imported post
I recognize that there are two sides to this issue. But I find it interesting that so many who advocate OPENLY carrying a gun in public, then find some burning need to hide behind anonymity while discussing the topic on the internet. I mean, if this were a CONCEALED carry forumn the logic would be a bit more self-consistent to me.
My personal observations are that the more anonymous the forumns, the more likely they are to get trolls, to have discussions get personal and nasty fairly quickly, and so on.
That all said, it is not my place to try to judge--especially absent full details--whether any individual has a legitimate concern that requires anonymity or not.
But, I would urge each of us to stop each time before hitting that "send" button and ask ourselves, "Would I say this if my real name were attached to this post? Would I say it face-to-face in real life to someone?"
We often say that carrying a gun should never cause you to take risks or engage in any confrontation you would not do so were you unarmed. Indeed, I think we are generally agreed that those of us who choose to legally carry a gun need to do exactly the opposite: we need to go the extra mile to avoid and diffuse potential confrontations.
May I suggest a similar approach to those who feel a need or desire to conceal their true identity when posting on these forumns? Go the extra mile to never offer an insult or accusation or use language anonymously that you would not use were your name, picture, and home address attached to your comments.
There are legitimate reasons, well stated in this thread, for some persons to conceal their identity when posting in a publicly readable forumn. But hiding behind that anonymity to be rude, boorish, trollish, uncivil, vulgar, obscene, or just plain offensive is not a valid reason; it is cowardly.
Writing only for myself, but just to avoid any hint of hypocrisy:
Charles Hardy
Public Policy Director
GOUtah! (Gun Owners of Utah)