I firmly believe in the constitution.
I believe a very rational case can be made for the premise that you don't, unintended and well-meaning as you may be in your deviations from "firmly" believing in the Constitution.
I also follow the law and with hopes that the law is following the constitution.
Do you believe that the imposition of gun free zones on a free people protected by the God-given, unalienable right to keep and bear arms that
shall not be infringed is consistent with the law(s) following the Constitution?
But I also have regard for how my actions affect other people. I try to be considerate of other people.
So do I. I have no idea what that has to do with me openly carrying the best portable tool available to defend myself should someone decide to attack me
or the people around me, but I do definitely try to be considerate of other people. (That is somewhat tongue-in-cheek as I get the implication that you think it inconsiderate to OC at schools or churches or wherever
you deem it so, but in reality, one has nothing to do with the other.)
I don't chit-chat during worship services or at the movies just because I can.
Neither do I. What little chit-chat I hear in those kinds of places comes from other people whispering amongst themselves about my openly carried weapon. They are, in fact, disturbing my peace and interfering with my ability to enjoy the movie and/or hear the Word of God from the pulpit. You have the aggrieved party exactly backwards in these examples.
I don't drive 45 mph down the highway just because I can.
I drive well under the speed limit for a couple of reasons. One, it saves gas and thus, money. Two, it reduces the eventuality of being stopped by a cop, and being a law-abiding citizen, I'm all about avoiding contact with the criminal entity known as "law enforcement" in this country.
I do not live my life with the attitude that I can live it how I want and to hell with everyone else.
I never wish Hell on anyone else, but besides that, the above sentence is what makes me question your "firm" belief in the Constitution. The only time anyone has a legal rationale to stifle any behavior I may engage in is if it harms them or infringes on their rights to
lead their lives how they want without interference from anyone else.
I'm a private person but interact with my community. I do not choose to live in isolation.
The hidden innuendo here is staggering in its irrationality. Considering the context of the discussion where you say this, it seems clear to me that you think that anyone who OC's in or around a school (and maybe a movie theater and/or church) are somehow isolating themselves from society and/or proving by OC'ing that they are incapable of interacting with their community. And you say this at least partially in reply to a Lt. Commander in the US Navy who spends a good portion of his life deployed at sea on a ship with a community of thousands cramped altogether for months at a time. There are people here who either OC themselves, or fully support OC as an extension of their full support for the Constitution, who volunteer within their communities for all manner of civic duty. Disaster relief, Salvation Army food truck volunteers, people who went to NOLA and other affected areas after Katrina blew through, people who deliver food to, and transport seniors to doctor's appointments etc., and much, much more.
Your implication above is utterly ridiculous at best, and offensive at worst, but either way, it's just plain wrong.
Being a good citizen is a complex thing.
And so is this implication. The choice to OC is as much a representation of being a good citizen as any single act you can name. And it is decidedly
not just so we "can prove a point." No one on this site who OC's has ever said it was just to prove a point. To a person who has expressed their rationale for doing it, we all OC as a way to
deter crime. For sure it's to deter crime against us, but if it works to accomplish that goal (and we all believe it does), then it enures to the benefit of everyone in close proximity to us. What does your concealed weapon even have the
potential to deter? Not a damned thing, so I guess
we are better citizens than
you, huh? I guess
our ability to suss out complex equations is superior to
yours, right?
I believe you are well-intentioned, but the road to Hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions. I don't relish feeling the necessity to come off as harsh, but I prefer straight talk over thoughtless and insulting innuendo. Take it with however many grains of salt you wish.
Blues