The Benefits of Open Carry

The Benefits of Open Carry


Open carry is a compelling visual deterrent to would be criminals.



Criminals while opportunistic, still assess risks, profile their victims, and tend to avoid ‘hard’ targets. A conspicuously armed citizen raises the stakes in any attempt a criminal might make. Seeing such people conduct their daily business would make a perpetrator far more wary, than among a population carrying concealed or one that was unarmed.



The Wright-Rossi felon survey conducted through a grant from the Department of Justice in 1982-1983 revealed the following;



56% of the felons surveyed agreed that "A criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun;"



A 57% majority agreed that "Most criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police."



Nearly 40% said there was at least one time when the criminal "decided not to do a crime because [he] knew or believed that the victim was carrying a gun."



Open carry is tactically superior and safer than concealed carry.



Police do not conceal their firearms as it is expected they will be armed and it would increase their draw response time leaving them vulnerable to attack. The citizen deserves equal opportunity to defend themselves from assailants. It is already tactically difficult to draw against an assailant who already has a weapon in hand; fumbling with clothing or a waist pack would make it impossible for a practical defense in such a situation. With a firearm secured in a waist pack it is impossible to draw while seat belted in a vehicle. A weapon kept in a concealment ‘day planner’, the glove compartment or center console isn’t adequately secured for retention or proper use.



Open carry increases law enforcements situational awareness.



Every officer must assume that everyone they encounter could be armed. A citizen, with the firearm displayed plainly in their holster, when both their hands and the weapon are visible, leaves no room for interpretation of their movements. The officer doesn’t need to ask where the weapon is- they can see it. The conscious decision to openly arm their selves also indicates they aren’t likely criminals, as most criminals rely on keeping their activities clandestine. In places where a license or permit is required to carry openly, an officer can be assured (after checking the permit), that the citizen has already been subjected to the scrutiny of a background check and fingerprinting- something a criminal isn’t apt to submit to.



Open carry increases community awareness.



Regularly seeing lawfully armed citizens aids in dispelling the misconception that only police and ‘bad guys’ carry firearms. Gun owners are regular people- and seldom fit the stereotypes that are perpetuated by television, movies, and mass media such as ‘gun nuts’, lone-wackos, or criminals. Seeing that friends and neighbors carry can defuse the mystery and menace perceived of firearms and their owners.



Why would anyone consider open carry necessary?



Open carry is legal.



Open carry is presumptively legal unless specifically prohibited by state statute

Open carry is lawful to some degree in 43 States. Only seven States prohibit open carry. While there are some restrictions, California is not one of them. Not only is there a provision to issue permits for general open carry in PC-12050, there is also no specific restriction of open carry in unincorporated areas, unless it is in a ‘prohibited’ area. See below;



12025. (a) A person is guilty of carrying a concealed firearm when he or she does any of the following:

(1) Carries concealed within any vehicle which is under his or her control or direction any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.

(2) Carries concealed upon his or her person any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.

(3) Causes to be carried concealed within any vehicle in which he or she is an occupant any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.



12025. (f) Firearms carried openly in belt holsters are not concealed within the meaning of this section.



12031. (a)(1) A person is guilty of carrying a loaded firearm when he or she carries a loaded firearm on his or her person or in a vehicle while in any public place or on any public street in an incorporated city or in any public place or on any public street in a prohibited area of unincorporated territory.



(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to any of the following:



(6) The carrying of pistols, revolvers, or other firearms capable of being concealed upon the person by persons who are authorized to carry those weapons pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 12050) of Chapter 1 of Title 2 of Part 4.



12031. (e) In order to determine whether or not a firearm is loaded for the purpose of enforcing this section, peace officers are authorized to examine any firearm carried by anyone on his or her person or in a vehicle while in any public place or on any public street in an incorporated city or prohibited area of an unincorporated territory. Refusal to allow a peace officer to inspect a firearm pursuant to this section constitutes probable cause for arrest for violation of this section.

(f) As used in this section, "prohibited area,” means any place where it is unlawful to discharge a weapon.

(g) A firearm shall be deemed to be loaded for the purposes of this section when there is an unexpended cartridge or shell, consisting of a case that holds a charge of powder and a bullet or shot, in, or attached in any manner to, the firearm, including, but not limited to, in the firing chamber, magazine, or clip thereof attached to the firearm; except that a muzzle-loader firearm shall be deemed to be loaded when it is capped or primed and has a powder charge and ball or shot in the barrel or cylinder.

12050. (a)(1)(A) The sheriff of a county, upon proof that the person applying is of good moral character, that good cause exists for the issuance, and that the person applying satisfies any one of the conditions specified in subparagraph (D) and has completed a course of training as described in subparagraph (E), may issue to that person a license to carry a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person in either one of the following formats:

(i) A license to carry concealed a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.

(ii) Where the population of the county is less than 200,000 persons according to the most recent federal decennial census, a license to carry loaded and exposed in that county a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.

(B) The chief or other head of a municipal police department of any city or city and county, upon proof that the person applying is of good moral character, that good cause exists for the issuance, and that the person applying is a resident of that city, and has completed a course of training as described in subparagraph (E), may issue to that person a license to carry a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person in either one of the following formats:

(i) A license to carry concealed a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.

(ii) Where the population of the county in which the city is located is less than 200,000 persons according to the most recent federal decennial census, a license to carry loaded and exposed in that county a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.



The California court of appeals has also ruled that open carry is lawful in unincorporated areas where discharge is not otherwise prohibited.



People v. Knight, 18 Cal.Rptr.3d 384 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004)(the open carry of handguns is not unlawful in unincorporated areas of California where shooting is not prohibited;evidence subsequently obtained as a result of the search incident to an unlawful firearms related arrest must be suppressed).





Police have no Constitutional or lawful obligation to protect an individual from harm.



Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. Ct. of Ap., 1981), states: “fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen.”



This is just one of a number of Supreme Court cases that ruled that police are not liable for the protection of citizens. California law likewise, relieves the State government of any liability of protecting individuals. If the police aren’t responsible for a citizen’s protection, then the citizen must facilitate their own defense by all lawful means necessary. This includes making the same sort of tactical preparations that police would make



Emergency response times for California law enforcement average 6 minutes.



Six minutes doesn’t seem that long, but it is an eternity in a crisis. What’s more is according to the Redding Peace Officers Association, the average emergency response time for the Redding Police department is 15 minutes. Lawful citizens who openly carry will not shorten these response times, but may very well preempt violent criminals from acting on opportunities a 15-minute emergency response affords them.





Concealed carry stigmatizes those who exercise the right to keep and bear arms.



Those who keep and bear arms have the same right to presumptive innocence as any other person, under any other circumstance. Yet, existing law and the disposition of law enforcement treat these people as if a crime as already been committed, subjecting them to greater scrutiny upon apprehension, even after subjecting CCW permit applicants to background checks, fingerprinting and issuing a revocable permit. The requirement to carry their firearm concealed places them in the back of the bus, under the pretense of public safety, protecting others from being offended or alarmed. The founding documents, State and local law have made no such provision for the protection of someone’s personal displeasure. Arming oneself for self-defense is not a privilege, reserved for a select few at the permission of the State, but a right all people should be free to exercise without discrimination or interference from authorities. Mandated concealment is just such an infringement.









Brought to you by the Shasta County Open Carry Association

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And OpenCarry.org




Opinions expressed in, and distribution of this pamphlet does not constitute legal advice.

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