99 times out of 100, references to “concealed carry” will refer to what is more accurately known as “shall issue”: the laws many states now have that the authorities cannot deny a carry permit to anyone who has proven that they are qualified for one. I have some questions about this: (1). What’s the deal with concealed carry vs. open carry? Do some states require that guns be carried concealed, while others require they be carried openly? And (2). Does the widespread (mis)use of the phrase “concealed carry” mean something? Is that what’s freaking out the anti-gun crowd - the idea that anyone out in public could have a gun concealed on them? Would open carry make them feel any better?
It varies from state to state.
From here (note that this was published in Shotgun News):
Being that I’ve got the day off, I’m going to the range this afternoon, and I intend to carry today, I will answer a few (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I am an honest citizen. Do not take my statements as legal fact, just honest, practical interpretation):
- “Concealed carry” vs. “open carry” in most states means that the pistol is somewhat concealed (either fully or in part concealed). This means it could be under a shirt, tucked into a pocket or waistband, in a boot, etc. Open carry generally means it’s in a holster on your hip, or in a shoulder holser in plain, recognizable sight. States may vary in the exact nature of concealed, but IMHO it generally boils down to recognizability–John Q. Citizen would reasonably recognize that I’m armed. “Open carry” from my observation, is mostly legal out west where one might have a practical need to carry a sidearm. Hikers, ranchers, cowboys etc. may want a sidearm to protect themselves from bears, coyotes, javelina, etc. Similarly, those in the security profession may want to open carry as well.
As a matter of fact, think of it that way–you recognize that police and security guards ‘open carry’. They have a purpose to open carry by virtue of their employment. “Open Carry” laws extend that to the general citizen as well. Some states don’t do that; my home state of New Jersey doesn’t want every John Q. Citizen wandering the streets with a wheelgun on their hip. States vary.
- Again, in my opinion, the media does have a lot to do with it, including some jackasses/bad apples. The whole point of “concealed carry” is discretion. You don’t want/need everyone in the world knowing you’re armed for whatever reason. Police, FBI, county sherrifs often conceal carry. However, there are a couple of shtheads out there that think they’re tough guys that want to conceal carry, but make it known to everyone in a McDonalds they are armed. This is bad because A) They’re acting like assholes, and we all know that assholes just sht all over everything, and B) it gives a negative reflection on those of us who just want to be discreet about the whole thing.
Not all states require a gun be concealed if you want to carry it. Again, from observation only, most states that allow it freely allow open carry, with restrictions on concealed carry. No state that I know of allows free concealed carry without allowing open carry. I’ve gotten my Georgia permit, and it was relatively painless–all it takes is registering with the County courthouse.
Tripler
Make sense?
Very generally speaking, open carry is allowed, in most states, to anyone that meets the requirements to own a pistol with some exceptions. Places like bars and banks are usually restricted as places as places where open carry is not allowed. The idea is that open carry let’s everyone know including law enforcement that you are armed before anything else happens.
Concealed carry permits are more restrictive because someone can obviously carry their pistol undetected. Concealed carry doesn’t just apply to carrying the gun on the body. Putting a pistol under your car seat or in the glove compartment is usually considered concealed carry as well and law enforcement wants someone that carries a gun like that to be checked out and know the correct procedure of announcing that fact when they get stopped in their car.
It is illegal to openly carry in Texas unless they have changed the law in the last three years.
FWIW,
Rob
Here is Ohio we (finally) have a CCW law in place. If you’re in Ohio and have a valid CCW license (which is “shall issue”) you can pretty much carry anywhere except for the following:
- Inside state-run or state-owned buildings.
- State-run schools.
- Anyplace that serves alcohol.
- Any business that voluntarily posts a CPZ sign.
Interestingly, Ohio law does not prohibit a CCW license-holder from carrying a concealed & loaded handgun into a bank. (I am a CCW-license holder, and I carry when I go to the bank. There is no law that says I can’t do it, hence I will.)
In Ohio there are no laws that prohibit open-carry. Therefore you’re allowed to open-carry and you don’t need a license of any kind to do it.
Out of interest, can you open-carry a firearm into a bank in Ohio?
Missouri is probably not unique in that open carry is legal statewide, because it’s not prohibited, but some cities and towns have passed laws making it illegal. So open carry is generally not seen on public property, at least in the Eastern part of the state. It’s too hard to determine if it’s legal or not. For example, St. Louis County has 51 or so incoporated town inside the County. Any one of these may have an ordinance prohibiting open carry. It would take a lot of research to determine what’s what, and it could change at any time.
Better to get a concealed carry permit, which really shouldn’t be required but that’s a Great Debate.
Some states, Virginia is one, prohibit concealed carry where alcohol is served. So when you go to a resteraunt in Virginia you have to open carry!
re: alcohol.
Texas on the other hand (and Arkansas IIRC) only disallow handguns in businesses where more than half the income is derived from alcohol. So while I can carry into most restaurants, I cannot carry into the ‘bar’ areas.
Also, while the DUI limits in most places are something around .08 the BAC level that is legal when carrying is 0. If you’re going to have a glass of wine with your steak you have to leave your gun locked in the trunk.
Edit:
Here is an excellent site detailing current regulations in all states.
FWIW, open carry laws vary greatly and I suggest this website: http://opencarry.org/ as a resource as it’s probably the best I’ve come across for simplicity. I live in Indiana and here open carrying is fine as long as you have a license (which I have). The gun license (IN is a shall issue state) just says “License to carry handgun” which means you can conceal it or not, but I’ve read that open carrying can sometimes cause more problems than concealed… For one, private businesses can tell people “no guns” and they can make people who open carry leave. Also, I’ll agree that it could make people feel uneasy with a guy eating dinner next to them with a Glock on their hip. Concealing it just makes everything easier IMO.
In Ohio there are no laws prohibiting a person from open-carrying inside a bank. Hence you can. The only excepetion is if the bank has a CPZ sign. And I suspect a person may be prohibited from open-carrying inside a federal reserve branch or something like that. But for most run-of-the-mill banks, open carry is not prohibited by law. 
One thing to note, is that one of the reasons for concealed weapons laws is for additional protection for people who AREN’T armed.
Let’s say you’re a guy who wants to go on a shooting rampage. You can do it anywhere you want. One state has zero concealed weapons laws – they are flat out illegal for the most part – another one is known for giving concealed carry permits to everyone who legally qualifies.
If you start shooting in the state/county/whatever with no permitted concealed carry laws, you’d know ahead of time that the odds are very good that no one in sight has a gun on them to shoot back at you. Sure someone might have one on them illegally, but the majority of the populace is going to be defenseless.
On the other hand, if you’re in a state where people have concealed weapons permits… you have no idea before you start your spree who around you has a gun and is going to start shooting back.
Does this theory work in practical terms? I have no idea. But I have heard it as a serious argument in favor of concealed carry permits.
Here in Los Angeles county, concealed carry permits are legal, but are close to impossible to get. My friends out in San Bernadino have permits, and the missus once saved the mister’s life when he was attacked (unprovoked) by half a dozen gang members. She only had to fire one shot in the air to get them to stop beating her husband up. They both have concealed carry permits. Easy to get out there.
I, too, am interested in the honest facts behind this idea. One data point: the relative ease of getting a conceal carry permit in San Bernadino sure didn’t give those thugs pause…
I have no ammunition to back up this argument, but here goes: Given the planning of crimes, I doubt that anyone except the rare few expect return fire from anyone during the commission of an armed crime. Of the quick liquor store holdups, the bank robberies, the muggings, etc., I seriously doubt the perpetrators give any preparation or thought to the fact their victims may be armed. If they did, they would most likely move onto a different target they thought would not be armed.
I can only think of the North Hollywood bank robbery, that dude who armored up his bulldozer, and maybe one or two more instances where the criminal expected and prepared for return fire.
So, in that case, I don’t think the theory on part on the criminal’s planninc process is valid, but I think the result is–catching the criminals by surprising them in the act with armed bystanders/victims.
Oh, and BTW: I carried yesterday for the first time in a long while. I had gotten used to ‘maintaining’ the gun and moving with a gun overseas in Afghanistan (you always carried at least a sidearm there), but every gun is different. It’s not that you’re paranoid about it, but you do have to be careful where you swing your arms lest you whack your funny bone. 
Tripler
Just my two cents–earlier pun intended.
I don’t have any ammunition for this either, but I would venture that in many areas criminals don’t need to plan for the possibility of encountering armed resistance. Based on my casual inquiries when I lived there, it is nearly impossible for an average law-abiding person to get a CCW permit in the City of Los Angeles. Thus the likelihood of encountering an armed victim is probably less than in an area where CCW permits are easier to obtain and where people are less hoplophobic.
And yet, despite my feelings about lack of planning, I wonder if the thought crosses the criminal’s mind say, here in Georgia, where it’s fairly straightforward to get a license. :dubious:
I still doubt any serious planning goes into it though . . .
Tripler
Johnny, you do give good food for thought.
I’m wracking my brain, and no luck. I read a book about 4 or 5 years ago about gun control. The author started the research intending on writing a book that was strongly opposed to concealed carry permits, and was so surprised by the evidence that the book ended up being about how much safer it was (in the US, where guns were already legal) to have concealed carry permits issued as opposed to a virtual ban like in Los Angeles.
I’ll keep looking for the book on my shelves, see if I can point to it more accurately.
Found it!
“More Guns, Less Crime” - by John Lott, Jr.
I’m not a gun nut by the way (I’m in favor of legal gun ownership, along with REAL gun control, REAL assault weapons bans, etc), and it’s been years since I’ve read the book, but I remember it being interesting, to say the least.
I’d never heard of the guy, but it just so happens that on my weather-delayed commute this morning, I was listening to the chapter in Freakonomics that kind of indicated this dude made up his data. I have no other cites and haven’t conducted any independent verification of the claims (and FWIW, I’m a CCW supporter).
Hmmm. Very interesting… anyone else have info on this? I’d love to know if it’s accurate.