in our school system.
Just think what would have happened if Rosa Parks was waving a long gun. Rational debate and non threatening confrontation is a winner.
Lets encourage and educate every law abiding citizen to be a responsible gun owner instead of scaring the public.
I prefer open carry to conceal for 1 reason. I would like to know if the shifty, twitchy, shady looking guy in the Circle K parking lot has a gun or not. My opinion (and relax that’s all it is) hiding a gun should be a crime. You should learn how to safely use it and then as a deterrent show it so Mikey Methhead knows not to F with you.
a bad guy will see your weapon long before you know he is a bad guy and will either wait for you to leave or shoot you 1st. before you can draw your weapon. I’m not against open carry, but enjoy the tactical advantage of that bad guy not knowing I’m carrying until it is too late. Your open carry doesn’t scare off the bad guys, it only tells them to wait or take you out first.
You are right Todd, they can come in from behind, stick a gun on your back and steal your weapon. They know you are armed so they have an advantage that the dumb cowboy does not have.
Chuck … Yep, the bad guys “…sneaking up behind…” and stealing those open carry sidearms … that must happen to cops and sheriff deputies all the time … on a daily basis! Somebody ought to tell all those gun store clerks and owners that wearing their guns is just INVITING … not the criminals … but all these macho dudes who can’t tell a jock strap from a holster … THEY are the guys we need to be worried about … NOT!
I think like you do Todd.
I plan for, but can’t predict what a criminal mind is thinking.
But, what if you open carry like this guy?…….LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XsU5AMxvlKg
The Bruce Lee of Open Carry. What a great guy. R.I.P.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LQo2Or1PuEI
Things have really changed in this country. When some nut job shoots up the place everyone knows about it in real time. People are traumatized.
My mother always said I could catch more flies with honey. She was right. The best way to get people on my side is thru kindly persuasion and rational confrontation. I don’t think I ever brought anyone over to my side by in your face contention.
I live in oklahoma where open carry was recently passed. The opponents at the time tried to scare everyone by claiming it would be like the wild west with everyone waving guns around. In the past year i have not seen a single gun waving idiot. We have proven the critics wrong. That’s the way to win the argument, not by trying to scare people out of their ignorance or making them afraid because they don’t understand.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Let’s win the fight not just start one.
Open carry for an adult male is like sending a signal that because you have nothing in your jock you carry it in a holster. Kind of like the feeling of a 6 year old putting on your new cap pistol on Christmas and strutting around for all the relatives to see.
Get a life “bozo” and carry concealed other wise you only cause problems and generate hard feelings for the rest of the pro gun folks.
Note::
When you have it out there for every one to see it completely defeats the purpose. If I were planning to do harm to you it would be great to see what you have so I know how to successfully take it away or just not let you know I’m coming at all.
Brock
These two self-appointed experts sure have a lot to say. I’m cautious of people who like to tell other folks what to do. As for their views on various “tactical situations” (what a criminal would do/who he’d shoot first, what a cop would do/who he’d shoot, etc.), do they have any experience at all? I very much doubt it. As with most know-it-alls who seek to inflict their “expertise” upon an audience, I’m betting their drivel is based solely on conjecture and imagination. I don’t open carry. If you do, that’s your choice. It’s certainly your right.
Right on the point, Dan. They sure seem to have all the answers with absolutely no background to prove their mouths. I was a street cop, then detective, and bottom line is that you can’t predict what the criminal will do as these two geniuses have done. They are surely succeeding in helping divide the gun owners as a whole and this just falls into the anti-gun sentiment and they don’t even realize it. I don’t open carry but I sure don’t condemn those who are pushing to get open carry laws passed. These two geniuses also feel they can group judge the open carry groups and put them all into one category when this isn’t possible. There are total nuts with concealed carry permits, holding judge positions, doctors, cops and every other job that can be dreamed up. If they don’t like the people who are legally advocating for something they believe in, who gives these two the right to belittle them?
Good for you guys, I agree completely. Sometimes we as gun owners are our own worst enemies.
Amen.
I agree, I saw a youtube video where three young gentlemen waked down their main streets town with rifles slung over Thier back just to get attention it seemed. They were stopped and questioned by a police officer as to what they were doing. He was cool about it but told them they (the police) were getting 911 calls about them (the punks) walking down the street with weapons.
Yes I agree guys, Just because you have a right doesn’t mean you need to flaunt it and make people crazy.
The only way you’ere going to find out if I’m carrying is if it suddenly becomes necessary for me to shoot something or someone.
Retired, I totally agree. If you want to play army go join the forces. If you think it’s that cool, try it on for real.
Ralph … Reality-slap Comment of the Hour Award Winner
Great video ! I agree with 100% of what them ole boys said. OC is about to pass in Texas but I will continue to carry concealed. To me concealed carry gives me an advantage,an edge. Why the hell let anyone know that you are armed ?
The point of open carrying long arms in places like Texas is to show the absurdity of long guns being legal to OC yet handguns are not. While I am a strong believer in and only CC myself, even though I now live in a constitutional OC/CC state, there are states where if that handgun is seen due to bending over to pick something up, and your shirt rides up exposing your firearm, you can be detained by law enforcement or even be charged with a crime. I know this as I was detained after shopping at a Kroger grocery store for this very thing. My shirt rode up over my carry piece, and even though I immediately covered it after standing, someone saw it and called the police. Never mind I wasn’t threatening anyone, or that I continued to shop for another 20 minutes or so, and paid for my groceries without incident, I was still pulled over as soon as I left the parking lot by three patrol cars. The very first thing out of their mouths were “where is the gun?” So, my time was wasted, the police officers time was wasted, all because some pansy freaked out over seeing a firearm. I like and support OC if for no other reason than that.
As for OC’ers being assholes, yes, maybe some of them are. However, calling them that just makes you an asshole as well. While I disagree with some of them and their tactics, I support their freedom of choice in how they carry as you also should. Don’t become like the liberals and start thinking you know what is best for others. Let them choose like any free American should.
Well put Kelly Lee. The reason I like OC is just because what happened to you. It shouldn’t be a crime to accidentally flash your cc weapon. Stuff happens. As for carrying long guns openly, I’ll wait till the zombies get here.
I never understood all these people wanting to carry long guns just wishing for the chance to use thier gadgets, sign I openly carried plenty of weapons all over Iraq 3 times afganistan 1, notjing cool about it, want to walk around with a rifle all day sign up
open carry is fine if common sense is used
I don’t understand why anyone will spend thousands of dollars on a 1911 when a $500 polymer pistol will do the same job as well. I don’t understand why people wear skinny jeans. I don’t understand why anyone watches Reality TV. But none of that matters because they all have the right to do it and it’s not hurting anyone when they do.
You do not have to understand it .. That is their money and they can spend it however they so choose..
you obviously haven’t shot a 1911. that’s like saying why buy a ferrari when a vw does the same thing. I’ve had both, the polymers and the 1911, and the 1911 is far better. and who open carries an AR? I have never seen anyone walking around shopping with one, and I live in a gun friendly area where you wouldn’t be shocked to see it. I usually carry concealed, mostly because I don’t want a potential bad guy to know I have it on me. and for those of you that get scared when you see a person open carrying, that’s your problem to solve. Criminals don’t open carry as they are not supposed to have guns in the 1st. place and don’t display them if they do. so if you see someone openly carrying and displaying their weapon, they are most likely another law abiding citizen using their right to carry,
but this video is ridiculous, it is rare to see people open carry, as most gun owners don’t, and even less likely to see someone shopping with an AR on their back. C’mon people, how about a logical, intelligent open carry video? not one taken to extreme, never seen measures. unless the one or two guy’s in the country that carry their AR’s around walmart see this, how will it help anyone? these two in the video are probably the ones who went to walmart with their AR’s, just so they could make this video. Maybe more of us should open carry until the general public get used to seeing it and learns it’s a good thing. but only idiots carry long guns while shopping,
praharin….Excellent point.
just thought I would throw this up here too.
https://www.facebook.com/iraqveteran8888official/posts/385041591655914
Mario D.. you could not be more right in your responses sir. Its the comments other then yours that is the basis of the problem at hand. We have changed as a Nation and a People to a lesser form of what we used to be. God Bless
Only a moron would carry a long gun, where women and kids are. I have no problem with a hand gun. If the person uses his or her head when carry them.
You say that like women and kids are completely incapable of maintaining themselves near long guns…..
some will wet their pants if see open carry
Conceal Carry
The fact that just the sight of a gun is cause to call the police in this country isn’t right. Until this has changed I will continue to open carry.
You “open carry” because someone has the right to call the police if they see you doing so. That is very possibly the dumbest thing I have read today.
Notice how the only part of your reply that is quoted is the “open carry”. Do you know why that is? It is because I never said I had a problem with peoples “right to call the police” for what ever reason they see fit. My problem is the general thought that goes through someones head is oh he/she has a gun they must be up to something no good, I better call the police on them. Even when open carry is legal in said state and no laws are being broken. Someone else’s fear of guns or ignorance of the law does not justify the harassment of so called “open carry a-holes”. Who is the real a-hole? The person minding his/her own business or the person blindly calling the police to harass said person minding their own business?
By the way your rebuttal is most definitely “the dumbest thing I have read today”.
No your response to his Is still the dumbest “thought” today. Please notice I have thought in quotes because I still believe you as brain dead. Guns are weapons not accessories. Open carry bring unwanted notice to you. Go ahead and let a bad guy take you down first then use your firearm for future crimes. Good job keeping America safe.
Just my opinion but so right.
And that is were you and me differ. You see guns as weapons, I see them as tools. As for this “unwanted” attention you speak of, that’s your own opinion. I welcome peoples questions to why I open carry and if they have a problem with my lifestyle well too bad for them. Hiding my guns from the public doesn’t make you a respectable person. Does it make it easier for you as a gun owner? Hell yea it does but by hiding your guns you are a determent to the gun community as a whole whether they believe it or not. Like they say “out of sight out of mind” well how can you be informed if you never thought about it in the first place.
Open carry makes me uneasy. I don’t know the person, their intentions, their ability to handle a firearm, but what I DO know is that they’re saying something without talking by carrying openly. Mall ninjas, rambotitos, and robbers all want to intimidate others with a gun. If you aren’t showing a badge, keep it concealed.
You “Need” to use your Brain. Criminals “Don’t” carry guns in the OPEN !!!!
I like that.
I see BOTH sides of the argument, however; that being said I believe your point of criminals don`t carry openly is the best comment of all.
You’re so dim witted you think that’s clever. Every weapon that gets used has to be brandished sooner or later son. You open carry guys look like a bunch of bums. We have all seen the pictures. You guys are the people that have to say “sir” to people after you change their tires. And those pathetic sows affiliating with you clowns have zero self esteem and brains. You mark yourselves as noobs in the way you want show off your pee shooters and how you dress. Straighten yourselves up, get in shape and have some self respect. Buy the gun for the job not the gun you and your pals at the nerd convention are popping wood over. If your rifle seems impractical at Chuck E Cheese it’s because it is FOOLS. You think you can handle yourselves because you’ve played Dungeons and Dragons and watched American Sniper when half of you’ve haven’t been in a fight since the eight grade. It shows tough guys, it shows. Some of you guys probably bought your guns with disability money or tax money because you look like you’re on entitlement and living in your mom’s basement. You idiots aren’t fooling anybody but a couple of scared liberals and yourselves. Grow up.
Your name-calling makes you sound like an anti-gunner. They say the same things about gun owners in general – bitter clingers, mall ninjas, Rambo-wannabes, “compensating”, etc.
Why do you use videos by these 2 arrogant young men on an otherwise great blog. They certainly do not speak for MATURE gun owners/shooters. Try to find some level headed, clear thinking people of both sexes to better represent the shooting public. Open carry? Just like it isn’t guns that kill people, it isn’t open carry that causes problems. If there are problems with open carry, it is the persons carrying who cause the problem!
I’m 67 and agree with the men in the video. The open carry movement is like the feminists burning their bras in the Seventies. IMO. The mature approach is to keep them concealed in public places until you want to shoot them. Firearms are tools. They should not be made into symbols of something else because that equates them with what they symbolize. We don’t want them to symbolize pushy aggressive people. We will lose that right to keep and bear arms if we become obnoxious about it or abuse it.
JD, Excellent reply! You are the one with the Correct answer.
I’m 61, and I grew up in the bra-burning ’60’s and ’70’s. It was probably the best time to be in High School ever. Surrounded by women who were not wearing bra’s in school 😉
You may have not liked the process of women becoming/demanding more equal treatment back then, but it ultimately paid off, with better pay, better opportunities, and better treatment in general in this day and age.
Open carry is similar………..
You all have “drank the cool-aid” of Government superiority over the people, by asking permission of the “Authorities” to carry a weapon and paying exorbitant fees to the Government to be “allowed” to carry a weapon the Second Amendment says we have an inherent right to do without Government permission or interference.
You have deluded yourselves that the “element of surprise” is superior to showing that you are armed and anyone who wants to assault you will be met with a fight. You are walking around like sheeple waiting to be attacked. When they attack you with gun drawn or knife, it will be too late for you to draw and defend yourself. You go right on and keep believing that the Element of surprise is superior. You feel smug in that the open carrier will be shot first in any big shooting. Frankly, it would take a very professional crook, to spend the time casing a place to actually look at each individual from both their right and left side, to find the one person open carrying in a group of people. Very few crooks/thugs etc are that patient or professional. Most people never notice my openly carried gun. I am a grey haired gentleman who dresses very professionally, and no one even looks at my waist. 99% of sheeple are not situationally aware of their surroundings.
So you all keep asking your local Government “Mother may I?? Please, please can I carry a gun??” and pay your fees/taxes to exercise your inherent right. Good on you!
Cheers………
JD, I agree with you wholeheartedly, keep you weapon concealed until you really need it. The days of open carry is like the OLD WEST, gone in the public eye, while the modern day public sees open carry like like stated in previously. This is a very difficult subject to deal with, my sister-in-law is totally against anyone except the police carrying a weapon, I am pro concealed carry, she is 70 and I am 59, we have agreed not to debate this subject because of our deep convictions. This is just one example of how difficult the public can be. So as I stated above JD your have the correct answer.
“Zat’s a ‘BINGO’…” as Hans Landa might say. Look, I’m pro-gun. I love guns. I grew up around them. I made sure my kids and grandkids were trained on and comfortable with them. Few people are more absolutist in their view of the 2nd Amendment than I am and I, personally, believe that “open carry” is one of those rights guaranteed against “infringement” (after all, the Amendment talks about the right not only to “keep”, but also to “bear” arms), but I think these “open carry” enthusiasts are, as the video put it, “a**holes”. If you feel the need to strap on an AR or an AK to parade around Walmart or to order a coffee at Starbuck’s, then you are, indeed, “making a statement”, but probably not the one you think. You may be proclaiming that you’re a “steely-eyed warrior wannabe/pretender” (one thinks of all those 19 year old “Vietnam Vets” who cropped up in the wake of “Rambo II” – real vets don’t feel the need to proclaim their warrior status). You may be proclaiming that you are possessed of grossly undersized genitalia and a commensurate need to compensate. What you are not proclaiming, however, is the value or validity of the 2nd Amendment. I kind of analogize it to the way my homosexual friends feel about “Gay Pride Parades”. It’s entirely legal to be gay. It may well be entirely legal to parade around in public wearing a florescent feather boa and a sequined athletic supporter in order to demonstrate your comfort with being gay. However, the people who indulge in that kind of display should not delude themselves into thinking that they are “advancing the cause”. What they are doing is simply confirming the worst fears and misperceptions of those who disagree with them. “Gay Pride” displays of outrageousness don’t convince anyone that gays are “not different”. They convince them of exactly the opposite, namely that these are people you don’t want living next to you. Similarly, if you want to make the anti-gunners feel justified in their efforts to outlaw guns, then feel free to sit next to them in a family restaurant, kitted out like Pancho Villa on a raid, fully festooned with bandoleers and firearms. I’m sure they’ll talk about the experience – and what they’ll say is that it is obvious that gun owners are a bunch of irresponsible jerks who have no regard for the comfort and safety of others, which is exactly the message they need to sell in order to forward their anti-gun agenda. And, of course, as the commentators in the video point out, the worst way to protect yourself is to advertise that you are a “target”, by openly carrying. Get a CC permit and pack it in an underarm holster or butt pack, where you can extract it while the bad guy is looking elsewhere. Painting a target on your forehead by accessorizing with an “assault rifle” is just stupid, from any practical standpoint, and counter-productive from a PR standpoint.
JD, I agree with you on firearms … but wouldn’t mind seeing more open carry of what’s in those bras ….
You are really correct! I don’t anyone ever knows when i carry. I am not a pistoleros.
I agree with you and the people in the video 100%. I carry legally concealed on a daily basis. I don’t have anything against open carry per say but there is a right and wrong way to do it. These idiots toting a AR and a giant ego aren’t doing anything but hurting all of us. They are doing more harm than good.
What you said above is spot on. I feel for far too many of those that are in this open carry of long guns it’s less about gun rights and more about attention and being that, “Billy Bad Ass” type and looking for trouble. I have no sympathy for those that tote AR’s and the like whey they are stopped by the police. They aren’t being hassled. At least not in my view. What they are doing, while it may be legal, isn’t normal and isn’t a good idea.
Open Carry has it’s time and place but for God Sake people, use your heads for a change and be smart about it. If you don’t you just may end up causing the rest of us to loose more of our rights and get a bad name. Don’t be that guy!
JD is correct. Anyone dumb enough to give away the tactical advantage of surprise is a fool. Open carry people are only helping the gun-control fruit-loops out there. All you are doing is stoking their fears. When was the last time anyone heard of an open-carry citizen stopping a crime?
Open carry may be your right, but unless it serves a “real” purpose it is just calling attention to yourself for many wrong reasons and only one “right” reason. Pun intenede.
One moment of forethought.
Civilian open carry is actually a public service.
Here is why. The repeated statistics on a gun free zone show the consistent rise of crime rates, and crimes committed with a firearm involved. When you introduce armed citizens carrying a firearm in open site into any environment crime rates go down, and stay down. You are not going to threaten violence on some individual who out guns your fist or knife. Even if you have criminals with guns they back off of a group where someone is armed. The implied message is, “if I show you mine and you decide to show me yours, I will shoot you and sort it out later.” Criminals being weak characters to start with, are not weak minded, they do have enough brains to know they don’t want to die, and are sure you will shoot them without hesitation. Self defense is by definition defensible in the justice system. Homicide, on the other hand is too much trouble for the professional criminal, and for the idiot that just wants to flash a gun around and rob you will kill you thinking that they will get away with it if they kill the victim and witnesses. You end up dead and they end up killing a few more folks because they got away with it the first time.
I need to live, as we all want to live. I don’t want to live with a disability i got by being shot by some amateur with a gun. The professional criminal only pulls he gun if he is going to kill you, so no hesitation there for either party, and it is winner take all. That criminal has used this gun before and can hit what he is trying to shoot, usually fatally. The person who is open carrying has practiced too, and will yell get down to others in the area as he draws and fires. Or at least yell gun, and proceed to take out the threat. In addition, if things happen so fast that no one has time to duck and cover, everyone is at risk and has the potential to be wounded no matter what. Hostage takers, and politically motivated killers need to be eliminated at the crime seen. If someone had a gun none of the infamous school shootings would have resulted in many deaths. Perhaps the killer and the defender, and one or two victims would be fatalities, however the numbers of multiple murders would not happen because the mass murder is killed before they can make the death toll grow to a satisfying quantity. In the case of the mass murderer, all living people are the satisfying quantity. It is a hard thing to say, but we don’t want more to die because, the killer can try to reach their goal of mass murder. Any loss is too many dead, except for the intended killer. The loss of a killer is a public service so the rest of us don’t need to live in fear.
Concealed carry allows you to see the look. of suprise on the criminals face that he expected to see on yours! The Shepherd .
Mario
I agree with open carry its legal its honest, and any one afraid of the person that opens carries should run for the hills when they don’t see any Guns. I’ve never been afraid of the gun I could see just the ones I don’t. Bad guys don’t open carry they always want to surprise you and people with no fear and that are good will always open carry ,not to scare ,not to cause fear but to show there not afraid and that they are prepaired to not only protect themselves but to also protect every one else.
Open carry should be the law of the land and should still be standard rule every were.
I have always open carried and maybe because of were I live I have never had the police called on me and I have had many conversations with people that had no problem with my open carry including police officers.
Open carry and don’t be afraid.