imported post
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"]The full text puts the comments in more context:
[line]KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS, PARDNER [/size][/font][font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"]In Utah, you can carry a gun without a permit. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] You can pull out grandpa's six-shooter and strap it on and go do your grocery shopping. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] Actually, you can do that in a variety of states, but the subject is in the news in Utah because a group of gun owners are trying to get some publicity. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] So they're packing. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] Out about their every-day lives they have on their hip some kind of handgun, usually a pretty big one, and they wear it for all to see. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] The idea is that if you don't exercise a right, you might lose it. Further, they want to "normalize" carrying a gun, to make it seem more acceptable to folks. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] I appreciate what they're doing. And I admire them. But in most situations, I wouldn't do the same myself. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] Don't get me wrong. I believe in the Second Amendment. I'm a proud commentator for NRAnews.com. When I get done making the payments I'll be a life member of the National Rifle Assocaition. I carry a gun myself most days and I believe absolutely in the right to defend yourself and your freedoms. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] And I like Utah's law just the way it is. There is no ban on public carry of handguns, and I don't think there should be. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] But at the same time, I think that along with my rights I have some obligations, and that courtesy can be the companion of liberty. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] Here's what I mean: I wouldn't carry a handgun openly under most circumstances because it would freak people out. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] I believe in carrying guns, and I insist that I have a legal right to do so. But not everyone feels the same way. And the simple fact is that if you have a gun on your hip, and you're not wearing a badge, most people are going to see that as odd and people who are not comfortable with guns are going to be a bit squeemish about it. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] And I don't want to disrespect those people, even if I disagree with them. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] If I can make a personal choice that shows courtesy to another person, I should. If I can carry a gun in a fashion that does not alarm or trouble other people I should. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] I make plenty of stands for firearms ownership. Usually I do that by wearing an NRA shirt and by talking up guns with the people I meet. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] But I fear my rudeness can lead to other people's rudeness. And if I don't show respect for people who don't like guns, I can't be surprised when they don't show respect for those of us who do. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] Wearing a handgun on your hip out in the open is apt to ruffle the feathers of anti-gun people. There's no reason for them to be upset, but you're crazy if you don't realize that they will be upset. So if you disregard their feelings and reactions and and wear out in the open, it won't be long before a few of them start disregarding your feelings and reactions and saying that the law ought to prevent you from wearing a gun out in the open. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] I think wearing a pistol on your hip is natural and appropriate in a variety of settings. Like hiking or horseback riding or out on your ATV. When you are in the out of doors and you might want to shoot or may need a handgun to defend yourself against animals or humans, carrying on your hip makes perfect sense. Often when I hunt or hike I carry a handgun in that fashion. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] But going to the store is not hiking. And Main Street is not a mountain trail. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] And there's no point is whacking the hornet's nest if you don't have to. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] Again, don't get me wrong. I'm not ashamed of guns or of the Second Amendment. I think it is important to teach people about firearms and how common and safely used they are. I believe that speaking and teaching about the Second Amendment are essential. I've usually got a copy of "Guns and Ammo" or "American Rifleman" on my desk at work. I want to be a missionary carrying the message of responsible ownership to those who've never been around guns and consequently think they don't like them. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] But I don't believe in pushing my luck. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] And I don't believe in being rude. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] And I think there might be a better approach than rubbing people's faces in a holstered gun on the hip at the mall. That starts conversations about guns, but more often than not it's not going to be a good conversation. Far better, I believe, to legally carry concealed, thereby preserving my safety and the other fellow's peace of mind. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] People who don't like guns are just as entitled to that viewpoint as I am to mine. The right to own a gun implies the equal right not to own a gun. There are important issues to fight over in society -- like the protection of the Second Amendment -- but common courtesy is the obligation of every citizen and good person. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] I'm not bothered by a gun on your hip, but some people would be. And we gun owners don't make any friends when we rudely ignore the opinions of those people. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] And we may incite a fight we don't want. If our common sense doesn't tell us to keep our pistols out of sight, our neighbors might push for a law that will. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] And that wouldn't be good for anyone. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] I have a right to carry a gun, and I have an obligation to be thoughtful of other people. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] So I'm going to carry a gun, but you're not going to know about it. [/size][/font]
[font="verdana,helvetica"][size="-1"] And most of the time, I think that's the best way to go.
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It seems to be a fairly well-written article expressing his opinion of why OC is detrimental. He's not one of the people who believes that OC is bad because CC allows a person to, while a BG is shooting up a McDonalds, duck into the shadows, wrestle one's pistol with a 500-round clip from one's rectum holster, and then proceed to creep up behind the BG and execute him. Rather, he's expressing why he wouldn't want to OC often in the hopes of not offending anti's... but isn't condemning those who do. While his article does seem to lose all credibility by his beration of OCers in the first few lines, he appears to gather his thought together into a meaningful article after that.