Headline - "Open Carry:Group armed with long guns stroll weekly through Carytown"

“Getting up and doing something positive or negative is better than sitting around at your house with an opinion never actually getting up and standing for something. Nut up or shut up. I am a true patriot. Are you?” he writes.

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davidmcbeth said:

Maybe lots of people with rifles would like to gather and parade around with their guns .. seems like a fun time to meet people.

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TFred said:

This is really starting to make me angry.

When people who claim to be your friends are more effective at hurting your cause than the people who claim to be your opponents...

it's probably time to re-evaluate your "friends..."

TFred

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TFred said:

This is really starting to make me angry.

When people who claim to be your friends are more effective at hurting your cause than the people who claim to be your opponents...

it's probably time to re-evaluate your "friends..."

TFred

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Doc_Smith said:

I would agree that openly carrying long guns is a good way to normalize the act itself. However, I just left the Facebook page that was created for their 4th of July event. I do believe they mean well but they seem to lack any kind of leadership or greater purpose. No they don't really need one, but given the lack of articulation and grammar in their Facebook posts they may end up doing more harm than good. Yes open carry of long guns is legal in Virginia, but without a affable figurehead at this event they will more than likely be seen as ignorant children just trying to get attention. But that's just my opinion.

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richarcm said:

when i open carry my pistols i am my own leader. We are all individuals. We are not collectives. It is much easier to tear a movement down when it can be lumped into one collective or the next.

And again people look at pistol open carriers as dumb redneck children looking for attention. That is how the opposition views all open carriers. Often times that opposition are the conceal carriers. People who should be our allies. How many youtube videos can you find from conceal carriers speaking to how extreme and dangerous and damaging open carry of pistols is?

The question is....when do you care about what others think and when do you not?

Yes open carrying rifles around target is a little showy. But it's also a little showy to walk around starbucks with big pistols and revolvers on your hips. Maybe the long gun people should keep to public places. For now. But the sentiment i often hear from the handgun open carriers is not in how long guns are openly carried. Or where they are carried. But that it's always dangerous, always silly, and never a good idea. And often from the same people who have never really voiced that same sentiment when people openly carry rifles to the state capital on lobby day.

Only now that a small and vocal minority are making some noise do they feel shame and seek to hide their rights. Do we only open carry pistols because it is easy? Because we feel that we won't scare anyone? Because we won't ever give off the image of old sloppy redneck?

These people aren't trying to ban open carry of long guns. They are trying to ban open carry. People who want to ban assault rifles don't want to ban assault rifles. They want to ban guns. If you do not own an assault rifle it does you as a pistol owner no good to help the gun grabbers get the assault rifles guys. Hoping that that will save you and your pistols. You only legitimize their ulltimate goal. Taking guns. Same thing here. By making a double standard for guns based upon what they look like we are encouraging the ban of guns in general. While also making the point that black rifles are scary and should be treated differently because they look scarier.

This all falls into the gun grabbers hands.

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richarcm said:

When I open carry my pistols I am my own leader. We are all individuals. We are not collectives. It is much easier to tear a movement down when it can be lumped into one collective or the next.

And again people look at pistol open carriers as dumb redneck children looking for attention. That is how the opposition views ALL open carriers. Often times that opposition are the conceal carriers. People who should be our allies. How many YouTube videos can you find from conceal carriers speaking to how extreme and dangerous and damaging open carry of pistols is?

The question is....when do you care about what others think and when do you not?

Yes open carrying rifles around Target is a little showy. But it's also a little showy to walk around Starbucks with big pistols and revolvers on your hips. Maybe the long gun people should keep to public places. For now. But the sentiment I often hear from the handgun open carriers is not in HOW long guns are openly carried. Or where they are carried. But that it's always dangerous, always silly, and never a good idea. And often from the same people who have never really voiced that same sentiment when people openly carry rifles to the state capital on Lobby Day.

Only now that a small and vocal minority are making some noise do they feel shame and seek to hide their rights. Do we only open carry pistols because it is easy? Because we feel that we won't scare anyone? Because we won't ever give off the image of old sloppy redneck?

These people aren't trying to ban open carry of long guns. They are trying to ban open carry. People who want to ban assault rifles don't want to ban assault rifles. They want to ban guns. If you do not own an assault rifle it does you as a pistol owner no good to help the gun grabbers get the assault rifles guys. Hoping that that will save you and your pistols. You only legitimize their ulltimate goal. Taking guns. Same thing here. By making a double standard for guns based upon what they look like we are encouraging the ban of guns in general. While also making the point that black rifles ARE scary and SHOULD be treated differently because they look scarier.

This all falls into the gun grabbers hands.

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xd shooter said:

Funny, that's what the CC only crowd say about us.....:banghead:

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richarcm said:

Is the problem open carrying rifles or open carrying rifles while not presenting it in a professional manner?

Because:
*I've heard the same exact arguments from conceal carriers against open carriers of pistols
*Open carrying pistols was not always as easy as it is now. Back in the day some extreme nut jobs risked criticism and "hurting the cause" to slowly push the cause forward.
*in some places open carry of pistols is not as welcome as it is in VA and has a similar effect that rifles may have here in VA. Should they not open carry there? Because some paranoid people don't like it?

If your activism is not creating attention, typically negative attention, then your activism is not really activism.

Pushing the lines FORWARD , whether it be in gun rights, gay rights, minorities rights or whatever else....it's always going to create negative attention.

That attention is an opportunity. But only if you manage it correctly.

Distancing yourself from it only legitimizes the other side. Who agrees with you. They don't want to get rid of long gun open carry because it is damaging to the movement. If that were true they'd just let you carry long guns and let the damage take care of itself. They don't want you to openly carry long guns because it not only begins a process of normalizing them, but it makes openly carrying pistols seem so much more reasonable.

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peter nap said:

Interesting discussion Gentlemen!

Seems everyone is correct to a point and there is no generic answer. Unlike the Texas Three, which I didn't care for because of their appearance, this seems to be a "Kids next door" group of folks.

Perhaps it does harm the handgun crowd....That's what the sissies at Richmond Guns say about us.

It's the 4th....Carry a gun, any gun responsibly and proudly, dump some tea in the harbor and thumb your nose at the seatbelt laws.
:banana:

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TFred said:

One purpose of openly carrying handguns is to acclimate the general population to it's "normalcy." I don't think anyone seriously believes that openly carrying long guns is ever going to be "normal," short of some sort of a police state, or post-apocalyptic, "our-survival-is-in-question" world.

Lacking that purpose, I don't think it helps the cause of normalizing the open carry of handguns, and it has already shown itself to be detrimental in several cases.

BTW, PVC got a mention in The Truth About Guns, one of the larger gun blogs.

TFred

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richarcm said:

These people aren't trying to ban open carry of long guns. They are trying to ban open carry. People who want to ban assault rifles don't want to ban assault rifles. They want to ban guns. If you do not own an assault rifle it does you as a pistol owner no good to help the gun grabbers get the assault rifles guys. Hoping that that will save you and your pistols. You only legitimize their ulltimate goal. Taking guns. Same thing here. By making a double standard for guns based upon what they look like we are encouraging the ban of guns in general. While also making the point that black rifles ARE scary and SHOULD be treated differently because they look scarier.

This all falls into the gun grabbers hands.

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