|
Forum Rules | Firearms Safety | Firearms Photos | Links | Library | Lost Password | Email Changes |
Register | FAQ | Calendar | Search | Today's Posts | Mark Forums Read |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
May 22, 2014, 07:15 PM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 28, 2008
Posts: 560
|
More open carry guys scaring the public
More guys got together for a "rally" to support open carry. They selected an unusual part of town for such a demonstration. I didn't expect the neighborhood to be a hotbed of gun interest but I didn't plan the event.
It amounted to a bunch of guys carrying their ARs and various other long arms in public. Doing that is completely legal in Texas. The biggest thing that seemed to come from it was a bunch of locals feeling uncomfortable (dare I say afraid?) in their own neighborhood due to a bunch of gun nuts running around. Some of the guys went so far as to carry their arms into some of the local eateries for lunch. That's generally frowned upon when the location sells alcoholic beverages. Even Texas has limits. I'm very much a gun rights supporter but some people need to think about what kind of image they are portraying. It ends up hurting the cause they are trying to support. Their actions were, at most, slightly better than the freaks who antagonize the police by strutting around in open carry areas with a gun and video camera so they can post the results on YouTube. Last edited by Tom Servo; May 25, 2014 at 01:02 PM. |
May 22, 2014, 08:04 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: November 18, 2009
Location: Arizona
Posts: 3,157
|
Just because you CAN do something does not mean one should. Things like this do not help us. What they serve to do is tip those on the fence into the arms of the people who want to ban guns.
__________________
Geetarman Carpe Cerveza |
May 22, 2014, 08:22 PM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 24, 2011
Location: Texas
Posts: 917
|
As much attention as this issue has been getting its making me start to believe that some of these "demonstrators" might be playing for the other team
|
May 22, 2014, 08:38 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 21, 2008
Location: Lower Alabama
Posts: 727
|
A good way to change people's perceptions is to engage in the behavior while being polite and acting like a intelligent adult. If they behaved as rational polite and intelligent adults while carrying a firearm they may have changed some minds
__________________
Never beat your head against the wall with out a helmet |
May 22, 2014, 09:06 PM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 28, 2008
Posts: 560
|
Step 1) Eliminate any and all items of military or tactical nature.
If you must carry a rifle, grandpa's old wood stocked 270 bolt gun over your shoulder. Do not wear camo or 5.11 gear. Do not roll your AR through a Tapco catalog and sling in a tacticool chest carry fashion. Step 2) Do not be "cool" or stylish in a gun kind of way. Sure, you can wear your Miculek wannabe S&W shooting team shirt. It's colorful, tasteful, and far from threatening. Wearing sniper this and Death From Afar that will not sit well with non-gunners. Step 3) Be open, friendly, and approachable. Getting loud, making fun of others (even those in your group), and being obnoxious is not going to make members of the public want to welcome you to their area. Step 4) Respect others around you and the area you are in. It doesn't matter if you're 100 feet from your front door. Chances are good the people around you will feel that you're invading their territory. Some kind of gathering across town might be a topic of discussion. Some kind of gathering where you live or in places you frequent becomes an invasion. Step 5) Never argue or fight with those of opposing views. Remember that it's the bigger man who can turn his back. Antis will confront you. Allow them to be the fool. Don't get suckered into an ugly situation. Wrestling with a pig never ends well. If you can't keep a level head, calm voice, and avoid smart remarks, find the guy who can and allow him to do the talking. Which group looks more inviting to the general public? or You have to look at things through the public eye. I dare say the majority of Americans don't hold a forceful opinion in this matter. Be careful that you don't push them away. Courtesy, integrity, honesty, and respect will open more doors than acting like a thug. |
May 22, 2014, 09:44 PM | #6 |
Member
Join Date: November 11, 2012
Posts: 91
|
I am a firm believer in open carry. I also think carrying a riffle or shotgun in places they're not normally seen hurts the cause.
__________________
“A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” ~George Washington US Coast Guard 76-86 Semper Paratus |
May 22, 2014, 10:49 PM | #7 |
Member
Join Date: April 2, 2014
Location: Sparks, NV
Posts: 56
|
Reminds me of the whole "Chipotle" thing that happened recently. Now the restaurant won't allow anyone carry a firearm in. That's why I CCW, I don't want the attention and no one needs to know that I am carrying.
I like what was said earlier; "Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should."
__________________
U.S.M.C Combat Engineer, VFW Life Member |
May 23, 2014, 10:58 AM | #8 |
Junior member
Join Date: July 29, 2013
Location: Gardnerville, NV
Posts: 569
|
Apparently some people don't know the purpose of a peaceful rally. It's is NOT for shocking/scaring people and even if the rally is for open carry, bringing guns really misses the point. The idea of a peaceful rally is to show our politicians and other citizens that there is a large mass of voters (citizens) who believe in a cause or idea enough to set aside whatever else they might be doing and march or rally together to show their solidarity and devotion of belief. So the real effectiveness comes from numbers; not carrying guns or radical signs/clothes or messages.
Which is more effective in a human rights respecting democratic country: 500 protesters with guns? Or 50,000 unarmed citizens in the street? I have attended OC/2A rallies at our states Capitol, and never OC'd, not once. I have always felt that being another warm body to add to crowd was far more important than bringing a gun! |
May 23, 2014, 05:06 PM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 19, 2012
Location: Western PA
Posts: 3,829
|
I'm always amazed at the absolute idiocy of people who open carry long guns into private businesses. I don't think it should be illegal, but I still think it's a terrible idea.
Heck, most gun shops and ranges won't even let you bring in an uncased long gun. At the shop/range where I used to work, we got really alert when someone walked in with an uncased long gun: We'd make sure to take it from him, clear it, and then loan him a case while he was in the store. And these people think they're helping our cause!?! It makes me so angry to see them actively working against our gun rights, even if that's not their intention. If I said what I truly think about them, my post would be deleted and I'd probably get a forum infraction, so I'll just leave it at that...
__________________
0331: "Accuracy by volume." |
May 25, 2014, 12:12 AM | #10 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 24, 1999
Location: Sinkholeville Swamp
Posts: 228
|
Isn't there a better way to demonstrate for open carry, a way that will show people that gun owners are not dangerous?
__________________
ChuteTheMallGawdSortaMount |
May 25, 2014, 02:08 AM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 8, 2009
Location: Boca Raton, FL
Posts: 1,902
|
I am a staunch supporter of Second Amendment rights. I believe everyone that is mentally sound and legally eligible should have the right to carry a gun. However, I still can't understand the desire to open carry other than to say, "Hey, look at me. I have a gun." For me, concealed carry is exactly that. I tell no one I have a gun and frankly, it's no one's business other than mine. If the need ever arose that I would need a gun, every tactical advantage would be lost by open carry. In my opinion, open carry makes one a target for those that are planning on perpetrating a crime. Further, open carry makes one a target of opportunity for some who might think about acquiring a gun without going thru the cumbersome steps of filling out a form and taking money out of the wallet.
__________________
45Gunner May the Schwartz Be With You. NRA Instructor NRA Life Member |
May 25, 2014, 02:37 AM | #12 |
Junior member
Join Date: October 20, 2012
Posts: 5,854
|
I don't think OC is a good idea in general in MOST situations, not all.
The guys posting videos of YouTube strolling down main street with ARs and AKs at low ready with 3 point slings frankly... tick me off. Badly. They seem totally offended and flustered when an LEO approaches them just to ask what they are doing in most of the videos. It's just ATTENTION seeking! There are so many ways to go about supporting and upholding gun rights that do not involver that kind of behavior. They are doing so much more harm than good. |
May 25, 2014, 06:43 AM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 6, 2013
Posts: 456
|
Does open carrying in public hurt the right to bear arms? Im not certain that it does or that it doesnt. I have never seen any of the open carry rallies turn violent and that is a good point to make about target hardening. Lots of trouble and violence at the former Occupy Wall St gatherings, but no trouble and civilized behavior at the open carry rallies.
Open carrying does have its time and place and does harden soft targets. |
May 25, 2014, 10:07 AM | #14 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: April 19, 2012
Location: Western PA
Posts: 3,829
|
Quote:
Quote:
__________________
0331: "Accuracy by volume." |
||
May 25, 2014, 10:17 AM | #15 | ||||
Staff
Join Date: June 8, 2008
Posts: 4,022
|
Quote:
Open carry demonstrations have also resulted in decisions by property owners to prohibit both open and concealed carry on their property. Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Last edited by OldMarksman; May 25, 2014 at 10:24 AM. |
||||
May 25, 2014, 01:18 PM | #16 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 21, 2008
Location: Lower Alabama
Posts: 727
|
Open carry protest is a type of tactic that has been used by many groups in the past. Exercise your rights, out in the open, defend your position calmly.
*When challenged, require a rational explanation, and continue to debate calmly. *Failure to exercise your rights could result in the loss of those rights, aka *"use or loose it".
__________________
Never beat your head against the wall with out a helmet |
May 25, 2014, 01:22 PM | #17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 20, 2007
Location: S.E. Minnesota
Posts: 4,720
|
How many threads do we need on this topic? I'm just curious.
__________________
"Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth |
May 25, 2014, 01:30 PM | #18 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 19, 2012
Location: Western PA
Posts: 3,829
|
Quote:
But at the moment I only see two active threads on this subject, and they're on slightly different topics. The other one is about the Chipotle protests, and this one is about other protests after the Chipotle ones.
__________________
0331: "Accuracy by volume." |
|
May 25, 2014, 11:40 PM | #19 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 23, 2013
Location: Alabama
Posts: 2,968
|
this open carry display is no different that the gay pride displays. each is making a case for their rights that have been suppressed and many in the public "feel" uncomfortable with those rights.
however, there are less "in your face" ways of expressing your rights without being obnoxious. |
May 25, 2014, 11:59 PM | #20 |
Junior member
Join Date: April 16, 2011
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 508
|
I open carry a pistol on occasion. The truth is where I live if you don't make a show of carrying your gun, and just go about your business no one seems to care or pay much attention.
I am sure that attitude would change if I walked into the grocery store with an AK-47 slung over my shoulder. While I agree that it is the right of the individual to do that in some places it doesn't make that activity smart, or necessary. It is quite clear that most doing it are seeking a confrontation of some sort, either with police, or anti-gun folks. To what positive end I have no idea. |
May 26, 2014, 12:25 AM | #21 |
Junior member
Join Date: October 4, 2007
Location: All the way to NEBRASKA
Posts: 8,722
|
Taking new shooters to the range will change more hearts and minds than marching in the streets.
|
May 26, 2014, 12:34 AM | #22 | |
Staff
Join Date: September 27, 2008
Location: Foothills of the Appalachians
Posts: 13,059
|
Quote:
__________________
Sometimes it’s nice not to destroy the world for a change. --Randall Munroe |
|
May 26, 2014, 12:53 AM | #23 | |
Junior member
Join Date: October 4, 2007
Location: All the way to NEBRASKA
Posts: 8,722
|
Quote:
The vast majority of people bought into the idea that only cops and robbers carried guns- it was not something that was done- not "the norm" ..... then when a few people actually tried to excercise their rights that they nominally had, it was considered "scary" enough that it was outlawed outright. It did not start like that, but little by little, one step at a time, California gun owners have been divided and marginialized ...... even now, there are people on this board attacking the OC advocates as hurting gun rights for trying to excercise the rights they nominally had...... this smacks of blaming a fellow victim for angering the attackers. A Right IS like a muscle- unused, it will wither. A good analogy is this: If you sit on your couch and eat twinkies and watch 12 hours of whatever drek there is on TV, go to bed telling yourself you feel fine, and repeat daily for a decade and then get up one day and decide you are gonna dead lift your body weight .... you are going to hurt yourself. |
|
May 26, 2014, 12:56 AM | #24 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 30, 2012
Location: Oh, Jesus.
Posts: 226
|
C'mon. That first picture looks more like a victory celebration in a middle Eastern war zone du jour than an OC rally. That tells me you really couldn't find any instances/pictures of kooks acting obnoxiously at a rally. Disingenuous.
Might as well cover 'The Evils of Hunting' while showing the baby buffalo scene from Dances With Wolves. |
May 26, 2014, 01:03 AM | #25 | |
Staff
Join Date: September 27, 2008
Location: Foothills of the Appalachians
Posts: 13,059
|
Quote:
__________________
Sometimes it’s nice not to destroy the world for a change. --Randall Munroe |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|