FunkTrooper
Regular Member
imported post
Found this while browsing the internet.
OPEN CARRY- http://roavapd.blogspot.com/2009/02/open-carry.html
Open carry is legal in Virginia. I haven't seen much of it. There are restrictions on where you can possess firearms in Virginia, open or concealed, you should know these.
My reaction while on duty would be based on the context. In the high crime, high drug areas where I work, if I saw someone open carrying a gun I would stop and identify them. We have too many shots fired calls in some areas to ignore anyone with a gun.
If I saw some guy planting a tree in his yard, or eating dinner in a restaurant while open carrying I wouldn't blink.
I think open carry can help demystify some of the negative perceptions people have of guns. Most of the people around us when we are carry concealed have no idea they are being protected. They also don't realize there's a gun there and it's not just "going off" and killing everyone. If they see it when you open carry they will realize that most gun owners aren't mass murderers.
Tactically though I don't like open carry. If you walk into 7-11 the guy standing in line may be planning on robbing the place. With you there he knows he needs to shoot you first and remove you from the equation. He's got the drop on you and surprise is on his side. Or maybe he wants to disarm you. Even with Level 3 retention holsters (lots of safeties in the holster to hold onto the gun) some cops get disarmed every year, there's just no way to guarantee not being disarmed. Concealed carry is much safer in this regard. If you do it right, nobody knows you have it. You have the element of surprise on your side if anything breaks sideways on you.
In closing, be mindful of your surroundings when you do open carry. Some cops may be very curious about you, especially depending on where you are. Watch your back in places with a high likelihood of being robbed.
This cop has a great outlook for OC’ers, although I do believe he’s wrong about an open carried handgun making you a target to criminals a lot of what he says makes sense.
Found this while browsing the internet.
OPEN CARRY- http://roavapd.blogspot.com/2009/02/open-carry.html
Open carry is legal in Virginia. I haven't seen much of it. There are restrictions on where you can possess firearms in Virginia, open or concealed, you should know these.
My reaction while on duty would be based on the context. In the high crime, high drug areas where I work, if I saw someone open carrying a gun I would stop and identify them. We have too many shots fired calls in some areas to ignore anyone with a gun.
If I saw some guy planting a tree in his yard, or eating dinner in a restaurant while open carrying I wouldn't blink.
I think open carry can help demystify some of the negative perceptions people have of guns. Most of the people around us when we are carry concealed have no idea they are being protected. They also don't realize there's a gun there and it's not just "going off" and killing everyone. If they see it when you open carry they will realize that most gun owners aren't mass murderers.
Tactically though I don't like open carry. If you walk into 7-11 the guy standing in line may be planning on robbing the place. With you there he knows he needs to shoot you first and remove you from the equation. He's got the drop on you and surprise is on his side. Or maybe he wants to disarm you. Even with Level 3 retention holsters (lots of safeties in the holster to hold onto the gun) some cops get disarmed every year, there's just no way to guarantee not being disarmed. Concealed carry is much safer in this regard. If you do it right, nobody knows you have it. You have the element of surprise on your side if anything breaks sideways on you.
In closing, be mindful of your surroundings when you do open carry. Some cops may be very curious about you, especially depending on where you are. Watch your back in places with a high likelihood of being robbed.
This cop has a great outlook for OC’ers, although I do believe he’s wrong about an open carried handgun making you a target to criminals a lot of what he says makes sense.