imported post
The funny thing is about Jeff Wagner's position is it seems to be "Open carry is fine in principle, but just because people will be offended, it might not be a good idea"
I think that's something I might have even thought long ago.
Having seen OC in practice. Its just NO big deal. No one runs for the door. No one grabs their kids and heads for a different aisle.
Its just NOT a big deal with anyone.
There are some anti-gun people who are gonna be against it despite any amount of data or demonstration of the merits of personal protection, but for the rest of the people, when they see "carry" being exercised and nothing happens, THAT changes perceptions.
I think maybe people who are supportive of gun rights but not ready to push any limits are a little too 'gun-shy' if you will.
I think they are so concerned about 'hurting the cause' that they lose sight of what the cause really is. NO offense at all intended to anyone but 'the cause' is the rights of law-abiding citizens. The cause is personal protection. The cause is the triumph of reality and common sense over fear and ignorance.
"out of sight out of mind" doesn't advance the cause.
Wisconsin Carry totally supports conceal carry. We'll take whatever we can get while we push for the most expansive conceal carry right we can.
For me personally I have to ask if 'out of sight out of mind' is the solution, then what happens when you print in your t-shirt?
What happens when your jacket flies open?
You'll still have a problem down the road.
Gun-rights 'sympathizers' I think may be a little so worried about hurting the cause they lose an opportunity.
"out of sight out of mind" doesn't change attitudes. "out of sight out of mind" doesn't tell a story. "Out of sight out of mind" doesn't validate the reality of the merits and safety of law-abiding citizens having guns.
Besides all that, as I said to Jeff today on-air. Open-carry is a practical matter as well. When you take your jacket off, when you are wearing shorts and a t-shirt. We have a practical problem in winter with Open Carry only avoiding Conceal Carry with jackets etc. In the summer, if there was conceal carry only we'd have the same practical problem of avoiding Open-carry with certain kinds of dress.
I think if Jeff Wagner went out and open-carried he'd see that it doesn't hurt the cause. He'd see his visions of people 'being weirded out' aren't reality. And even his own thoughts that "he" would be weirded out would quickly dissolve faced with the non-event that is lawful open-carry.