I have a request for all.
Recently there has been an upswing in otherwise pro-RKBA people denigrating open carry and the people who choose to do it. The word "stupid" is frequently used, with prime example of Dana Loesch saying during her radio show that "open carry is stupid."
Regardless of how you feel about open carry or why, it's going to harm all of us if people keep marginalizing the people among us who choose open carry. IT'S GOING TO HARM ALL OF US because when open carry is successfully outlawed or effectively negated by public opinion, the same thing is going to happen to concealed carry.
So my request has two parts:
- If you choose to open carry, please do so as responsibly and respectfully as possible (I leave the definition up to you). Like it or not, we're all being judged and at times you will receive additional scrutiny due to your choices. Please keep that in mind moving forward.
- To those who object to open carry: please express your objections in a civil and respectful manner. If you choose to provide reasons, please qualify your opinions with acknowledgement that it's an opinion (e.g. you lose the "element of surprise," or "you'll be targeted first,"). Using words like "stupid" and attributing character flaws to people who choose differently from you not only reflects poorly on you, it will be used against all of us by those who seek to disarm us when they parade the "see what the other gun people think of this" to people who are as yet undecided on RKBA issues.
Thank you!
I agree completely, but many of the CC only crowd see us as the enemy and cannot fathom that their agreement with the Anti-gun crowd only adds fuel to the ban all guns agenda.