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I'm a non-gunowner and frankly don't understand why open carry is seen as the more extreme version of concealed carry. It's much more worrisome to me that someo

by CamTin 11y ago

I'm a non-gunowner and frankly don't understand why open carry is seen as the more extreme version of concealed carry. It's much more worrisome to me that someone might have a hidden gun than if they have one out in the open. Then I can see who has a gun and try extra hard no to piss that guy off instead of being surprised by it. Is all the fuss just from people who would rather remain ignorant and not think about it?

krapp 11y ago
Openly carrying a firearm is a display of intimidation and a threat of violence. Whether or not this is the reaction that open carriers intend is irrelevant. The reason you 'try extra hard no to piss that guy off' is that if you piss him off, he might shoot you. This is what Robert A. Heinlein described when he said "an armed society is a polite society." But what that really implies is "a polite society is one where every head has a gun to it." Understandably, that is not the sort of vibe most people want to encounter in their day to day life. Fear and the instinct for self-preservation are not adequate substitutes for civility and society. That said, the actual threat is probably coming from the guy with the gun you can't see. But if I walked around everywhere with a sword of large kitchen knife, even if I never intended to stab anyone with it, people are still going to wonder why I've got it out in the open like I might.
jlgaddis 11y ago
In Indiana (where I live), roughly one in 11 (of the adult population) has a "License To Carry a Handgun" (LTCH) -- a "gun permit", in other words (Indiana laws make no distinction between concealed and open carry). Most people, however, simply don't think about it that often. For example, my mother (who doesn't care for guns) would never be in a mall and stop to think of all the people who (statistically) are carrying concealed firearms. One person, however, walking around in that mall open carrying will have a ton of people watching him very closely. Basically, people don't seem to think twice about all those who are carrying concealed (done properly, of course, no one knows!) but get anxious and nervous when the know that someone is carrying (openly).

by CamTin 11y ago

krapp 11y ago

Openly carrying a firearm is a display of intimidation and a threat of violence. Whether or not this is the reaction that open carriers intend is irrelevant. The reason you 'try extra hard no to piss that guy off' is that if you piss him off, he might shoot you. This is what Robert A. Heinlein described when he said "an armed society is a polite society." But what that really implies is "a polite society is one where every head has a gun to it." Understandably, that is not the sort of vibe most people want to encounter in their day to day life. Fear and the instinct for self-preservation are not adequate substitutes for civility and society. That said, the actual threat is probably coming from the guy with the gun you can't see. But if I walked around everywhere with a sword of large kitchen knife, even if I never intended to stab anyone with it, people are still going to wonder why I've got it out in the open like I might.

jlgaddis 11y ago

In Indiana (where I live), roughly one in 11 (of the adult population) has a "License To Carry a Handgun" (LTCH) -- a "gun permit", in other words (Indiana laws make no distinction between concealed and open carry). Most people, however, simply don't think about it that often. For example, my mother (who doesn't care for guns) would never be in a mall and stop to think of all the people who (statistically) are carrying concealed firearms. One person, however, walking around in that mall open carrying will have a ton of people watching him very closely. Basically, people don't seem to think twice about all those who are carrying concealed (done properly, of course, no one knows!) but get anxious and nervous when the know that someone is carrying (openly).