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Open Carry in an Open Carry Friendly State

barf

barf

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There is much discussion lately about open carry in an open carry friendly state such as Louisiana. Some advocate armed marches in heavily populated areas to let the "sheeple" know that it is legal to open carry, while some maintain just to open carry as you go about your business as usual in your local community. (some advocate both depending on which way the wind is blowing)

What would an armed march in a heavily populated area accomplish where open carry is already legal? Should we care about any negative impact an armed march may have on open carry or on gun owners in general?

Would open carrying as you go about your business in your local community, possibly spreading the good word about open carry and handing out literature, be a better option?

note: the open carry friendly state designation is from the opencarry.org map and based on fact, not preconcieved notions of a police conspiracy in the state of Louisiana.
 
G

georg jetson

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barf wrote:
What would an armed march in a heavily populated area accomplish where open carry is already legal? Should we care about any negative impact an armed march may have on open carry or on gun owners in general?

Would open carrying as you go about your business in your local community, possibly spreading the good word about open carry and handing out literature, be a better option?
Click to expand...
Great questions!! I'm not sure of the answers, but I'm looking forward to seeing some meaningful dialogue on this.
 
L

LA Confederate

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barf wrote:
What would an armed march in a heavily populated area accomplish where open carry is already legal?
Click to expand...

IMO the purpose of any advocacy event should be education and a show of positive solidarity. It ought to be a gathering that will portray the group as legitimate and not a direct threat to the general public.

barf wrote:
Should we care about any negative impact an armed march may have on open carry or on gun owners in general?
Click to expand...

If the march is conducted in an honorable manner, there should be no negative impact. However, I also think that the liberally-biased media and the uneducated may try to make the event out to be a negative. Though that shouldn't be a deterrent to the event, it should be taken into consideration in the planning stages so that organizers can create a contingency plan to not only deal with fallout at the event but to formulate a ready public response afterwards such as a press release to the media.

barf wrote:
Would open carrying as you go about your business in your local community, possibly spreading the good word about open carry and handing out literature, be a better option?
Click to expand...

Better...not necessarily. I do think it's definitely a key component of the battle plan to retake and educate others about our freedoms. However that is a passive act rather than proactive. I see it as having varying tactics to accomplish the same goal.
 
barf

barf

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For everybody's consideration. Emphasis not mine.

Mike wrote:
...there is no reason to be a nasty person while OCing or to instigate problems - a successful OCer is usually not noticed or by the time she is noticed, has moved on about her business or simply accepted as minding her own business and being normal by the people around her. This type of OCer helps the cause as hundreds or thousands of people are exposed to the reality that fellow citizens do carry guns in daily life, that nothing bad happens, that they appear otherwise normal, nobody calls the police or gets scared, and life goes on.

I have open carried extensive in VA, PA, NC, WV, OH, and KY and have never been bothered (unless you count an "eye roll" one time in WalMart by a Fairfax County police officer) by police or really anybody else even when walking right past them or speaking at a podium in public meeting (e.g., city council meeting), in a traffic stop, buyong beer or groceries at various grocery stores, Starbucks, gun shops, etc.

But if a police officer or anybody else ever unlawfully detains or searches me while I am minding my own business just because i am carrying a gun, I will sue them in their individual and official capacities and seek damages and other relief from them and the locality or agency which employs them -I will FOIA them, investigate them, get the matter into the press, depose them, force them to disclose documents, build a website about them and the case, etc., and trust me, they are not going to like it and neither will their superiors or their superior's political masters.

THIS, is not being mean spirited - this is doing your duty to support gun rights and the American way of life generally. If you are singled out by police because you are open carrying and your rights infringed in any way, take it seriously and find a good lawyer in your state to bring suit - in many cases, this can be done on a contingency basis.
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sraacke

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I don't think armed marches will do anything more than cause negative reactions and press.

Better is a public education effort which is why I joined LOCAL. We need to get the word out to the masses.

I've targeted gunshows as a place where we can reach fellow gun onwers who may not know that Open Carry is an option. Handing out panphlets and pointing out the legality of open carry to other gun owners is simple.

Getting the word to the press is important too since you reach many more people with just a couple of broadcasts. When members of this forum got together for a meetup at the IHOP in Hammond, La it was Mark who contacted WBRZ and got them to show up to do a story on our meetup. It was shown on their 6pm and 10pm broadcasts. This is what they showed at 10pm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEkx4sOLuT0

We got much more positive exposure from this broadcast than we would from marching in a confrontational way through someones neighborhood or business.

We need more positive media coverage and publicity. Not less.
 
barf

barf

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yale wrote:
I don't think armed marches will do anything more than cause negative reactions and press.

Better is a public education effort which is why I joined LOCAL. We need to get the word out to the masses.

I've targeted gunshows as a place where we can reach fellow gun onwers who may not know that Open Carry is an option. Handing out panphlets and pointing out the legality of open carry to other gun owners is simple.

Getting the word to the press is important too since you reach many more people with just a couple of broadcasts. When members of this forum got together for a meetup at the IHOP in Hammond, La it was Mark who contacted WBRZ and got them to show up to do a story on our meetup. It was shown on their 6pm and 10pm broadcasts. This is what they showed at 10pm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEkx4sOLuT0

We got much more positive exposure from this broadcast than we would from marching in a confrontational way through someones neighborhood or business.

We need more positive media coverage and publicity. Not less.
Click to expand...
Great comment, yale. While I don't agree with it 100% I do appreciate the discussion.
 
barf

barf

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Nawlins, Louisiana, USA
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barf wrote:
yale wrote:
I don't think armed marches will do anything more than cause negative reactions and press.

Better is a public education effort which is why I joined LOCAL. We need to get the word out to the masses.

I've targeted gunshows as a place where we can reach fellow gun onwers who may not know that Open Carry is an option. Handing out panphlets and pointing out the legality of open carry to other gun owners is simple.

Getting the word to the press is important too since you reach many more people with just a couple of broadcasts. When members of this forum got together for a meetup at the IHOP in Hammond, La it was Mark who contacted WBRZ and got them to show up to do a story on our meetup. It was shown on their 6pm and 10pm broadcasts. This is what they showed at 10pm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEkx4sOLuT0

We got much more positive exposure from this broadcast than we would from marching in a confrontational way through someones neighborhood or business.

We need more positive media coverage and publicity. Not less.
Click to expand...
Great comment, yale. While I don't agree with it 100% I do appreciate the discussion.
Click to expand...
I suppose I don't agree with you on the media aspect of this. But then again, I'm old school as they say.

My opinion is that citizens open carrying while going about their normal lives is the way to go. Maybe I just don't see what this "fight" is all about since open carry is already legal. Now, I'm all for fighting to expand open carry to the places where it's not legal such as government buildings, parade routes, school zones, etc.
 
barf

barf

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Bump.

This place is eerily quiet lately. Did everybody settle down?

ItchyScratchy.gif
 
Grapeshot

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barf wrote:
Bump.

This place is eerily quiet lately. Did everybody settle down?

ItchyScratchy.gif
Click to expand...
Be careful what you wish for - likely they're just getting a little R&R after the last BS storm. :lol:

Yata hey
 
D

DannyAbear

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What is this? This weeks version of last weeks arguement?

If La. was truly 'an open carry friendly state', this forum probably would not exist.
 
Grapeshot

Grapeshot

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DannyAbear wrote:
What is this? This weeks version of last weeks arguement?

If La. was truly 'an open carry friendly state', this forum probably would not exist.
Click to expand...
Danny, Danny, you spots are showing.

If the world were perfect, it would still be imperfect to some.

Yata hey
 
turbodog

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barf wrote:

My opinion is that citizens open carrying while going about their normal lives is the way to go. Maybe I just don't see what this "fight" is all about since open carry is already legal. Now, I'm all for fighting to expand open carry to the places where it's not legal such as government buildings, parade routes, school zones, etc.
Click to expand...
Absolutely Barf! Most people never notice it. Sometimes I've seen people glance at it and then just go on about their business with no concern. Couple of times I've gotten into a discussion about open carry and get a chance to let them know of it's legality, other times I'm just asked if I'm a cop and the talk ends when I say no. But I've yet to see any fear or concern in anyone's face who notices my sidearm. At least when I was looking at them. ;)

Individual carry on a daily basis is a THE means of desesitizing the public to the carry of firearms and give the carrier an opportunity to interact in a positive way with any member of the public who might have questions. We are all ambassadors.

This is not to say a group carry/march may not be used in conjunction with media contact in order to bring to public attention a miscarriage of justice or a discriminatory/unconstitutional law. But, this stick needs be applied judiciously and appropriately.
 
turbodog

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DannyAbear wrote:
What is this? This weeks version of last weeks arguement?

If La. was truly 'an open carry friendly state', this forum probably would not exist.
Click to expand...
Well, I would say some parts are more friendly than others. But I think that's true in every state that allows OC.
 
4angrybadgers

4angrybadgers

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DannyAbear wrote:
What is this? This weeks version of last weeks arguement?

If La. was truly 'an open carry friendly state', this forum probably would not exist.
Click to expand...
By that definition, no state is truly "open carry friendly". We just have varying shades of friendliness in different states.

Clicking on the "open carry friendly" line in OCDO's map legend gives the definition:
Open carry permitted by state law without license, but either lacks preemption or does not allow unlicensed open carry inside a vehicle.
Click to expand...
edit: After some thought, isn't that definition incorrect? OC within a vehicle is not covered by any of the RS that I can find (therefore it's implicitly allowed). Louisiana's carry laws do have preemption over any local laws enacted after 1985, so that part may be a bit fuzzy, but if there aren't any non-preempted local laws left to restrict OC, then it's moot.
 
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