Many people still want to argue about open carry versus concealed carry. Each side has strong opinions about their position. And I’m not telling someone that they need to change their position.
I would suggest looking into the potential implications of your position, though, if you advocate for open carry over concealed carry.
Why? Because, sometimes, people get hurt when their firearm is out in the open. And I’m not talking about the person carrying openly taking shots at people.
Today, we have a story about a horrible situation where a person openly carrying what looked like a firearm was on the wrong side of receiving the consequences of carrying openly. Jill McLaughlin writes,
Santa Ana police responding to a report of someone walking around with a shotgun killed the man before discovering the firearm was fake, the department announced Dec. 1.
The man, described by police as a Hispanic male in his 30s, was loading what appeared to be a shotgun, but police later found it was an airsoft gun, which shoots plastic pellets and is similar to a paintball gun.
That’s right, the man had an airsoft gun which, then, got him shot by police who thought that he had a firearm.
Sometimes you can’t tell the difference between a fake firearm and a real firearm quickly, and it sounds like that was the case here.
Which brings us back to the open carry versus concealed carry debate.
In today’s story, the man wasn’t carrying a pistol, but he was carrying the airsoft gun openly, so, really, what’s the difference between that situation and having a fake pistol holstered on your hip where everyone can see it? Both situations look like you’re carrying a firearm for all to see.
And that’s what leads to problems.
Whether it is a criminal trying to take your gun from you because they can see it (it happens more than you would think), or it is a situation like today where someone else opens fire on you because they see you as a potentially lethal threat even if you aren’t, or if you lose the advantage of surprise when in a situation where you have to shoot someone to save a life (which can mean the difference between actually saving a life or being disarmed before you can save a life).
All of these open carry situations have problems that carrying concealed doesn’t have.
And that’s why I recommend concealed carry over open carry. The life that you save may be your own.
Hi,
Open or concealed carry. For me the answer is easy. If your state allows open carry with no permit then open carry is the way to go. If your state requires a permit then, if you can get the local licensing person to let you get a concealed carry permit then that is the way to go. However almost every time one applies for that state license to carry it becomes a nightmare for the applicant, at least in my state Massachusetts. As a retired LEO I have no problem getting my license renewed other than having to spend $100.00 on a safety course approved by the state. I had to to be qualified every year as a P.O. with a hand gun. After 30+ years you tink I might be exempt from that requirement, nope.
Where the worthless cops indicted for manslaughter?? F-ing idiots!
This is another one of those examples of a simple question steeped in nuance. There’s a lot to unpack here.
First is to address the incident behind the story. We don’t have enough detail to draw any conclusions other than there must have been a multitude of things go wrong prior to the police shooting the guy with the rifle.
Some questions I have right off the bat are:
1.)What were his behaviors? For example, was he peacefully minding his own business, or was he menacing or giving a reasonable impression that he could be dangerous? Of course there are going to be folks who are triggered by the sight of a firearm, even if the one carrying it is in full uniform with proper credentials. There has been such a high volume of negative media coverage around firearms in general that sometimes those folks can overreact. But there’s a big difference between a uniformed officer carrying a secured sidearm and a regular individual who appears to be loading a gun in public.
2.) When the police confronted the individual with the fake firearm, were proper procedures followed? This is predicated on the guy with the gun not escalating the situation by making stupid moves or not following instructions. Sometimes people do things to provoke a response, because they thought they were right or in control, or because they truly did not understand what was happening. Language barriers go a long way to making simple situations spiral out of control. This last one could also have resulted from alcohol or substance abuse. If the responding officers had time and opportunity, did they try to de-escalate?
Personally, I believe that unless you are clearly in a police or military uniform, it’s best to conceal your firearm. How you behave when you possess a firearm is critical to how scenarios can play out. I’ve been in places where my shirt has briefly come up while getting my wallet in a checkout line. Once, someone briefly saw my gun and literally screamed “He’s got a gun!” as loud as possible. Staying calm is the absolute best thing to do if that happens. I apologized, put my shirt back over the gun, paid for my purchase and calmly left the store without incident. There was no police follow up and I have been back to the same store many times without further incident but I’m a little more mindful of the right ways to wear clothing while carrying.
Carrying a firearm is a right that I fully endorse and respect. Exercising that right responsibly is far more involved and complex than most people understand.
I would still like to know more of the details around the story.
I am pretty sure that since it was the police that shot him that there was something else going on there. I suspect that it may have been suicide by police. I am reasonably sure that if they told him to drop the gun and he complied that he would not have been shot! The police do not randomly shoot people just because they are carrying, but if you are, and you fail to comply with orders to drop it and/or point it where it shouldn’t be pointed you are likely to get shot.
If the Second Amendment means anything, open carry is Constitutional. Any thing else is leftist’s BS.
I don’t open carry because, if a would-be shooter spots the open carrier initially, that open carrier is going to be the shooters’ first target. Any shooter is going to consider eliminating any possible resistance the top priority
I don’t open carry because any would-be shooter is going to stack the odds in his favor by first eliminating anyone or anything that the shooter might consider an obstacle to his plan. Open carry would present such an obstacle
Same here. I don’t recommend it to students and don’t do it myself unless I’m at a range or on wilderness activity.
I have open carry for over thirty years living in Indiana, now live in Florida which is not legal which sucks. Much easier to carry in nice holster
Thank you for the story well written
Open carry vs. concealed has a lot of different considerations not least of which is the law in a specific state. My state is a 2nd amendment state and no license is required for concealed or open carry so I have used both but when I can I usually carry concealed just to avoid scaring idiots. But when I do open carry it is usually because of the weather. I live in a state where the temp is often in the high 90’s with high humidity. Sweat is a real issue. It is difficult and often uncomfortable to conceal an adequate defensive pistol in shorts and a thin T shirt. As far as worrying about being someone’s first target if I am obviously open carrying they are welcome to try. I often carry a single action .45 which I have been timed drawing and firing accurately in less than half a second. I also stay extremely observant of my surroundings when carrying but that is simple good advice for everyone who carries. It is my belief that when open carrying you are far less likely to be targeted because most bad guys do not want to get into a gunfight with someone who may be very skillful at shooting back. Not when they have the choice of waiting a minute until you are out of the area.