Saturday, March 13, 2010

Yeah, it's a right

There's been a lot of debate lately in the interwebs about open carry, with luminaries weighing in on the question. I'm of a mixed mind, but generally believe that it might do more harm than good. However, I'm one of those guys who carries openly regularly, while I'm in the woods. If I'm tromping the hills and dales of the pine forests, I'm almost guaranteed to have a gun openly displayed. If I'm in town I keep it hidden.

I was talking to my Dad about American Rights one day over coffee and he told me. "You might have the right, but that doesn't make it right."

While I was working this week, Dave Petzal weighed in on the argument.
If you want to carry openly and can do it legally, why have at it. But be reminded of the following. Many people, when they see a gun riding on the belt of someone who is not obviously a cop, are startled, shocked, or scared pissless, and when they learn that packing heat openly is legal, they may decide that it should not be legal, and will vote accordingly.

And there is a more practical side. As the fabric of our society continues to disintegrate and every whack job with a grievance decides to get his (or her) 15 minutes of fame with a gun (or a light plane)—absolutely guaranteed by the media—you would do well to be careful about displaying weapons lest your motives be misconstrued by the nearest cop. The officer who fires a warning shot through your heart will feel terrible about it after he learns that you were only expressing a political opinion. You, however, will not feel much of anything, ever again.
That pretty well sums up my views on the matter, too. Yeah, it's a right, but it isn't right to scare people un-necessarily.

I'm reminded that Robert E. Lee is attibuted with saying that a true gentleman is never rude accidentally.
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4 comments:

  1. Old NFO3:06 PM

    True on both counts... however, a right lost through neglect is still a right lost...

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  2. be6034:01 PM

    No more than a true gentlemen (or lady) has a chronically thin skin.

    IDF chix in civvies on liberty with guns. The world is a better place for it.

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  3. Skip1:26 AM

    A bunch of white folks OC in Starbucks, maybe some PR value.
    Sumdood ina taco stand, not so much.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Flintlock Tom2:17 PM

    Several points:
    1) The bad guys do not, usually, carry their pistol openly in a holster, especially on their way to shoot up an elementary school. And they certainly don't stop to do some grocery shopping on the way.
    2) In many southwestern states, where the tradition is open-carry, no one gives it a second glance. That came about by continual exposure to the practice. That is what we're striving for in California.
    3) In CA it is very difficult/impossible, in many counties, to get a concealed carry permit. So, if you are going to carry, the only legal way is openly.
    And the reports of people quivering in fear at the sight of a citizen with a side-arm are enormously overblown.
    At least here in California, the police are demonstrating exceptional professionalism. As the open-carry movement progresses they are keeping up with the process admirably. No one is being shot simply because they are wearing a sidearm.
    And one final point. Here, in our most "progressive" of states, the Main-stream media has insured that anyone exposed to ANY form of media is aware that the folks you see at Starbucks with a sidearm are law-abiding citizens. Most people are simply curious and receive polite and informative responses to their questions.

    ReplyDelete

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