This topic may have been brought up before but I'm curious to hear other opinions . More than once I have been in a Walmart of all places and witnessed open carry , my issue is most of these people look under age ( which may be a concealed issue ) or resemble a person that I feel may or may not even need to possess a firearm .
My question / feeling about this is that these people want us to " feel the fact that they have a firearm , and it empower's them ? Which is a trait that I don't think we need in the firearm community ( just my opinion ) .
It somewhat offends me as basically " bad press" for our community , which these days we don't need at all ...... Any thoughts ?

Ill bite on this one...
1. I 100% agree that OPEN carry is not good for the Armed citizenry. Our nation has become fearful somehow we have allowed sidearms to be viewed as a negative thing for the common man. We have too many cry babies who fear their own shadow and the mere thought of an armed citizen is distressing for them.

2. I dont think open carry is tolerated well by the public and I dont care for it myself unless I have an Operational or Administrative purpose to do so. Otherwise its just not right for me.

3. I think that if a person is going to Open Carry, they should Open Carry in a manner that is professional in appearance and doesnt draw attention. Clean Clothes, properly worn, behaving like a good citizen behaves. the problem with my line of thinking is that in a free country people can dress however they want and go wherever they can go and open carry while doing it all. Who am I to judge someones clothing? Who am I to decide how another person is feeling whether they are packing or not.

4. Law abiding gun owners actually rarely get bad press its the mopes out OPENLY behaving foolishly and breaking the law that are the problem. We need to accept that there are more law abiding minorities than law breakers and that just because someone is open carrying doesnt mean they are "feeling" empowered or froggy. Im not Carmac the magnificient and we arent mind readers. Let em run. Live and let live. For me personally, Open Carry is just silly unless Im at Lobby Day or out and about my own property or on a firing range.

5.I personally think that Open Carrying rifles is just plain stupid. With all the above stated When I see "normal behaving" citizens open carrying, regardless of their fashion choices or what I think" they resemble, I often thank them for exercising their rights.

It's only bad press because of the pussification of our once great nation. Do I think OC is a good idea for most? Nope! Do I do it? Nope! Do I support their right to carry as long as they are 18 or older and a non felon? Absolutely. VA is becoming much like those other communist states that have made moves against law abiding gun owners. Now is not the time to stand against our legally carrying brothers and sisters, no matter how dumb they look with a hi point in a nylon Walmart holster. The time now is to educate and stand together.

I do agree with exercising your rights , but I feel that as firearms owners we at this time are under the microscope . I don't like it but it's true . I also feel that it's better to have your firearm ready for a situation but not out where a possible adversary can base his or hers decision to act out on the fact that a person in the crowd is armed . A person being armed ( outside carry ) may deter a situation but it mat also make them the first target .

I posted this looking for good feedback ! Our struggle is real and the younger generations are far easier persuaded into just letting things go , so they have no conflict and life is just easy . That's fine until someone puts them in a hostile life or death situation ...

I open carry in the summer usually and have not gotten any negative response but i conceal in resteraunts when i can so a gun hater doesnt add extra ingredients to my food. I refuse to be PC and let my wife or family be victims to random violence

imaduckin are you older than 60 and in a rural environment? a older person in a rural environment gets less attention that a young person in a urban enviornment. I support the right to open carry but concealed carry is much better for responding to threats. the element of surprise in a crisis is important. bad guys will shoot the old man carrying the 1911 first.

I don't have an issue with open carry at all , I guess I just feel that a wise gun owner would be discreet. Which I feel all of us on VAGT would be , just don't want less discriminatory people ruining it for the rest of us .... Which more than often seems to be the case

We as gun owners are ALWAYS in the spotlight. Thats how the country we live in is now. Regardless of doing good or bad, we are painted as bad. You are looking for good feedback? No. You are looking for support to bolster your beliefs in the opinions you already have. Keep in mind the younger generations as you put it act the way they do because the older generations let things slide and forgot how to teach their children the right way to be an American. A younger person's life is easier? Young people are easier persuaded to just let things go? You are making blanket statements that have no rhyme or reason other than an old mentality that young people suck, which each and every generation says about the next. Think back to when you were young. Did you do dumb things? I bet you did. Did you get influenced by someone that you probably shouldn't have? I bet you did. Human nature. Life. Thats how it goes.

And making open carriers the first target is neither here nor there. If that person open carrying is killed first because they are open carrying and the gun is seen by the shooter, the shooter is already committed and will do what it takes to complete the task they have set for themselves. Maybe it'll give someone with a concealed firearm time to make a judgment call. Maybe the person open carrying will stop the threat. Comjecture. All of it. You are offended by something trivial because you don't like it and that person is young.

It's not on us to decide if OC is ok or right. Its about exercising a right. For those who OC. Great, fine. Stop being dumb and get a carry permit or hurry up and turn 21...and get a carry permit. But regardless, congratulations that you are exercising your rights like so many others fail to do.

Im over 60 and live on the outskirts of town, but like i said im not PC and i exercise my rights for protection, im also handicapped

You are asking for opinions as stated in your post, not good feedback.

"Most people look underage"
Blanket statement with no baseline on which to judge firearms proficiency. I work for ABC and spend literally all my time at work pulling people's IDs who look underage. Looks can be deceiving. Only got 1 out of literally thousands, yes thousands of ID challenges I've done, that was under age. Looks are deceiving.

"resemble a person that I feel may or may not even need to possess a firearm"

What qualifies you to once again judge based on appearance? NOTHING. What constitutes a need to possess a firearm???? Subjective terminology.

The entire basis of your post nothing but you getting into your feelings. Nothing more.

This reads like a troll post. I can't even take it seriously.

OC is dumb


Going to Walmart is also dumb

Your original posts talks down very much so to people who open carry, and open carry in general. Then you later say, "I have no problem with open carry"

Which is it? I've been open carrying every day for the past at least 8 years with narry an issue. Granted i always conduct myself well and dress nicely most of the time

Why? Because i refuse to ask my government for a permission slip to put my shirt over my firearm. I dont want you or anyone else to "feel the fact" that I have a firearm, or be "empowered". That's probly in the top five of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Get over yourself. Your looking at it all wrong. Offended by open carry? If that offends you, maybe I should be leery of you carrying a gun. But hey I am glad you can judge whether or not one can posess a firearm by the way they look, you're a better man than I.

You are the one that negatively affects the gun community. Congrats.



Unless anyone's next responses read something like this, I will assume you are an enemy of the 2nd ammendment, and you probly voted for hillary.

Mabye I am looking at it all wrong and worded my thoughts in a way that a couple of you don't agree with but more times than not when I see open carry I don't care for it . Put whatever twist on it that makes you feel good . Again I'm all for our rights and I'm not against OC .

And I have no idea what a troll post is ....

I am twisting nothing. I am directly quoting things you said and pulling out the most ignorant parts and breaking them down. Nothing more than that. I didn't change anything you said. It doesn't matter how you word your thoughts on this, I believe you to be wrong. I disagree with you and posted exactly why I disagree with you. You are the one flipflopping.

"Again I'm all for our rights and I'm not against OC"

That statement is the exact opposite of your very first post and if you truly felt this way you wouldn't have created this thread in the first place sir. I believe you created it to garner support for a thought you had about an individual you observed without knowing anything else about said individual, and when it didn't work out and nobody was agreeing with you, you began backtracking.

Whatever I'm not backtracking, and not looking for any ones support . It boils down to the fact that I personally don't find OC necessary on most occasions , just my opinion . sorry you feel it your duty (boots) to give me a hard time . you win , I regret posting anything at all . thanks

I don't feel it is my duty to "give you a hard time". You ASKED for opinions. I gave you mine. It was not my intention to step on your toes.

"Open confrontation will trigger
over-powering resistance. Thus the key
to victory is the ability to use surprise tactics."

Sun Tzu
The Art of War

I don't blame people who don't open carry in communist NOVA or other areas of the state full of idiots. Where I live we don't attempt to hide our firearms. A lot of people just flip out when they see a gun. Example, about 10 years or so ago I went to the ABC store around lunch time during hunting season. When I reached through the slit in my bibs to get my wallet my .45 was visible. All of a sudden I hear in a northern yankee voice "HE's GOT A GUN! well I looked around, the clerk looked around and realized all eyes were on me. The clerk laughed and told the northern idiot that people like me were the reason he didn't get robbed.

A very good friend equated Open Carry to Inter-Racial marriage...

You may hate it, but it is LAWFUL and something that is here to stay...

...unless we give up.

what he said

I have no problem with open carry as long as you look like a serious person who knows how to handle himself. I have a problem with small unimposing people open carrying because it puts everyone in danger. It's the feeling you get when you see a 5'1 95 lb female police officer. You think to yourself that anyone with criminal intent could just walk up and help themselves to a free gun. If you open carry then you better practice good weapon retention, and be able to fight without a gun.

... and bunch of other LEOs and I... (off duty) were wearing out a PA Happy Hour once.

I made a similar statement as yours to this tiny lady...

She responded that she was the most dangerous LEO in the room...

"How so?" I asked

"Because the Threshold where I fear for my life and shoot you dead... is half of anyone else here... and a jury will agree."

----------------------------------

OC... CC... bag carry, truck carry... or carry any dang way you see fit...

AND please support ALL OF US THAT CHOOSE TO BE ARMED...

In a bad situation... I will take any good guy with a gun vs. no gun.

50% of the US wants only bad guys to have the guns.

Hell... I even support gun ownership/carry for the blind.

Man, I never thought a that