A little background: I've been mulling over the open carry vs. concealed carry for a long time. I've finally come to my own conclusion on the pros and cons. I must admit I'm writing this because of the outrage over the Starbucks letter.
I've always carried concealed, because I don't want to garner attention, yet I feel the need to exercise my rights and protect myself. In my opinion, open carry just doesn't have a place in this time and age. Besides all the shootings making headlines across America, some of the top negative stories regarding firearms stem from people open carrying.
So, what's the point of open carry? I've seen the responses about creating awareness, exercising our rights and changing laws. However, I've also seen how it leads to freaked out people and a lot of negative response. There are more people that are scared at the sight of a gun than there are gun owners. That's just the way it is now. People didn't freak out way back when, because it was the norm. It's not now.
I'm also a believer in "silent" wars. If they see you coming, packing heat, they'll freak out, and so will the government. If we sneak up on them silently, behind the scenes, without them knowing, that's where we'll make a difference and begin to really change the laws. I believe we can carry silently and win the war. I'm afraid that, if we don't, we're only going to keep losing ground.
