Open Carry

[HemiEd]

My last two trips to our little town of Branson West resulted in seeing private citizens with a pistol holstered.

I was right behind one in line at the bank and the other one came in to shoot the shit with the barber cutting my hair. The only thing holding the second guys gun in the holster was gravity, no strap.

I am pro gun and all for peoples rights, but why? Why does someone feel they need to be packing heat while running errands?

It makes me pretty uncomfortable to say the least. Is this person stable enough to packing heat? Is he or she sober? Are they worried about a jealous lover or spouse gunning them down? Is there going to be a shootout?

What is your opinion? Are we all going to have to be packing soon? Are we going to regress to 200 years ago, like the wild west?

Who vetted this person to have this weapon in public?

[DenverChief]

Originally Posted by DaFace

People who open carry are just as guilty of virtue signaling as people who march in Pride parades. That amuses me.

This response surprises me....

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by -King-

Maybe in a low stakes situation like a pick pocket where you likely couldn't use your gun legally anyways but in a high stakes situation like active shooter, you would 1000% be a primary target.

Yeah that is why all these active shooters target places where guns are common.

Or why all the school shootings they make sure to take out the security guard first. Active shooters want to do the most amount of damage before the opposition shows up.

Does open carrying make you a more of a target? I mean theoretically it could. I don't believe statistics would back that up. But it is definitely a deterrent for almost all crime.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

I’ve been pulling out my phone as I walk by and saying “so are you bitch”

Oh, you were serious? People really tell you that while you’re walking by their house?

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by Rausch

We don't need less guns - we need more. People need to understand that they aren't safe and there is no safety - it's an illusion that people are addicted to. You are responsible for protecting yourself and the people you care about. No one else.

Unless you never leave the house, more guns doesn't protect you from getting caught in a crossfire. I know two people who have been killed by stray bullets who weren't doing anything wrong or in a bad neighborhood.

One is Erin Langhofer, the girl shot at First Friday a few years ago, who I watched grow up.

And the other is Jeremy Black, my old roommate in KC, shot outside a nice DC restaurant in front of his wife and kids.

That's two families I know personally who have been utterly shattered, and you can add in Lisa Lopez-Galvan's family. None of them would have been helped by more guns.

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Oh, you were serious? People really tell you that while you’re walking by their house?

Its the security system in a Siri voice alerting you that you're being recorded

Stepping on their porch okay...maybe, but on the sidewalk, and in some situations on the sidewalk across the street and hearing it, dumb af

But people around here refuse to ride their bikes in the dedicated HUGE bike lanes because they don't feel its safe enough so they ride on the sidewalks weaving in and out of moms with strollers

People are afraid of everything

[KCUnited]

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

Its the security system in a Siri voice alerting you that you're being recorded

Stepping on their porch okay...maybe, but on the sidewalk, and in some situations on the sidewalk across the street and hearing it, dumb af

But people around here refuse to ride their bikes in the dedicated HUGE bike lanes because they don't feel its safe enough so they ride on the sidewalks weaving in and out of moms with strollers

People are afraid of everything

Someone installed a robo-sentry thing in a parking lot near me where they're rebuilding a strip mall that partially burned. It's like 20 foot high with a blue light and obvious cameras on top. If you just walked through the parking lot it would start talking in a weird robotic voice telling you that you're trespassing and being recorded.

I felt like I was in Robocop and had 10 seconds to comply. I flipped it off and kept walking.

The last time I went through it didn't say anything. I'm guessing enough people complained that it was dystopian to call out people like that for walking across a public parking lot. That or it just broke.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Fish

That's not true. Per MO law, anyone over 19 can conceal carry without permit anywhere in the state. 18 if you're in the military. With the normal exceptions of schools, hospitals, banks, etc.

On top of that, MO passed a ridiculous law in 2021 prohibiting anyone in the state from enforcing any federal gun restrictions.

That is what came up on a google search. Quoted it verbatim.

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-...ault%20weapons.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by DenverChief

So you would feel better not knowing if they had a big black scary gun strapped to their hip?

I expect to see a sidearm on a cop, even a gay one. I know they are properly trained and are committed to a standard with training of protecting the taxpayers/citizens/laws.

But when I am leisurely going about my business, it isn't my desire to be concerned about some idiot flaunting a weapon openly causing concern about whether he or she is actually a stable individual, nutcase, sober, drunk or stoned.
If they have it concealed, it is not an issue.

Yeah, I have read those occasional stories about a hero that has had a weapon when a shooting breaks out and we can all be thankful for that.

Is that hard?

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Frazod

I carry every day, but unless I'm out in the woods in bumble**** nowhere, I'd never open carry. It's not legal where I live anyway, but even if it was, I wouldn't do it. First off, there are lots of people who, like Ed, will instantly react negatively to it. Second, it paints a target on your ass.

Living where you live it is damn near illegal to even own a gun or as close to that as Illinois could make it. I still have my old FOID card I believe it was called. I was kind of shocked by that when I moved there.

In both cases I mentioned in the OP, I did my best to pretend I didn't notice their weapon and not react. Obviously as I am learning from this thread it something I am going to have to get used to. I don't plan on ever carrying my hand guns, they are for protecting my property.

Originally Posted by Frazod

Carrying a gun by itself doesn't make you a great shot, or a ninja, or some non-existent movie superhero, or give you eyes in the back of your head. It only takes a second for somebody to come up behind you, bash you in the head, take your gun and kill you with it. I don't want to be that guy.

Or worse yet make a mistake with it and hit some innocent bystander that can't be undone. Rumors have it that a refrigerator can even get in the way sometimes.

Originally Posted by Frazod

For me, carrying a gun is like Fight Club. You don't talk about it. And considering the can of horrible worms you open if you are ever put in a position where you need to use your gun in public, you pray that never happens.

Exactly, some of the posts in this thread border on people desiring to be a vigilante hero and I was under the impression we had progressed past that many years ago.

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I expect to see a sidearm on a cop, even a gay one. I know they are properly trained and are committed to a standard with training of protecting the taxpayers/citizens/laws.

But when I am leisurely going about my business, it isn't my desire to be concerned about some idiot flaunting a weapon openly causing concern about whether he or she is actually a stable individual, nutcase, sober, drunk or stoned.
If they have it concealed, it is not an issue.

Yeah, I have read those occasional stories about a hero that has had a weapon when a shooting breaks out and we can all be thankful for that.

Is that hard?

What makes them an idiot that is flaunting their weapon?

Because they have a legal tool in a holster?

The point still stands. What makes it any different than the person carrying under their shirt? Why aren't you concerned about them being a drunk, stoned, nut case?

Your argument makes zero sense other than guns are scary.

[frozenchief]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

Unless you never leave the house, more guns doesn't protect you from getting caught in a crossfire. I know two people who have been killed by stray bullets who weren't doing anything wrong or in a bad neighborhood.

One is Erin Langhofer, the girl shot at First Friday a few years ago, who I watched grow up.

And the other is Jeremy Black, my old roommate in KC, shot outside a nice DC restaurant in front of his wife and kids.

That's two families I know personally who have been utterly shattered, and you can add in Lisa Lopez-Galvan's family. None of them would have been helped by more guns.

Those stories are undoubtedly tragic and you are correct. They would not be helped with more guns.

But with the number of people that exist and the vagaries of the natural world, people die from a great many causes. Every year more than 100 people drown in their bathtub. Tens of thousands die from falls each year. Or random people die in car accidents that were completely unpredictable. Should those random deaths affect how many bathtubs or cars or ladders or whatever are sold? or to whom they’re sold?

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

That is what came up on a google search. Quoted it verbatim.

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-...ault%20weapons.

I probably wouldn't trust any news article that says you don't need a background check to purchase a gun.

[jdubya]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I expect to see a sidearm on a cop, even a gay one. I know they are properly trained and are committed to a standard with training of protecting the taxpayers/citizens/laws.
Is that hard?

I'm friends with a few LEOs and you might be surprised. Many rarely practice with their sidearms after their initial academy. I think some have a false narrative that all cops are master marksmen. The "standards" in most law enforcement agencies aren't as high as you may believe. Not knocking LEOs at all but commenting on standards and training regimens.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

In both cases I mentioned in the OP, I did my best to pretend I didn't notice their weapon and not react. Obviously as I am learning from this thread it something I am going to have to get used to. I don't plan on ever carrying my hand guns, they are for protecting my property.

The problem with that is you can get attacked by some asshole when you're not on your property. And after you're dead, what happens to your stuff doesn't really matter. The main thing is to protect yourself and your loved ones. Stuff can be replaced. Lives can't.

I can't remember how long ago it was that I was at your house watching that game, but if it was after I got my CCL you can be sure I was armed at the time.

Or worse yet make a mistake with it and hit some innocent bystander that can't be undone. Rumors have it that a refrigerator can even get in the way sometimes.

I know I'll never live that shit down, but it happened nearly 20 years ago at this point, and since then I've trained and practiced to the point that I operate on an entirely different plane when it comes to firearms, and I never would have taken things so seriously had that boneheaded incident not occurred. Prior to that, I thought I knew everything I needed to about guns. Afterward, I knew I didn't, and addressed it.

Exactly, some of the posts in this thread border on people desiring to be a vigilante hero and I was under the impression we had progressed past that many years ago.

One of the things my CCL instructor told us is that if you are ever involved in a shooting, no matter how justified it is, no matter how many witnesses can back you up, you can still assume that you just wrote a check for $50,000, because there are all manner of things that can happen afterward - from shitty responding cops who hate gunowners hauling you off to jail, to overzealous prosecutors who hate gunowners prosecuting you just to support their socialist cause, to family members of the scumbag you capped who will sue you because you murdered their poor baby boy who wouldn't hurt a fly because you're a cold-blooded racist gun nut bastard. Money won't be an issue for the lawyers on the other side; they either get paid by the corrupt state or work on a contingency basis. Your lawyer won't. And that was a long time ago now, so I assume that amount has probably doubled, at least. You don't ever want that shit to happen to you.