Concealed Carry or Open Carry? Where do you stand?

[jhicks]

I carry concealed. I would carry concealed even if open carry becomes legal. I do think that anyone who carries ought to submit to a background check and apply for a license, just like me. I don't agree with the "anyone, anytime, anywhere, without a license" carry.

 

[whodat2710]

I stand armed. (I also sit armed ). I personally always CC, but I also OC at the same time when I can.
-
You have 4 tires already on your car, but you also have a spare? Same with guns. One is good, two is better....

 

[croute]

I will only carry concealed. Don't want the added attention OC brings.

 

[Bikenut]

I carry a concealed back up to go with my openly carried primary. And... as has been said... both methods of carry offer advantages and disadvantages. And the decision of whether to open carry, concealed carry, or both at the same time.... or even not to carry at all!... should always be a personal decision for the individual. Yet I sincerely wish folks would do some research (google is our friend) and base their decisions on actual facts instead of myths (like concealed carry has some kind of superior to OC "tactical element of surprise") and unsubstantiated fears (like open carriers will be shot first).

However, there is one advantage of open carry that concealed carry will never ever have. And that is...... exposing the public to the fact that the right to bear arms is real.

So ... one of the main reasons I open carry is to put the right to carry a gun "right out there in your face" where people can see it and, regardless of if they like it or not, it cannot be denied. I welcome the opportunity to educate folks who are curious and ask me questions... and to educate those who are standing around watching the show as I calmly and politely refute the emotional arguments of an anti gunner with actual facts including offering a printout that backs up my facts with actual law to anyone interested in learning more facts. After all... the anti gunner's mind is already made up but the onlookers get to see the guy with the gun behaving like an adult dealing in facts while the anti gunner childishly throws a tantrum. Guess who makes the better impression there.

And I have had the police respond to an anti gunner's frantic "man with a gun!!!" call only to have the distinct pleasure of standing next to the officer as he explained to the self righteously irate woman (and the 20+ other folks there who were watching and listening intently) that I had the right .. and it was legal here in Michigan...to carry my sidearm in plain sight but SHE was in the wrong to think she had some kind of right or legal basis to tell me to put the gun away so she didn't have to look at it.

So..... hiding (concealing) a gun does have the advantage of "blending in" and not having to explain anything (or the possibility of upsetting an anti gunner's "feelings") but hiding the gun is also hiding the right to bear arms. The old saying of "Out of sight, out of mind." not only applies to the gun itself but also applies to the right to bear arms too.

 

[NavyLCDR]

I do think that anyone who carries ought to submit to a background check and apply for a license, just like me.

Can I ask exactly what problem is solved by requiring a background check and license for a person to carry a gun? Those requirements affect one group of people, and one group of people only. That group of people being those who generally abide by laws and wouldn't use a gun to commit a crime with anyway and it attaches an unneccesary hurdle and expense to their ability to defend themselves. What else does it accomplish? Not a damn thing. It's already illegal for the criminal to use a gun to commit a crime with. If they are going to break that law anyway, why are they all of a sudden going obey a permit requirement or a "guns prohibited here" sign/law?

 

[BluesStringer]

It never fails. Someone, usually a newcomer, asks an innocent question about preferences (caliber, OC vs. CC, whatever), honest, non-confrontational answers are forthcoming, and then the pretzel-logic of the "I know what's better for you than you know for yourself" crowd comes out of the woodwork. And that same crowd will claim that they are freedom-lovers, maybe even full-on Patriots. Bullcaca. If you can't accept that some people see the world as you do, and some don't, without criticizing and belittling those who don't, you don't believe in freedom at all and are no compatriot of mine.

Blues

 

[Treo]

I find it interesting that a brand new member has managed to randomly (yeah right) start two threads and have both be about the two biggest hot button topics on this forum.

 

[JDM]

While I fully support those who choose to OC, I CC because I'm a very private, low-key kind of guy and I just don't want to draw attention to myself because it makes me uncomfortable. I do OC in the field, and even when I'm working outside my home since we have poisonous snakes here. It's a little ironic, because in North Georgia I could probably OC an M-249 SAW and most people would barely notice.

 

[NavyLCDR]

In my daily experiences when open carrying for several years now, the vast majority of and most vehement opposition I have faced, in person, to my gun has been from concealed carry license holders who cannot resist the urge to tell me they carry concealed and that I should too.

 

[Firefighterchen]

I carry concealed. I would carry concealed even if open carry becomes legal. I do think that anyone who carries ought to submit to a background check and apply for a license, just like me. I don't agree with the "anyone, anytime, anywhere, without a license" carry.

you don't think highly of, "shall not be infringed"..

you don't agree with the Constitution...worse than the anti gunners


Sent from my HTCONE using USA Carry mobile app

 

[whodat2710]

I find it interesting that a brand new mamber has managed to randomly (yeah right) start two threads and have both be about the two biggest hot button topics on this forum.

Two options Treo, one is that they are important questions that a new gun owner or new to carrying for self defense would want opinions on. If that is the case, then I think honest opinions are good, but rants and rhetoric still prevail.
-
Option two is a liberal troll looking for fodder to cut and paste to their anti-gun blog.
-
Which were you betting on?

 

[Chris Rakes]

i OC 24/7. i was raised in the era that thought CC was what the BG did. i do not have a problem with any way to carry just carry please.

you might want to question why you CC. is it the surprise factor? that kind of says that you want to shoot someone, because you will be a soft target. which is what the BG wants. so you are looking to draw them so you can shoot them. one of the reasons i OC is to deter any attack. there was a study done a few years ago, that told 98% of the BGs in prison would not attack an armed person.

do you CC because you don't want to upset any body? are you playing to the sheeple?

like i said carry and carry always, weather it is OC or CC. be honest with yourself

 

[Treo]

Open carry makes Jesus sad

 

[devo-j]

I think there are plenty of people out there who would figure out how to take your open carry. They do it with wallets, and open carry, IMO, would just put more guns in criminals hands.

 

[CharlesMorrison]

I carry concealed. I would carry concealed even if open carry becomes legal. I do think that anyone who carries ought to submit to a background check and apply for a license, just like me. I don't agree with the "anyone, anytime, anywhere, without a license" carry.

Tough sh!t... You don't get to make the call..... Deal with it.


Sent from behind enemy lines.

 

[CharlesMorrison]

I think there are plenty of people out there who would figure out how to take your open carry. They do it with wallets, and open carry, IMO, would just put more guns in criminals hands.

That's why you OC in a holster with retention.
Do you carry your wallet "dangling" on the end of a string?
Come on people, common sense here, please.

Has anyone else noticed the massive amount of posters with ten or less posts who are now "posting" lately?
Just sayin.... Ya know?

Sent from behind enemy lines.

 

[Treo]

I think there are plenty of people out there who would figure out how to take your open carry. They do it with wallets, and open carry, IMO, would just put more guns in criminals hands.

Then surely you can post some links to news stories where this has happened

 

[Bikenut]

I think there are plenty of people out there who would figure out how to take your open carry. They do it with wallets, and open carry, IMO, would just put more guns in criminals hands.

Is your opinion that there are plenty of people out there who would figure out how to take an openly carried gun based in actual fact or is that just what you think, or are afraid, would happen? If you believe that it is actual fact please provide cites and/or links to actual incidents where open carriers get their guns taken by criminals. Please bear in mind that folks have been open carrying in just Arizona alone for decades so finding actual incidents should be very easy.

I'm not trying to be a jerk... I just would like for folks to base their opinions (and ultimately their decisions) on actual facts instead of just assuming that is what will happen.

After all.... the most prevalent myths about open carry by non LE that no one seems to be able to back up with actual factual researchable real life incidents are:

"Bad guys will target open carriers and take their guns."

and

"Bad guys will shoot the open carrier first".

Soooo... if there is any basis in real world fact for those oft heard myths I would surely like to see it. And I don't mean just one or two incidents over the past 30 years...after all... for there to be any concern of those things happening more often than lightning strikes there needs to be a plethora of incidents all over the country. Surely the main stream media would be harping on it if it were true?

And then, just to put it into perspective, perhaps comparing how often open carriers have their guns taken and/or are "shot" with how often concealed carriers get their guns taken or and/or are shot.... would be of interest?

But again... the decision as to open carry, concealed carry, open and concealed carry at the same time, or not carry at all, should always be an individual's personal decision. Even if that decision is based upon myth and not fact.

Because if we have a right to something then we decide for ourselves how, when, where, and why....

But when someone else (like the government or even public opinion) is in charge of telling us who, how, when, where, and why is "allowed"... then we don't have a right but we only have a privilege controlled by whoever has the power to do the "allowing".

 

[NavyLCDR]

I think there are plenty of people out there who would figure out how to take your open carry. They do it with wallets, and open carry, IMO, would just put more guns in criminals hands.

Right. Which is why the news is filled with Joe Citizens getting their guns snatched by criminals.... Oh, wait. There are no more than a couple reports per year of it happening. You see, contrary to popular belief, criminals are not stupid. They are just as afraid of getting shot as everyone else is. There is no reason to steal a gun from a Joe Citizen carrying it because 99.9% of Joe Citizens do not appear to be carrying firearms and it is much less life threatening to the criminal to steal money from them and just buy a gun - or steal guns that are left unattended.

 

[CarryInNewYork]

I agree with open carrying. If I could, I would. Theres not much difference, visually, between an undercover cop and a pedestrian. While walking downtown in my security uniform, I looked like more like a cop than some of the cops who were open carrying.

I dont think any criminal would open carry. But, thats just my opinion.