Open Carry: NOT JUST A BAD IDEA

I happened to run across an article which discussed "Open Carry", and I think it deserves som discussion.

First: here is the introduction to the original article:

Open Carry Firearm Stolen In North Carolina Walmart: There’s a lot of debate that takes place around the idea of open carry. Many argue that open carry is tactically stupid as it makes it clear to any potential bad guy who to take out first during a robbery. Others counter with arguments about how open carry initiates conversations about the Second Amendment and our right to keep and bear arms.

Having (intentionally) not read the whole article, I have an opinion.  Which will not surprise anyone wh has read this blogsite previously.

While it may or may not be an option which is universally acceptable in many stores (it isn't, as a rule of thumb), there are reasons beyond "some dude can steal your gun out of your holster and shoot up the joint"

That's just stupid; guns are easy to get, you don't need to assault a carry-gun owner to get one.

But if you don't mind the need to immediatly put a gun in plat ... it's "do-able".

Ignoring that possible-but-improbable scenario, here is why I think that Open Carry is A Bad Idea:

IT FRIGHTENS YOUR NEIGHBORS!

No, not the guy who lives next door to you, and probably (unless you're not a friendly neighbor) knows you carry a gun. 

It frightens the people in the grocery store who see a guy with a gun on his hip.  The best way to shorten the check-out line at WalMart is to open carry a pistol.

The folks who notice your gun are going to leave their prospective purchases on the counter and quickly exit the store.  That gets you to the head of the line right away, but the store manager is going to be pissed because he not only has lost some business, but he has to re-stock the shelves with the crap  valuable merchandise everyone else had planned to buy from him.

So even if you think you're the force of righteousness and the protector of decency, the fact is that a business which allows you to open carry will have less business and more people who won't shop at Bi-Mart (whatever) in your town any more., because the other folks think that they're shopping at a potential shooting gallery.

This is NOT "A Good Thing", and it will not look good on your resume. 

Write that down.

I live in Oregon.  You don't get much more "wold-WEST" than that, in this country.  And I would not ever open carry a pistol when I go shopping. 

I do NOT want to imprint myself as a gunner. 

That would be an act of hubris, and is not what a responsible gun owner should do.

Carry?  Sure!  I can carry a "mini-gun" (P3AT) in my hip pocket, or a full-sized pistol (.1911) in a more clumsy, but still concealed under my coat during the cold season.