Who is going to open carry?

[treeman]

I have carried concealed almost all the time for about 6 years and have no intention or reason to change to open carry. My concern, based on local publicity and news clips (some not factual) is that we may have taken a step backward and actually have more places posted off limits for concealed carry. I guess time will tell.

[stingeragent]

Unless you live in a small town and that's the only store in town. Don't give them your business, and furthermore, send them a letter saying why they have lost your business. May do no good, but it some instances they may change their mind. I think this open carry push is going to see more and more people get licenses, just because of all the publicity it has gotten. I'm 30, and have only had my CHL for less than a year. Up until the last couple years I didn't even know about a CHL, and yes I watch the news and I was in the military. I think the media drive will help to let uninformed people know they can legally carry a firearm if they get a license , and many will choose to do so. The more folks we have that are licensed, and refuse to shop in 30.06/30.07 posted places, will start to put a dent in their profits... And to play devil's advocate, it make take a shooting in a 30.06/30.07 zone, or a CHL holder stopping something like this in a non posted zone that gets national media for the liberals to realize their signs don't protect them.

[Smokey]

I will conceal where I can, open carry where I must. If a business is posted 30.06 but not 30.07, just tuck the shirt between gun and body, and presto-change-o I am open carrying.

[CoffeeNut]

I plan to do it on special occasions like Texas Independence Day but it won't be an everyday occurrence. I like the idea of being able to put a lot of the gun owner stereotypes to rest by simply going about my business while visibly armed and on rare occasions I intend to do just that. In the era of gun owners being thrown under the bus at every turn I think it would do some good for the masses to see that citizens with arms in public are not a danger. The reason that I'll probably do it on holiday's is so that I have the time to answer questions from anyone that asks and hopefully leave them at least a little more informed than before.

I like hiking and it'd be nice to tuck my shirt behind my gun on the longer hikes in some parks simply for the comfort factor. Hiking with a gun IWB can be downright unpleasant.

Every other day of the year I'll stick to carrying concealed for the tactical advantage it affords me.

[stingeragent]

Coffeenut, I like your viewpoint. I think more people need to know about guns, and about CHL holders. Most people base their entire knowledge off what they see on CNN and take it as God's word. I think all of us need to educate these people. I see far too many anti gun posts on FB and other places where people make the argument that they are 60 or 70 and never needed a gun to protect themselves. What they fail to take into account is that their 21 year old neighbor may not be so lucky. You would think that with a new shooting everyday on the news they would realize that it can in fact happen to them. Reminds me of people that know they have something medically wrong but refuse to get diagnosed as if knowing the truth about something will somehow change the outcome.

[bortaz]

Has anyone heard of anything happening to anyone that OC's where it's already legal? It's been legal in several states for years, I've never heard of anything happening to them because of OC

In every forum I use, you constantly see people talking about criminals "taking you out first" when they see you open carrying. However, I haven't yet found a single person that can provide a single link to a single story of this ever happening in the singular history of the US of A.

[twomillenium]

I don't plan to make a habit of open carry, nothing against it and I understand why some businesses will balk at first. However, I like to keep the element of surprise on my side.

[Richbirdhunter]

Has anyone heard of anything happening to anyone that OC's where it's already legal? It's been legal in several states for years, I've never heard of anything happening to them because of OC

In every forum I use, you constantly see people talking about criminals "taking you out first" when they see you open carrying. However, I haven't yet found a single person that can provide a single link to a single story of this ever happening in the singular history of the US of A.

By 'taking you out first', I don't know if you mean 'shot first' or their gun grabbed but if you mean the latter:
http://koin.com/2014/10/07/man-practici ... ed-of-gun/

I highly doubt that's happened only once, either. Concealed-carriers have also had their pistol grabbed because they got 'made' - at which point their method of carrying became irrelevant and they might as well have been OC for all the good it did them. I predict one or two Texas snatchers will have new holes in them before 2017, though.

Me - I might gain myself some new experience and OC once or twice; I've never been allowed to before, other than in a couple of countries I invaded first.

The Oregon story is the exception not the rule.

[Richbirdhunter]

I neither said nor implied that it was the rule; someone asked for a single example - I gave them one.

Thank you, what should we do with it?

[Richbirdhunter]

Do whatever you like - he wanted an example.

Thank you, I'd like to open carry.

[Richbirdhunter]

Do whatever blows your hair back; it's irrelevant to me.

I'm bald, can I still do it?