In my state, open carry is (mostly) LESS restricted than concealed carry. The primary exception is government buildings–open carry is prohibited, but concealed carry is usually allowed. CC requires a permit (other than very specific circumstances) – OC does not require a permit.
Sorry, that last part needs correction. I intended:
“It is how the open carriers I know and have seen practice.”
Open carry hasn’t been tested in The Supreme Court
Even Scalia says the 2nd is not unlimited.
I don’t want to get into a debate on gun rights. All I can say is this: here in Ohio, many of us are working very hard to reduce the number of restrictions on gun ownership and the carrying of guns. There has been steady progress over the past 20 years. In fact, just today our governor signed a bill to allow concealed carry at colleges and in daycares. As for concealed carry, we will keep fighting until all restrictions are eliminated; the ultimate goal is for Ohio to become like Vermont, wherein anyone can carry a concealed handgun without any license whatsoever.
Snarky answer: Yeah, and so is pissing in alleyways.
Serious answer: Yes. It’s too firmly enshrined in the law, too well supported by extremely dedicated advocates, and has a strong traditional appeal, especially in rural areas.
No, it’s a threat to all others, because everyone is a potential criminal.
A chunk of the people who carry are assholes (because a chunk of any group of people are assholes). Moreover, carry (concealed and open) seems to attract more than its share of assholes, because there is a percentage of CCW and OC people (maybe only a small percentage, but a visible one) who seem to regard that gun as proof of their masculinity or some such: carrying a big bad gun makes them a big bad man, at least in their own minds.
Ask any store clerk or really anybody in a service position how many of their customers are assholes. Ask any clerk how many times they’ve been the subject of rude, overbearing customers who are ready to go ballistic because the product rang up as not on sale, or the part they want is back-ordered, or the dipping sauce costs an extra 25 cents, etc. Now imagine trying to explain to that angry customer that no, they really can’t have that item at a discount, while the customer is very obviously carrying a lethal weapon. Are you going to be as assertive, as willing to stick up for store policy and/or state law? Or are you just going to give them whatever they want, even if the customer isn’t directly threatening you with the gun?
If everybody was reasonable and not an asshole, this isn’t an issue. Many gun owners are reasonable and not assholes, but gun owners as a group have been willing to tolerate the jackasses and morons who carry only because they derive their self-worth from a hunk of metal, and that tolerance has consequences, one of which is that gun owners as a group are tarred with the behavior of the asshole contingent.
My state is New Hampshire and open carry is less restricted than concealed, except that you need a license to carry a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle. You can drive around with loaded long guns in a car, or unloaded handguns in a car, but a loaded handgun requires a permit.
I rarely see anyone open carrying, anywhere, ever, which is good.
Our neighbors are Vermont and Maine, which means very soon this state will also be constitutional carry - no permit required.
They say an armed society is a polite society, but I’ve been around enough cowboys to know better.
There is no unsafe gun handling in either of those pictures.
It also has a chamber flag. In fact, all of the rifles in that picture have a chamber flag. That indicates they are unloaded and cannot be discharged in their current state.
What does any of that have to do with “unsafe handling”? You’re changing the point.
They have control of their rifles. The rifle is attached to their bodies for Pete’s sake.
About as easy as grabbing them by their clothes and yanking them around. That doesn’t mean the rifle is easy to snatch away (it isn’t). It also doesn’t mean that it’s easy for a bystander to come by and fire the unloaded weapons (it isn’t).
Those pictures do not demonstrate unsafe open carry. Especially not the first one which appears to be a bunch of people carrying unloaded weapons to a gun show or other gun-related event.
There are plenty of examples of unsafe gun handling out there. You can do better than those pictures.
Then there’s no defensive reason to carry a rifle or shotgun in public like that. It’s more like intimidation/showing off/just because I can/I don’t give a shit about others feelings rather than a real need.
As far as poor handling when the gun is “safe”-As you practice, so you do in real life.
Well, yea. But that’s a separate issue.
Can you restate this a different way? I am not sure what you’re saying?
By the way, here’s a perfect demonstration of unsafe firearms handling. And it’s not simply because “they’re children”.
Here’s another:
http://www.returnofkings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/gun-thug-art-79297ed473046d0d.jpg
[Emphasis added]
I won’t argue that these people aren’t proficient, but most of the required training in states that require such training for a CCW is not about handling weapons at all. In my state, the 8-hour course is primarily about the legal aspects, including where handguns can be carried and circumstances that justify their use. I feel at least a little bit better knowing that a CCW holder has had 8 hours of classroom training, passed a 50 question exam, and demonstrated at least a reasonable level of proficiency in using the weapon under a state-approved instructor’s supervision.
And this is completely separate from the criminal background check, fingerprinting, and interview with a sheriff’s deputy required for the actual issue of the CCW permit.
If you develop bad habits in practice, it can spill over into real life. Example: You maintain awareness of the muzzle when the gun is loaded but once it’s unloaded, you allow the muzzle to point where it shouldn’t. In a moment of distraction, you point the muzzle at someone when the gun is still loaded.
There have been cases of both instructors and students in concealed carry classes being both killed and wounded by loaded weapons.
Those two pictures I posted I still consider bad gun handling. They are both allowing the muzzle to point at others because the gun is “safe”.
Are you married?
NM
Too late!
Loving v. Virginia.
[Quote=Chief Justice Earl Warren]
Marriage is one of the “basic civil rights of man,” fundamental to our very existence and survival… To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State’s citizens of liberty without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discrimination. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.
[/Quote]
We need to get rid of the licensing requirement for marriage, too. 
Why would this be something to encourage? Why in the world would you think this was a good idea? Just because a few paranoids will do it anyway? :smack: