I lived in Indiana for decades without knowing its an open carry state. Most people who OC in Indiana, based on my experience, don't flaunt it; I'd say they're discrete, in fact.
There will always be a few extremists who OC in an outlandish manner just to be noticed.
Your "outlandish manner" may very well be my sincerest attempt at using discretion, and as regards the overwhelming majority of criticisms directed towards OC'ers on this forum, it most certainly is.
You see, the discretion I employ by OC'ing
is "just to be noticed" by any and all criminals who might think I'd otherwise be their willing or unprepared victim. I don't wear a small gun so people won't notice, I wear a full-size .45 that no one could miss if they're sizing me up as their potential victim. During the winter, I wear it on a drop-leg platform so it is easily visible (and accessible) even though I'm wearing layers of clothing. Sometimes I simply strap it on a belt on the outside of my coat, but that makes getting into my pockets more difficult, so I vastly prefer the drop-leg rig.
Is that "outlandish?" Am I an "extremist" because I absolutely
do want to be noticed by criminals, and have them decide that there are easier targets out there to victimize than moi? Not that I really care whether you think I am or I ain't, but since you made the statement the way you did, it seems valid to ask for clarification of just who qualifies in your mind as "outlandish extremists."
They do a great injustice to the rest of who are sensitive about public opinion regarding firearms.
I owe no consideration at all to "the rest of" your over-active sensitivities towards people whose rights or enjoyment of life I am not threatening in any way, shape, manner or form by exercising my God-given right of self-defense in any legal manner I choose. Avoidance is the best form of defense there is. I believe that OC deters crime against
me, and assuming that I'm right about that more times than not, then I have defended myself preemptively and without even knowing it more times than not. To think that I should relinquish the right to make my own tactical decisions for myself based simply on some stranger's irrational and
irrelevant sensibilities might get offended is
not supporting my rights. I'll thank you to
always support
all gun rights, even when strangers "out there" in the ethos somewhere don't and won't.
Blues