Open Carry: Personal Comfort. Potential Crime Deterrent, orTarget Creation?

[Daylen]

While an officer, while in the line of duty, may be killed with his own gun (I think the number was 7 last year), you take the number of LEOs in the US today that OC (yes, I am talking about Homeland security too) that number is extremely small, like when compared to the number of people mugged in Chicago, WDC or NYC every day. And that "7" officers was the FBI number for the whole year 2010, and that was for the whole of the US...FBI statistics.

I personally have never been able to verify one incidence of an lawfully armed OC civilian being killed, by someone else, with his own weapon, in OR, WA or ID, ever. (these states I know, I'm pretty sure you can say the same about the whole US. The one case in WI several years ago has been debunked as a fairy tail, and the latest the guy was CC not OC)

With odds that slim, I would OC for the deterent effect. Much more provable argument. No, I was never fed the "Boggie man behind every door" lie when I was a kid...

How about the incident not long ago that started a nice flame war thread on here?

 

[protias]

[h=1]Spoke with a Convicted Fellon Saturday about OC[/h]

 

[PALO]

Just for consideration, I wonder if the armed off-duty (but wearing his official PD uniform as most police department require) police officer some stores hire for security, does that make the store less likely to get robbed or not?

Would he be singled-out and targeted?

Would bank guards also be targeted? Are most of the bank robberies done in banks with an armed guard or no armed guard present?

On TV, cops & guards are targeted, but are they in reality?

I mean a cop is the "ultimate" and most obvious OCer of us all.

most criminals, with rare exception (clemmons) seek easy targets.

all the histrionics aside from the anti-OC'ers reminds me of their predictions about "blood will run in the street" if shall issue CCW was passed . it never happened, and we are enjoying the lowest crime and violent crime rates in DECADES

plenty of jurisdictions have OC and have had it for a while e.g. arizona

criminals tend to steer clear of OC'ers. they don't try to knock them out and steal their gun (a ridiculous peculation i heard from anti OC'er recently)

empirical evidence always trumps hysterical speculation

i don't think comparing cops (who DO oc obviously) to average joe OC'ers is a particular useful comparison, for obvious cultural and other reasons. it's kind of like international comparisons that people always try to use about countries with and without gun rights

too many factors differentiate in regards to cops vs. average joe, since cultural perceptions of them differ so markedly, as evidenced even by people here on this site. but yes, i think the GENERAL point holds

also note that when officers are disarmed, the gun is used against them approximately 3/4 of the time

however, the VAST majority of times somebody tries to disarm a cop, it's when they are making an arrest etc. where deadly force is not authorized, their gun is holstered, and the guy ends up trying to take their gun

iow, not a situation an average OCer is even going to deal with - apprehending people for relatively petty crimes, and then it turns out the guy is a wanted murder suspect and he attacks the cop

 

[hogeaterf6]

I open carry cause its alot easier to dress. No need to dress accordingly to what I'm carring. Now I dress so I can OC! lol Plus my hand to gun time is far faster then trying to dig it out from under my clothes.