The open carrying of firearms in public places is inherently threatening and intimidating, and poses risks to those nearby, to law enforcement and to the community.
You'd think with such a dire threat, they would have some anecdotes of open carriers causing people harm or even just behaving in a disorderly fashion, but no.
For example, when open carry has occurred in retail stores, other customers quickly become alarmed and the police often are called to the scene, creating a volatile and potentially dangerous situation. Everyone should have the right to sit in a coffee shop or a restaurant with their families, including their children, without being confronted with the threatening presence of openly-displayed handguns and assault weapons.
That's it. The worst that has happened is that some people see a gun and react with fear. The gun isn't harming anyone, being pointed at anyone, or even handled. It's simply present. And that is apparently enough to petition for the prohibition/regulation of open carry.
Businesses should bar the open, as well as the concealed, carry of firearms on their premises. States where open carry is largely unregulated should either prohibit open carry, with limited exceptions, or adopt measures to subject open carry to strict licensing requirements in the interest of public safety.
Simply being afraid of someone or something is not enough of a reason to restrict someone's rights. That's why Jim Crow and Segregation are no longer around. You can't legislate based on feelings.
The right to carry is on the rise. You won't find many states willing to further curtail the right to bear arms. More people are exercising their right to carry, and thanks to recent legislative victories, they can carry in more places. As said on the Brady Campaign's own page, "More and more gun owners, seeking to “make a statement” about their right to have a gun, are openly carrying guns in public places..." Even Thug-in-Chief Edward Flynn is mulling over the idea of allowing concealed carry in one of the few states that don't allow it.
When will the Brady Campaign realize that just like the Segregationists, they are on the losing side of this issue?
4 comments:
If the police are often called to the scene, then they should be able to cite all of the police reports, right?
They should be able to quote from all the hysterical people, right?
The fact is a few people might be upset but not the overwhelming flood of people they claim.
There just isn't any evidence of a problem.
Even if they could fill a semi-truck with police reports of scared citizens, it means nothing. While private businesses are free to implement any policy they want, the government does not exist to guarantee one's emotional comfort. Thus when their petition finally reaches the government, it should fall on deaf ears.
For example, when open carry has occurred in retail stores, other customers quickly become alarmed and the police often are called to the scene.
And whose fault would that be? If I'm peacably going about my business and some hoplophobe calls the cops perhaps the hoplophobe(s) are the problem.
If I'm doing nothing illegal then folks shouldn't be calling the cops. If someone DOES call 911 on me the dispatcher should tell him/her to suck it up and quit tying up emergency services.
Ditto for the cops coming. If anyone should be cited for "inciting a panic" or "disorderly conduct" it should be the hoplophobe, not the person who committed no crime.
And really, the Brady's scream about how dangerous we are, yet what happens at these OC things? The worst that happens is someone gets offended and the cops show up. OC'ers aren't being convicted of crimes and there's no "blood in the streets" that the Brady's have promised for decades.
The fact is a few people might be upset but not the overwhelming flood of people they claim.
Bob - In my experience many people either don't notice, don't care, or assume you're a plainclothes LEO.
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