Obligatory Guy With a Gun Post

I'm sure by now you've all seen the pictures of the guy who showed up at the New Hampshire rally wearing a pistol. Carrying a sign. Minding his own business.

I'm also sure you've seen the pants-shitting hysteria from the news media. If you haven't, go over to Xavier's or Tam's blogs and read all about it.

It amazes me, truly amazes me that people get concerned when someone carries openly. I was raised in the Louisiana tradition that firearms were supposed to be carried openly, that if you chose to conceal a weapon you probably had a nefarious purpose. Our state Constitution embodies that concept in a stunningly simple article, and I'll quote the whole thing here for your edification.

Section 11. The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged, but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on the person.

Simple, no?

Working stiffs, people who hunted carried their weapons openly. Folks who carried for a living, like cops (for instance) and ranchers and farmers who might need a firearm carried openly. If you saw someone walking down main street with a firearm over their shoulder, it simply meant that he was heading toward the gunsmith in the next block. However, folks who hid their weapons probably had trouble in mind.

I know all about the recent ideas on concealed carry. The tactical considerations and the arguments on both sides. I also know about the pants-wetting scaredy-cats who get the vapors if they see a gun displayed publicly. I myself am as likely to carry a concealed weapon as I am to carry one openly. My choice, my option.

Milady and I were once at a function, and someone asked her if I were armed. Her reply was simple, "He's got his pants on, doesn't he?"

I remember once a conversation with a district judge from a rural parish. Someone was complaining about a guy on the street with a shotgun over his shoulder. The judges reply: "And? Is he hurting anyone with it? Leave him alone. This is still Louisiana and it's not against the law to carry a gun."

But, the guy in New Hampshire? So what? He's carrying openly. No big deal, no sweat. I think it's totally unremarkable. What I do find amazing is the reaction from the folks who think otherwise.