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Open Carry and Tattoo's.

KiltedRonin

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
Messages
24
Location
Fairfax
So, I have been CC'ing for years now, never really considered the OC as an option. I am Asian and I am tattooed to my wrist, granted, my right arm is a strong representation of the Gadsden Flag with thirteen rattles and over one inch tall letters stating "DONT TREAD ON ME" I know I have been treated differently because of being inked in many other circumstances, IE profiled, and feel that I would see more "attention" then I really want to have to deal with from LEO's and sheeple if I open carried.

So, what I am getting at, do you foresee any "issues" for someone in my situation? Discussion?

Thanks in advance.
Ronin
 

MikeTheGreek

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Messages
590
Location
Northville, Michigan
So, I have been CC'ing for years now, never really considered the OC as an option. I am Asian and I am tattooed to my wrist, granted, my right arm is a strong representation of the Gadsden Flag with thirteen rattles and over one inch tall letters stating "DONT TREAD ON ME" I know I have been treated differently because of being inked in many other circumstances, IE profiled, and feel that I would see more "attention" then I really want to have to deal with from LEO's and sheeple if I open carried.

So, what I am getting at, do you foresee any "issues" for someone in my situation? Discussion?

Thanks in advance.
Ronin

I have the same concerns and also would like peoples opinion on it. I have a bunch of tattoos on my right arm, half sleeve, forearm, wrist, and plan on getting many more tattoos eventually.

I haven't OC'd, but I know people already look at me differently, so I have a feeling I'll get hassled more than some of the other OC'ers.
 

irish52084

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2010
Messages
285
Location
Puyallup< WA
It's hard to answer questions like how appearance will affect people attitude towards open carry. Generally speaking, if you have visible tattoos some people will view it negatively. I would tend to think you might get more nervous glances because of your tattoos than your open carry. I rarely have anyone notice I OC and when I do it's usually more of a surprised look than anything negative.

I tend to think they way you carry yourself has more of an affect on people than what you look like. If your head is up and you act in a confident, assertive manner, people tend to be more at ease with you. If you're slouched over and shifty people tend to react negatively, with or without a firearm openly carried.
 

hogeaterf6

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
381
Location
, ,
Try and be a tattooed biker. Now there are looks!
Honestly I dont know. In the winter months I wear long sleeves so my ink does not show much. In the summer I mostly ride and my gun is covered by my vest. I get the looks but not sure if its the leather or my sleeved out arm. I really think visable tattooes are far more accepted then a oc handgun.
 

tcmech

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2009
Messages
368
Location
, ,
I don't have any tattoos but I think that most people don't even notice I have a gun. I get a lot more attention when I have my dog with me than when I have my gun.

The caveat to this is when I am carrying the ivory handled 44mag and hanging out with superdad. Everyone seems to notice I have a gun then.
 

DWCook

Activist Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Messages
432
Location
Lenexa, Kansas
I open carry my Glock35 .40 Cal Pistol all the time. People notice it but as long as you show strong character of being respectful about open carrying I found many people don't mind at all. I prefer to open carry as I personally think CC is more like a surprise birthday party.....it could turn out bad. But that's just my opinion, take it like a grain of salt.
 

KiltedRonin

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
Messages
24
Location
Fairfax
My constant companion is a Glock 30 that I normally wear IWB, but I also own a nice desantis OWB holster that I wear when it is cool enough out to have a jacket on that it wont print through. Summer is coming up and I get a little more "lax" about carrying because it is harder to conceal, I have been considering the open carry option, once again, northern Virginia, I am brown and have a lot of tattoos. I guess once the weather gets better, I'll have to come out to some OC events where there is a little more "back up" in the sense of I wouldn't be the only one. It is a weird uncomfortable feeling for me, knowing that I am seen different because of skin art.. no matter how patriotic it is. Let alone to actually have LE called on me because I "look" like a criminal and OH MY GOD, I have a gun.

Funny, I used to get paid to protect a person's body from harm, and it never bothered me, but just the notion of being seen as a "bad guy with a gun" gets me so bad, I leave the house un armed.

Sad huh?
 

sudden valley gunner

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
16,674
Location
Whatcom County
Welcome to the forum. My personal opinion is it doesn't matter. What matters is you and how you inter react with other people. Our purpose here is to normalize hand gun carry, this would mean any ethnic back ground and the myriads of ways people decide to express themselves in the way they dress or adorn themselves.

Does this mean you won't ever have a challenge because of your tats? I would say no it doesn't and it is your job to break stereotypes and mis perceptions and to handle the encounters in a way that would benefit future, tatted up folks whether they OC or not.
 

MR Redenck

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Messages
596
Location
West Texas
Tatoo's, gun's, asian people or whoever. I dont care nor is it anyone elses business what you draw on your arms.
I dont like totoo's, never have. I dont care what a person looks like or what color they are either. Your rights are the same as mine and my opinion means nothing when your exercising them. That is untill you do something wrong!
Your actions and what you do to others is the only damn thing that shoud matter!
I can settle this public education issue right now. If some idiot calls the cops claiming" OMG some totoo'd Asian guy is hanging out with some totoo'd biker guy and they both have guns"..
The first thing the cops should ask is " What are they doing wrong Mr. Libtard"?
That is the key to public education, police training to respect a persons rights! When exercising your rights, the only thing that should matter is what you do to others. What people think about you for exercising your rights is nothing more than opinion.
The only involvement I will have in public education is to help people who want to learn about guns and their rights. All others are a wast of my time.
So go be a totoo'd Asian guy or Totoo'd biker. Enjoy you American rights but respect others.
BTW, im not a biker, I dont have tatoo's nor do I care what yall do as long as you dont bother me. Wake me up with your load pipes and you got one big mean problem.
 
Last edited:

eye95

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
13,524
Location
Fairborn, Ohio, USA
Whether or not you believe that judging someone based on their appearance is appropriate, the reality is that people do. That leaves one with essentially two ways to think about it: (1) "Screw them. I got my rights!" or (2) "Hmmm...maybe it is wise to use my ability to alter the perceptions of others to my advantage."

I prefer the second option.
 

KiltedRonin

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
Messages
24
Location
Fairfax
See, that is the funny part, I am a hella nice person and a huge extrovert. BUT, I look unapproachable, and will probably never be at the top of a BG's soft target "list" while walking down the street. I have also seriously had women clutch their purses tighter to their bodies in an elevator, or walking past me on the street. I wish there was a way to express to them that I am the other side of their perceptions. The courteous nod and smile with a hello falls on deaf ears. It is not as if I dress like some "gangsta" jeans, work boots, t-shirt and a button up shirt is modus operandi for me. I got rid of my mohawk back in high school ;)

I also work in an industry where people have to trust me with their safety, the security of their valuables, the safety of their children.. at work, no one cares about all my ink, they may look a little sideways, but they know what I am there to do for them.

So the deal is, since I already suffer one form of discrimination, and have always acted in a fashion that is other then expected by my outward appearance, OC may make things better "hey, he has a gun, but he isn't hiding it, good guy" or worse... "hey, he has a gun, need to call the cops"

is there a sticky or something on here, where there are suggestions as to how to deal with the MWAG situations? my "search fu" is weak..

~Ronin
 

MikeTheGreek

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Messages
590
Location
Northville, Michigan
See, that is the funny part, I am a hella nice person and a huge extrovert. BUT, I look unapproachable, and will probably never be at the top of a BG's soft target "list" while walking down the street. I have also seriously had women clutch their purses tighter to their bodies in an elevator, or walking past me on the street. I wish there was a way to express to them that I am the other side of their perceptions. The courteous nod and smile with a hello falls on deaf ears. It is not as if I dress like some "gangsta" jeans, work boots, t-shirt and a button up shirt is modus operandi for me. I got rid of my mohawk back in high school ;)

I also work in an industry where people have to trust me with their safety, the security of their valuables, the safety of their children.. at work, no one cares about all my ink, they may look a little sideways, but they know what I am there to do for them.

So the deal is, since I already suffer one form of discrimination, and have always acted in a fashion that is other then expected by my outward appearance, OC may make things better "hey, he has a gun, but he isn't hiding it, good guy" or worse... "hey, he has a gun, need to call the cops"

is there a sticky or something on here, where there are suggestions as to how to deal with the MWAG situations? my "search fu" is weak..

~Ronin

Should have kept your mohawk! I find that my mohawk & tattoos gets me some pretty amusing looks. I usually just wink at them and smile.

There's no good way to deal with MWAG situations, if they want to call the cops, no matter what you say, they will. Some people don't mind it, some people will call. A lot of times the 911 Operator will ask if its openly carried and holstered, and then tell the caller that it's perfectly legal.
 

thebigsd

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
3,535
Location
Quarryville, PA
I open carry everywhere I go. I have been OC for about 4 years now. I got a tattoo that says "LIBERTY" down my left wrist about 6 months ago. I still OC everywhere, no change in reaction from anyone. I think we have reached the point where tattoos are less of a taboo than they used to be. I encourage you to open carry and I doubt you'll have any problems.
 

XDFDE45

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2009
Messages
823
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
It shouldn't matter but sadly today people jump to conclusions based on looks first. I have tattoos on both arms, one on each side of the head, one on the back of the neck and 0g holes in my ears and I OC. Sure I get a few :eek: looks from time to time but nobody ran screaming, no problems with LE and I've had people come up and ask me why I'm carrying and then I explain to them about OC.
 

rotorhead

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
862
Location
FL
I have several tattoos and OC daily. Really, I have no issues at all. Up to this point I haven't been hassled due to either one, nor the combination. I suggest not worrying about it in the least. People will think and do what they want- let 'em. You're not going to control how they think, just as they shouldn't control your thoughts. Once people take a moment to get to know you, any fear or apprehension will be erased.

I utilize a mixture of eye95's previously posted options. I really don't care about what people think about it, yet if confronted I'll be sure to be myself, and to do what I can to subdue any fears people may have. I'm not outwardly hostile in anyway and my demeanor usually displays my normal state of happiness. People will pick up on what you are and latch onto that more than what you look like you are IF they take a min to give it a chance to develop.

If they don't want to give it a chance, I don't want to waste the time in the first place. I could care less.
 
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