Why open carry?

[eddieb]

Would someone explain to me the obsession to open carry? I mean other then because "I have the right". To me, if you OC in a business, or anywhere else, and you happen to be there when it is robbed, guess who will take the first bullet from a BG? I would much rather carry concealed and leave my options open.

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[Sandman86]

 

[DALE]

I would guess one reason is the intimidation factor it affords. Any psychologists aboard?

 

[nitetime]

I have been wondering this also.. If someone comes into my buisness or house OCing it would get a little ugly as I pack and would assume the worst..

 

[gunnoob75]

I don't open carry.

For the badguy shooting you first comment; what if the badguy decides not to screw around, since that guy has a gun? Maybe he was going to use a knife, bat, whatever, and not a firearm. Even if he was using a firearm, what if he didn't notice you had a gun? What if he didn't care? "He would shoot you first." Is a firm statement. The fact is, he may not shoot you first. He may not even have a gun, let alone the ability or courage to use it.

Nitetime, that person in your business is innocent until proven guilty. Assuming the worst is jumping to conclusions, which isn't good for anybody.


OP: You are just starting a poo-fling on these forums, and hopefully a mod will lock down this thread before you can do any more damage to the firearms community. It is not your right, nor your job, to criticize how people present themselves with their firearms. Doing so only results in disrupting the community.

 

[Beefcake]

I don't open carry.

For the badguy shooting you first comment; what if the badguy decides not to screw around, since that guy has a gun? Maybe he was going to use a knife, bat, whatever, and not a firearm. Even if he was using a firearm, what if he didn't notice you had a gun? What if he didn't care? "He would shoot you first." Is a firm statement. The fact is, he may not shoot you first. He may not even have a gun, let alone the ability or courage to use it.

Nitetime, that person in your business is innocent until proven guilty. Assuming the worst is jumping to conclusions, which isn't good for anybody.


OP: You are just starting a poo-fling on these forums, and hopefully a mod will lock down this thread before you can do any more damage to the firearms community. It is not your right, nor your job, to criticize how people present themselves with their firearms. Doing so only results in disrupting the community.

I think the OP has a legitimate question. I am a firm believer in the 2nd, but I think that OC is asking for trouble. It seems like a "Go ahead, make my day" sort of challenge, and I assume anyone that does it outside of LE or outdoor activities has other inadequacies (probably has an enourmous lift-kit on his truck and a chip on his shoulder to prove it). I am WAY more concerned that the current administration will take away our right to CC (which has been stated very clearly as a goal of the president).

I'm curious to hear the answers to this question and hope the thread isn't locked.

 

[SheepDog223]

I also don't see much use for oc, other than it's a right that shall not be infringed upon and I may use it sometime. I will fight just as hard for your favorite gun laws to remain intact as I will for my favorite or most taken advantage of gun laws. Otherwise we are divided. We are already divided enough.

 

[cameronhu]

...Don't take your guns to town, son. Leave your guns at home, Bill...

Hey- pass that popcorn

 

[Mutoman]

I think it makes me look cool and bullies no longer pick on me...lol....just kidding of course.

I usually only open carry when I'm hiking or recreating in the woods, just seems more comfortable and handy that way. Around town I conceal, no real reason to open carry.

 

[gunnoob75]

I think the OP has a legitimate question.

Then he could have referenced one of the other TWO ongoing threads, or even posted his question within'.

There was no reason to start another thread.



And again, your attutide towards open-carriers is NOT welcome. You do NOT need to stereotype those who open carry, by saying they have a chip on their shoulder, etc. Your comments are basically saying they are trying to compensate for something.

You don't know that, and you have no right to judge people like that. Why don't you look at the forums; Open Carriers have NOT said a single thing about you guys that choose not to open carry. Not one thing that could even slightly be taken as disrespect. But you anti-OC types are playing left-wing politics about it, and dividing the community even further. It's not welcome. Your attitude is NOT welcome. I don't care who you are, or what you do. It is not your right to judge people like this.

 

[wakeadrian]

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12310

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11099

 

[Beefcake]

To call me left wing is hilarious (I'm a gun-totin', meat-eatin', Republican, Christian, hunter / fisherman, land developer - the lefties would hang me if they could)! MountainBear expressed my feelings more elequently than I can, so I won't try; you obviously don't want to hear any opinions that are contrary to yours. However, I don't see where you get the right to censor our opinions. Saying that the OP doesn't have a right to ask a question or that my opinion is "NOT WELCOME" is assinine.

As to the question of "trying to compensate for something", I was sort of making a joke, but I honestly think this is true in most cases. For those that are honestly OC'ing for the sole reason of furthering gun rights, I disagree that this will achieve the desired goal, but I will fight for your right to do it. However, every single person that I have known to do it in an urban setting falls into one of three categories: wanna-be cop, paranoid and carrying open to scare anyone out of messing with them, or "Dirty Harry" hoping someone will mess with them.

We are facing horrible odds in defending our right to bear arms over the next few years. I will do everything I can to defend all of our current rights, including your right to OC, but this is not my primary concern. I am primarily concerned with defending the right to CC, and I don't think acting as "radicals" will achieve this goal. As MB stated in the other thread, OC seems to "shock" people into thinking that every gun owner is re-living their Bugsy Segal or Charles Bronson or John Wayne fantasies. OC seems to tell non-gun owners that we are looking for trouble, which is the exact opposite of the reason I own guns.

I'm not interested in an argument. I am just tired of being portrayed as a radical for owning guns (for instance, I have had to explain on at least 5 diffent occasions in the past 6 months why I owned an "assault weapon" and why I have a CHL during background investigations for LE jobs). I guess my example is that while I think we need outspoken individuals to defend our rights, I don't want to be represented by Ted Nugent. Although he speaks the truth (and I loved his music as a kid), I think our rights are going to get slaughtered if we continue to allow ourselves to be portrayed as radicals.

By the way, how big is your lift kit?

 

[gunnoob75]

Read better.

My problem is with attitude. Not your viewpoint, not anyone's. I do not OC anyway. But your attitude towards people that do is ridiculous. If you read, you'll see I said that.

I said left wing politics. I didn't call you a democrat.

MountainBear gets his point across without spouting dumb drivel about trucks and chips on shoulders.

Again you're casting dumb drivel. This time about me not wanting to hear anyone else's opinion. But if you read "the other thread", you would know that. Had a conversation with MountainBear about it.

 

[gunnoob75]

And again, your attutide towards open-carriers is NOT welcome.

But you anti-OC types are playing left-wing politics about it, and dividing the community even further. It's not welcome. Your attitude is NOT welcome. I don't care who you are, or what you do. It is not your right to judge people like this.

Yep, attitude. Didn't say anything about you not liking OC.

Reading is fun.

By the way, how big is your lift kit?

Don't have one.
I'm not an open carrier. Guess I don't fit the stereotype.

 

[Beefcake]

I read the other thread, and you did seem more respectful in it. However, it was your statement that the OP was starting a Poo-flinging festival and had no right to ask the question that caused me to enter this discussion. In other words, your attitude caused mine. You have told two of us now that we have no right to question your stance and called my opinion "dumb drivel", yet you wonder why people don't give your opinion the respect you seek? I'm done, welcome to my ignore list.

 

[gunnoob75]

OP: You are just starting a poo-fling on these forums, and hopefully a mod will lock down this thread before you can do any more damage to the firearms community. It is not your right, nor your job, to criticize how people present themselves with their firearms. Doing so only results in disrupting the community.

It's not his right to criticize them, by making yet another thread just to bash OC'ers.

Originally Posted by Beefcake

I think the OP has a legitimate question.
Then he could have referenced one of the other TWO ongoing threads, or even posted his question within'.

There was no reason to start another thread.

In fact, seems like I was okay with the question itself.


And what opinion is it that I want respected?

 

[wakeadrian]

I read the other thread, and you did seem more respectful in it. However, it was your statement that the OP was starting a Poo-flinging festival and had no right to ask the question that caused me to enter this discussion. In other words, your attitude caused mine. You have told two of us now that we have no right to question your stance and called my opinion "dumb drivel", yet you wonder why people don't give your opinion the respect you seek? I'm done, welcome to my ignore list.

It wasn't your opinion that he was calling "dumb drivel". It the assumptions you made about people that OC, and the attitude you gave with it.
Why did the OP need to ask this question in ANOTHER separate thread? And it obviously has turned into drama in THREE threads now about OC bashing. If he needed a question answered, there are obviously a couple different places to read about it, at the moment. If he had further questions from there, he could have involved himself with those current discussions.
As Joe has said several times, he doesn't OC. He doesn't have a "stance" as you make it seem about OC. Just about the crappy attitude people not supportive of OC have towards those who do it.

Who said anything about seeking respect?
Almost as if he had the ambition of not wanting to separate the firearms community even farther :huh:

 

[Beefcake]

Blah, Blah, Blah... Can't hear you...
Actually, I haven't found the ignore list yet, and I don't mind differing opinions (I just don't like senseless arguments, which this is turning into). However, I think you've made my point for me; saying that it wasn't the OP's right or job to question those that OC and that the thread should be closed because it didn't align with your views... How can you say you didn't start this?

By the way, I didn't take the original post as "bashing OC'ers." He just asked why it is so important to some. I have no idea what the OP's agenda is, but I still feel it is a legitmate question. There are about 5 "Obama and guns" threads, and several "how's gun control working in Chicago" threads; why doesn't this poster have a right to start a thread?

 

[Beefcake]

Adrian- I will finish reading the "OC'd all weekend" thread to see if I missed something, but I didn't see much OC bashing in the other thread (I mainly recall MountainBear's well stated posts against it, but no bashing). As to the multiple threads question, I covered that in my last response to Joe. I probably shouldn't have thrown in the "lift-kit" jokes, but I assumed some people here would have a sense of humor. Apparently I was wrong.

I am obviously new here, but it doesn't seem like a very friendly site if folks can't express their opinions without getting ganged up on for valid questions. You and Joe are apparently friends (same join date, same location, similar names), and I respect that, but it doesn't give you the right to steamroll anyone that disagrees with you. In fact, I would greatly appreciate if Joe would call me every explative in the book rather than stooping to accusing me of being left-wing; I take offense to that.

 

[wakeadrian]

Joe is my husband; so obvious similar views and such.
You are missing the point. We aren't trying to steamroll people that don't agree. Neither of us OC. We aren't defending OC or trying to convince people to do it, but more trying to make it so that the people against it will at least respect the fact that not everyone feels that way, and not think of those people as "having a chip on their shoulder" because of it. The firearms community should stand for -all- of our rights, together.
And I think that your point of people getting ganged up on for expressing opinions is a perfect example of the "OCed all weekend.." thread. People that didn't agree with Glockguy OCing completely derailed the thread and started saying why they think OCing is so bad, all within just a few pages. Comparing OC to things like farting and being naked in public.
By left-wing style politics, Joe was meaning sneaky and underhanded (in labeling OC), not calling you democrat or liberal.

Friendly debates are always welcome and very often helpful; sometimes even help people to see things from different points of view. Rude generalizations about a group of people in this community often start issues. I'd feel the same way if someone that only OC started a thread saying:

Would someone explain to me the obsession to concealed carry? I mean other then because "I have the right". To me, if you CC in a business, or anywhere else, and you happen to be there when it is robbed, guess who will take too long to draw his weapon? I would much rather carry open and make sure my hands take care of business right.

And then other OCers started in saying that CC is sooo sneaky and bad. All people who CC are just afraid of their surroundings! (Just as an example, not putting words in anyone's mouth.)

See what I mean?