# Open carry vs. concealed carry **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 28, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570 "2015-12-28T16:05:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570/61 "2015-12-28T23:16:03Z")
Let me throw out an example. Lets say I am in Florida and I can open carry and I do. So, I swing by the day care center to pick up my kid. Some liberal gun hating women get their panties in a twist about my gun when I get there. I tell them “ladies, I am just here to get my kid. I have the right to have this gun on my hip”. Later, they claim I was “a threatening presence and the gun scared the children”. How the hell do you straighten that mess out with a vague law? Was I an asshole? Were they a bunch of wussies? What if I get targeted by the prosecutor from hell? Even if I win the legal battle I loose ($$$$). ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570/62 "2015-12-28T23:28:14Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Let me throw out an example. > > Lets say I am in Florida and I can open carry and I do. So, I swing by the day care center to pick up my kid. Some liberal gun hating women get their panties in a twist about my gun when I get there. > I tell them “ladies, I am just here to get my kid. I have the right to have this gun on my hip”. > > Later, they claim I was “a threatening presence and the gun scared the children”. > > How the hell do you straighten that mess out with a vague law? > > Was I an asshole? Were they a bunch of wussies? What if I get targeted by the prosecutor from hell? Even if I win the legal battle I loose ($$$$). I understand what you are saying. If you had a very strict law, if X then Y, you could probably envision a scenario where a person was being an absolute dick with an open carry gun, scared everyone around them but managed to technically avoid committing X. So no Y. Is that better? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570/63 "2015-12-28T23:31:00Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I understand what you are saying. > > If you had a very strict law, if X then Y, you could probably envision a scenario where a person was being an absolute dick with an open carry gun, scared everyone around them but managed to technically avoid committing X. So no Y. > Is that better? IMO its probably better than a vague law that can get some “honest” person in trouble. Kinda like the whole premise of our legal system that its better that a bunch of criminals go free than some innocent dude do time. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570/64 "2015-12-29T00:11:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I have a CCP, but I do not carry a firearm. > > Given that most people are uncomfortable around people who openly carry guns, and given that people who openly carry guns are (obviously) doing it intentionally, people who openly carry guns are at least rude, and at worst, assholes. I agree. Additionally, I’m of the opinion that open carry is not a deterrent for people who are out to do harm, rather it just shows them who they need to take out first. ---
**Author:** ![Dickerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Dickerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dickerman)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570/65 "2015-12-29T01:42:53Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > So if I see someone in a public place in an open carry state with an assault rifle slung over their back, muzzle pointed downward, should I report them to law enforcement, or ignore them? What if they look Middle Eastern, with a beard? I’m not going to tell you what to do. Most proponents of open carry do not open carry long guns, apart from maybe in relation to hunting and shooting sports. The discussion of open carrying long guns is against the forum rules at places such as [opencarry.org](http://opencarry.org): [Long Gun OC | OpenCarry.org](http://www.opencarry.org/?page_id=1165) for good reason I think. I don’t find it useful to discuss the issue of long gun open carry, either with opponents, who attempt to use as an extreme for the sake of argument, or with proponents who I’d generally disagree with. Open carrying safely holstered handguns is a significantly different matter and I believe is what the OP was asking about. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570/66 "2015-12-29T05:01:33Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Yup, which is why driving is not a right, but a privilege. And who isn’t disturbed when they see people engaging in dangerous behaviors like excessive speeding in residential neighborhoods or not wearing their seatbelts? > > That said, a car is primarily intended to transport people. In contrast, the purpose of a gun is inflict harm or to signal the ability to inflict harm. So why should we be encouraging people to be \*less \*afraid of guns? If guns ceased to scare people, then there will be little point in opening carrying a firearm. > > Yup, which is why smoking is not a right, but an activity that increasingly becoming harder to do because of public health concerns. Of all the things that you could have picked to make your point, you picked the one activity that disturbs pretty much everyone who enjoys breathing clean air. Good one. But you’re not disturbed when you see a car being driven, are you? Nor is the purpose of a gun to inflict harm upon a person. If so, they fail badly at this, since less than about 1% of all guns are so used. Target shooting, collections, hunting are all major purposes for guns. Really? \*\* Not a single State prohibits smoking in public. \*\*(Some do in enclosed spaces, but none in the open). Look, some people have Ophidiophobia. That doesn’t mean everyone else should be “disturbed” when they see a person carrying a large python (which can be quite deadly, but rarely is- just like guns). Just because \*you \*appear to have Hoplophobia, it doesn’t mean everyone else should be “disturbed” by the sight of a gun. But again, does the sight of a armed policeman “disturb” you? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570/67 "2015-12-29T05:03:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Given that most people are uncomfortable around people who openly carry guns, and given that people who openly carry guns are (obviously) doing it intentionally, people who openly carry guns are at least rude, and at worst, assholes. That is not a given. Sure, carrying around a large military look semi-auto rifle is odd. But even open carry proponents dont care for that. The sight of a holstered revolver is not scary to me. Now, sure, _in CA_, it would be a little odd. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570/68 "2015-12-29T05:16:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Now, sure, _in CA_, it would be a little odd. Well, I’m _from_ California, which is the most populous state with about 39 million people. Having been in a large jury room when [someone in one of the courtrooms shot his wife to death](http://www.thefreelibrary.com/JURY+FINDS+VALLEY+PHYSICIAN+GUILTY+OF+1ST-DEGREE+MURDER.-a083857624), I saw how _everyone_ reacted to hearing the shots. Well, everyone except me. I was sitting on the bench, wondering about the caliber and thinking how rude it was for the guy to murder his wife with so many people around that he was freaking out. . ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570/69 "2015-12-29T19:50:06Z")
It seems to be accepted that open carry may be considered normal in some places but not others. So what makes the difference? Generally speaking it is that people do it in some locations but not others. It has been said that a right unused is a right denied which is why open carry advocates Open carry so that the right to do so is not lost. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-carry-vs-concealed-carry/741570.md?page=3)