Open Carry Week
Newbie
So we began talking about open carry on a rather active firearm facebook group with 10,000 members though-out my state. After about a week of discussion, I took in some pretty interesting opinions and contributed my own. It seems that even though millions of Americans conceal carry a firearm on a fairly regular or daily basis, there's a general stigma with openly carrying that, I feel, does more harm than good for gun owners. Here are some of the highlights that I took away from that thread.
Open carry ...
* draws unnecessary attention.
* makes people nervous if you're not in uniform.
* _shouldn't_ make people nervous, because it affirms that you're certifiably not a felon or wife beater.
* is perceived to only be exercised by extremists -- possibly with mental disorders.
* is quite possibly only being exercised by extremists -- because we normal people are not.
Concealed carry ...
* hides the fact that so many millions of citizens do indeed exercise their right to own and carry.
* makes it difficult to keep gun ownership in the mainstream because there's a belief that nobody owns guns (they can't see them).
* does very little to garner respect for the private citizen, their personal space, their civil liberties, their human rights.
* does very little to adjust the attitudes and behaviors of criminals or would-be criminals.
* does very little to adjust the attitudes and behaviors of politicians who propose legislation that violate respect for individuals' rights.
I do believe with utmost confidence that gun ownership is what keeps this country free from real modern-day forms of tyranny. The only reason we don't have police officers raiding people's homes because they downloaded a questionable MP3 file or because they did something similarly frivolous or unpopular, is because legislators are burdened with the simple truth that "We can't pass this law; It would endanger the lives of law enforcement if we did." This is exactly why "no knock warrants" have been scaled back or made illegal, because officers and civilians get hurt while executing them.
Threat of needless bloodshed over petty copyright laws or minor drug possession or (insert unpopular frivolous thing here) is exactly the thing that prevents needless bloodshed, and petty laws.
But how do we keep Americans armed if they think guns have become outdated and obsolete? People have only ever seen one on a cop or on a criminal on TV. And those officers come to schools and tell our youth that guns are bad, and they should never ever touch, let alone own one.
Anyway. Long story short. (It was a long conversation I mentioned)
Why don't we have an observance for Open Carry?
I think only one day would be too short for most people. This wouldn't be a protest or parade, anyway.
And one month would probably be too long and stretch people's attention too thin.
(Like my nickname suggests) I want to see an Open Carry Week.
Those of us who can do so legally, and especially those of us who already carry concealed, should all decide on a week that -- when the opportunity is there -- we open carry our firearms instead of concealing them.
Q. But why even have a week? We're legally allowed to Open Carry all year round!
A. Because it needs to reach the public knowledge, anticipation and expectation.
If there was an observance, and we really tried hard to observe it together, we suddenly become a presence and expectation and a normality in society.
"Don't freak out. It's only Open Carry Week. They're doing it everywhere now. Really surprised there's that many gun owners... I never even knew!"
And let me wrap up this post with a proposed week.
Open Carry Week begins July 5th.
That's it. The day after Independence Day.
Pick a day, or several days during that week, when it's opportune for you, and just open carry.
Arrange meet-ups, go shooting, hold gun shows, give lectures and presentations. Take the opportunity to tell shop owners that you'll only frequent their establishment if your gun can come with you.
Normalize gun ownership and carry.
I don't recommend people open carry ON July 4th, because that's become a family holiday, a day too commonly associated with drinking, and worse, a day when a lot of idiots like to shoot off their guns in the air.
We don't want to interrupt the celebrations, or be associated with those idiots either. Besides, most of us will be with our families, maybe drinking, and in heavily crowded parks where we don't want to create a scene.
Sorry for the winded first-post. Didn't mean to make this sound like an advertisement either. Just that I've given it a lot of thought, and I would really like to rally people behind the idea and see it flourish!
My gun club and fraternity will be observing Open Carry Week this year.
Discuss!
Open carry ...
* draws unnecessary attention.
* makes people nervous if you're not in uniform.
* _shouldn't_ make people nervous, because it affirms that you're certifiably not a felon or wife beater.
* is perceived to only be exercised by extremists -- possibly with mental disorders.
* is quite possibly only being exercised by extremists -- because we normal people are not.
Concealed carry ...
* hides the fact that so many millions of citizens do indeed exercise their right to own and carry.
* makes it difficult to keep gun ownership in the mainstream because there's a belief that nobody owns guns (they can't see them).
* does very little to garner respect for the private citizen, their personal space, their civil liberties, their human rights.
* does very little to adjust the attitudes and behaviors of criminals or would-be criminals.
* does very little to adjust the attitudes and behaviors of politicians who propose legislation that violate respect for individuals' rights.
I do believe with utmost confidence that gun ownership is what keeps this country free from real modern-day forms of tyranny. The only reason we don't have police officers raiding people's homes because they downloaded a questionable MP3 file or because they did something similarly frivolous or unpopular, is because legislators are burdened with the simple truth that "We can't pass this law; It would endanger the lives of law enforcement if we did." This is exactly why "no knock warrants" have been scaled back or made illegal, because officers and civilians get hurt while executing them.
Threat of needless bloodshed over petty copyright laws or minor drug possession or (insert unpopular frivolous thing here) is exactly the thing that prevents needless bloodshed, and petty laws.
But how do we keep Americans armed if they think guns have become outdated and obsolete? People have only ever seen one on a cop or on a criminal on TV. And those officers come to schools and tell our youth that guns are bad, and they should never ever touch, let alone own one.
Anyway. Long story short. (It was a long conversation I mentioned)
Why don't we have an observance for Open Carry?
I think only one day would be too short for most people. This wouldn't be a protest or parade, anyway.
And one month would probably be too long and stretch people's attention too thin.
(Like my nickname suggests) I want to see an Open Carry Week.
Those of us who can do so legally, and especially those of us who already carry concealed, should all decide on a week that -- when the opportunity is there -- we open carry our firearms instead of concealing them.
Q. But why even have a week? We're legally allowed to Open Carry all year round!
A. Because it needs to reach the public knowledge, anticipation and expectation.
If there was an observance, and we really tried hard to observe it together, we suddenly become a presence and expectation and a normality in society.
"Don't freak out. It's only Open Carry Week. They're doing it everywhere now. Really surprised there's that many gun owners... I never even knew!"
And let me wrap up this post with a proposed week.
Open Carry Week begins July 5th.
That's it. The day after Independence Day.
Pick a day, or several days during that week, when it's opportune for you, and just open carry.
Arrange meet-ups, go shooting, hold gun shows, give lectures and presentations. Take the opportunity to tell shop owners that you'll only frequent their establishment if your gun can come with you.
Normalize gun ownership and carry.
I don't recommend people open carry ON July 4th, because that's become a family holiday, a day too commonly associated with drinking, and worse, a day when a lot of idiots like to shoot off their guns in the air.
We don't want to interrupt the celebrations, or be associated with those idiots either. Besides, most of us will be with our families, maybe drinking, and in heavily crowded parks where we don't want to create a scene.
Sorry for the winded first-post. Didn't mean to make this sound like an advertisement either. Just that I've given it a lot of thought, and I would really like to rally people behind the idea and see it flourish!
My gun club and fraternity will be observing Open Carry Week this year.
Discuss!
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