imported post
Ok...fist off, since the M4's, AR-15's, M1A, and now the M41A have made their way into this thread, I have been treating it as a legal/theoretical issue and not as a practical issue.
Legally; yes you probably can carry a rifle in public in VA as long as you follow the aforementioned laws (and any other we have not discussed, not to mention any federal laws we have missed).
Theoretically; should you be able to carry a rifle for self defense? In my opinion, absolutely. Should you be able to carry any weapon for self defense? Under the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 13 of the VA Constitution: No, only firearms are protected. Can it be argued that the right to self defense is a natural right (i.e. the right to life, liberty, and property), and one that stands above the constitution and any man-made government? IMO, yes. (However that is an argument for a different time, so I am going to keep this strictly to firearms.) Hence a firearm is a firearm, whether it be a handgun, rifle, or some fictional lead sprayer from the series
Alien.
Practically; this is where it gets a little more complicated.
Should we open carry a rifle for self defense? After trying to figure out how to word this, and thinking this over for a little while; I really don’t think I know the answer. Let me go over some issues that I have been trying to work out on the practical side:
1. Is it worth possible turning neutral people against us? For example, my mom has no problem with guns and with me carrying. However she is still warming up to the idea of OC. That being said if she saw a person walking around town with an assault rifle on their back, she would probably call the police.
2. How are the police/media going to respond? There have been three school shootings in the past week across the U.S. A rifle is generally an offensive weapon (whereas a handgun is a generally both defensive or offensive). I am definitely not saying that you shouldn't do something because the police or media is going to flam you, not at all. I am just saying that you don't want to "shoot yourself in the foot."
3. Tactically is a rifle more superior? I will agree that a rifle is a superior combat weapon, but is a rifle superior in noncombatant environments? After carrying one around for a few years in a noncombatant environment I would argue that it might not be. Rifles are big uncomfortable weapons when they are not in the ready (and the ready could be brandishing in VA). And it can take a little to go from a slung/ scabbard position to a firing position, especially in close combat. I do agree that this is more of an individual issue, but it should still be taken into consideration.
Well there you have it. I guess I am torn between the theoretical and the practical. I believe that someone should have the means to defend themselves by any means necessary. On the other had, over the past decade we (pro-gunners) have made a ton of progress one small step at a time and I don't want to do anything that would put that in jeopardy.
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." Yogi Berra
