# Americans: so, you walk into a store and spot that everyone is armed **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2014, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856 "2014-08-05T11:26:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/21 "2014-08-05T12:35:24Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > They get paid for range time…but knowing how to shoot is not the same thing as knowing _when_ to shoot. So, they open carry and you’re afraid they will shoot you for some reason. If they all carried concealed you’d have no reason to think differently, and who’s to say they aren’t? ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/22 "2014-08-05T12:36:07Z")
I’d think it was a little odd, then not give it another thought. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/23 "2014-08-05T12:38:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > So, they open carry and you’re afraid they will shoot you for some reason. If they all carried concealed you’d have no reason to think differently, and who’s to say they aren’t? If I was aware they conceal carried my reaction would be the same as open carry, but I can’t act on information I don’t have. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/24 "2014-08-05T12:38:25Z")
I would quietly leave and not return. As to the question of why I would behave this way it boils down to a lack of confidence in the abilities of the people with the guns. While I am sure the risk is low, I don’t how I am to determine who is legally armed and who is not. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/25 "2014-08-05T12:42:25Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I’d find myself curious as to who they were expecting to need to shoot during the normal course of business. I would be less than comfortable shopping there, and after I left I would attempt to find a similar store to shop at in the future where people didn’t open carry. The cops that shop at my store say gas stations tend to get robbed 3 or 4 times a year. Would it make you feel better if the shop owner said all the stores (of that class, say a gas station) in your area had been getting robbed regularly for the past 20 years, but since his employees started OC, his store hasn’t been hit once. His store is now the safest one in your area to shop at. IOW, you can get your gas at the gas station down the block, but your more likely to be involved in a robbery down there. (FTR, I just want you to see both sides. And this is coming from someone who’s store WAS robbed at gun point. I did keep a gun at work for a while (though not OC) because I DID have someone I expected to shoot). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/26 "2014-08-05T12:44:52Z")
> [@DrumBum](#): > > I would quietly leave and not return. As to the question of why I would behave this way it boils down to a lack of confidence in the abilities of the people with the guns. While I am sure the risk is low, I don’t how I am to determine who is legally armed and who is not. What does the ability of the shooter and being legally armed have to do with each other? That is, if someone is illegally carrying a gun it doesn’t mean they can’t do it safely or that it’s going to randomly go off of that they’re a bad shot. I don’t know about other states, but in WI, the OC laws are pretty lax. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/27 "2014-08-05T12:45:50Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > The cops that shop at my store say gas stations tend to get robbed 3 or 4 times a year. Would it make you feel better if the shop owner said all the stores (of that class, say a gas station) in your area had been getting robbed regularly for the past 20 years, but since his employees started OC, his store hasn’t been hit once. His store is now the safest one in your area to shop at. IOW, you can get your gas at the gas station down the block, but your more likely to be involved in a robbery down there. > > (FTR, I just want you to see both sides. And this is coming from someone who’s store WAS robbed at gun point. I did keep a gun at work for a while (though not OC) because I DID have someone I expected to shoot). I understand the right of a business to prevent theft. That said, personally as a customer I’d prefer you hand over the cash and get the asshole out of there ASAP as opposed to getting into a gun fight with me in the store. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/28 "2014-08-05T12:46:05Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Why? > > Why? Because hopefully there are stores that would provide the exact same services except for the fact that everyone in it is carrying a device which its sole purpose is to injure/maim/kill. It’s pretty much the same reason that I won’t frequent a store where everyone in it has a leashed attack dog, or a live grenade, or a vial of anthrax. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/29 "2014-08-05T12:49:08Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Because hopefully there are stores that would provide the exact same services except for the fact that everyone in it is carrying a device which its sole purpose is to injure/maim/kill. Unless, of course, they are all carrying concealed. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/30 "2014-08-05T12:50:10Z")
If the staff is justified in walking around armed then the store must be a very dangerous place. Perhaps it gets robbed all the time. So I would leave for my own safety. If the staff is just doing to prove some political point then they’re nutters. I prefer not to do business with nutters. So I would leave and find someplace saner to shop. Either way, I’m out of there and I would tell all my friends to avoid the place. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/31 "2014-08-05T12:51:48Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > So, they open carry and you’re afraid they will shoot you for some reason. If they all carried concealed you’d have no reason to think differently, and who’s to say they aren’t? That is not what I said. I just think that if the staff should get a bonus for range time, they should get a larger bonus for taking a safety course. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/32 "2014-08-05T12:55:13Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > The cops that shop at my store say gas stations tend to get robbed 3 or 4 times a year. Would it make you feel better if the shop owner said all the stores (of that class, say a gas station) in your area had been getting robbed regularly for the past 20 years, but since his employees started OC, his store hasn’t been hit once. His store is now the safest one in your area to shop at. IOW, you can get your gas at the gas station down the block, but your more likely to be involved in a robbery down there. > > (FTR, I just want you to see both sides. And this is coming from someone who’s store WAS robbed at gun point. I did keep a gun at work for a while (though not OC) because I DID have someone I expected to shoot). And just to be fair, do you see that this is the exact opposite of the hypothetical in the OP? In the OP’s store, they (the individual people) are NOT carrying because they might get robbed. They’re carrying because they get a bonus & free range time if they carry. The owners might want them to carry so as to provide a visual deterrent to armed robbery, but the actual people working in the store? It’s just a part of the uniform, with an unusual perk. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/33 "2014-08-05T13:01:48Z")
I would run away and hide. Guns give off Evil Vibrations that make people suddenly snap and begin shooting at random. It happens all the time - you could look it up! Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/34 "2014-08-05T13:01:49Z")
If it’s a check-cashing place in a high-crime neighborhood? I’d probably shrug and go about my business. If it’s a massage parlor in a ritzy part of town? I’d think, “that’s really weird” and probably not go back again. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/35 "2014-08-05T13:03:57Z")
To the OP: wouldn’t bother me in the least. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/36 "2014-08-05T13:04:17Z")
I’d leave. You can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys just by looking and accidents happen, so I’ll just go somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![BigDadWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@BigDadWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDadWolf)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/37 "2014-08-05T13:09:08Z")
I would leave and not return. I don’t want to be in the middle of a shootout and I believe with lots of guns around the chances of that happening are greater than otherwise. I respect the business’s right to do what they want but that doesn’t mean I want to be around it. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/38 "2014-08-05T13:10:09Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Imagine that one day you walk into a random store. It might be a Walmart or a bookshop or a MacDonalds or a coffee shop or an estate agent (realtor), but not a gun store. At first, everything seems normal, but after a bit, you notice that all the staff are discreetly armed. Not just some, but all those legally allowed. There are other customers, conducting business as normal. > > What are your feelings? What are your actions? > > If you inquire: > > The staff get a small bonus for being armed and paid-for range time. I’m gone. In 60 years on this earth, the only places I’ve seen people with guns are (a) in the hands of police or military, or (b) at a firing range. Since I’m unlikely to be patronizing a store in a place that actually needs its staff to be visibly armed, the overreaction on the part of the store is a danger in and of itself, and a much greater one than whatever they think they’re protecting themselves and their customers from. So I’m leaving and not coming back. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/39 "2014-08-05T13:12:14Z")
Hey, the workers do not carry and they’re not in the US, but I know a few stores and a couple of bars where it is commonplace to see customers carrying. Given who the customers are, it doesn’t bother me. The customers are cops, the locations are within sight of police stations. When you see cops at the bars they’re taking out trays of coffees, not anything alcoholic. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856/40 "2014-08-05T13:14:19Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That is not what I said. I just think that if the staff should get a bonus for range time, they should get a larger bonus for taking a safety course. OK. I guess I’d assume the business owner would stress safety, what with his liability cancers and all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-so-you-walk-into-a-store-and-spot-that-everyone-is-armed/694856.md?page=3)