Open Carry in Rural Arizona

[gundaddypv]

Open-carrying in rural Arizona is easy. All I have to do is avoid Yavapai Apache land, Costco and Denny's and all is well. I love open-carrying partly because I love how my Canik 55 TP9 looks, but also because I know it's a deterrent to would-be bad-guys and helps build awareness and desensitizes fellow Arizona Citizens to the presence of guns.

However, here's my issue:

I'm finishing college. I work in I.T.. I'm not allowed to carry at work, even concealed. I'd like to some day (hopefully soon) get a better job. I likely won't be able to carry at that better job either. In a small town like mine, word and reputation travels fast. If I get labeled a gun-nut, my chances for a job go down the tubes.

I have to be careful what I say, even.

Am I stuck in a rut where I'll never get to express how I feel or what I think, or is there an obvious path I might be able to take that I'm just too close to the situation to see? If you're not sure what I mean, my goal is to open carry whenever I can, participate in demonstrations (peaceful), and counter-protest the California Obamanites who demonstrate at the Courthouse Square trying to convince my fellow Citizens that gun-control is good.

Thanks for all the replies. No idea is too dumb, so let loose.


EDIT: From personal experience, I've learned to keep my mouth shut about most things, and to pretend I have no opinion about anything that doesn't have anything to do with my specific job. Even away from work if I'm within hearing-distance from co-workers.

 

[telpinaro]

Personally, I'd wait until firmly established at whatever company you want to work with and have a good reputation for getting the job done before having an opinion on anything, as you mentioned. I wouldn't go to any great lengths to hide anything (I'd still go to the demonstrations and whatever I wanted to do in my free time--those who'd have an issue with it won't be there), I just wouldn't bring it up. If someone I didn't trust with the info directly asked me, I'd likely politely say that was a topic I found too distracting for work, and excuse me but I'd better get back to it.

Nobody's going to fire someone who has established himself as a hard worker who does an excellent job, gun nut or not. Unless of course the boss is the nutcase, and then you don't really want to work for that person anyway.