SHELBYMurdoc
• battleground
The
In the Open
Concealed carry has expanded greatly in the past 25 years. Next year, Iowa will join the ranks of the shall-issue states. This is a great development for gun makers, gun sellers,
and especially gun owners. And, despite dire warnings and alarmist rhetoric, the streets have not
run red with blood in any of these states. Not one.
As politicians and gun grabbers are
coming to grips with the fact that Americans want the right to carry guns and can
do so responsibly, another issue is registering on the radar. It had been relatively
dormant for a long time. But now that the
battle for concealed carry has been won
by those who understand what the Second Amendment means, new lines are
forming for a fight over open carry.
Like the laws in the states allowing
concealed carry, the regulations covering
open carry vary from state to state. In California, for instance, a visible gun is not allowed to be loaded. But the Golden State
is a may-issue state, and in many jurisdictions the chance of a regular citizen being
issued a concealed carry permit appears
to be worse than the odds of hitting all
six Mega Millions numbers. That leaves
unloaded open carry the only option for
many gun owners who don’t want to leave
their weapon locked up at home.
As a self-defense strategy, open
carry is a bit of a two-edged sword.
While the mere knowledge that an armed
citizen is present will probably dissuade
some criminals, those who do not abort
will know who to deal with first. Any advantage of surprise on the side of the
concealed carrier is lost, and rather than
being able to decide whether or not to
escalate by drawing, the carrier may be
taken out of the fight before he or she
knows it’s starting. In places like California, where the gun must be unloaded, the
gun owner is obviously at an even greater
disadvantage.
Another reason that many choose to
open carry is that it can be interpreted as
a form of civil protest and a tool to educate
the public about the rights of gun owner-
ship in the United States. If no one is ever
seen exercising the right to openly carry a
gun, the thinking goes, few will even real-
ize that such a right exists. The more peo-
ple who know and understand the right,
the fewer problems there will be for gun
owners. The less unusual the sight of a
gun seems, the less panic in the streets
will ensue when someone sees one. This
is a strong argument, and I think we’ll all
agree that the public at large could sure
use a bit more education when it comes
to firearms and gun rights.
While it’s perfectly reasonable to want to exercise a right to make
a point, it’s not reasonable to expect that everyone will react the way
that gun owners want. People are quick to get defensive, particularly
when something is shoved in their face.
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to get defensive, particularly when something is shoved in their face. The risk of
alienating the same John Q. Public that
we want to win over is a very real one,
and one that could cause problems down
the road. Those that open carry tread a
fine line.
In April, a California resident wrote
a guest opinion piece in the Santa Bar-
bara Independent about his encounter
with some open carrying customers while
getting a coffee at Starbucks. Upon see-
already, and any further erosion could
be disastrous. Too bad they can’t outlaw
clueless calls to the police.
