There is some yahoo running his mouth currently that those who open carry for any other reason than practicality are ass-clowns. Then another yahoo came in to say something that people exercising their rights caused California legislators to double down on stupid. Here's the thing, when people open carry firearms, 99.99999% of the time not a damn thing happens. Most of the time no one cares. When someone does care they are so irrational about it it would be funny if it wasn't for the danger they create by calling 911 one in a panic. Here's some extra qestions that are valid: Is the gun in his hand? No, then what the hell is the problem currently? Is he physically assaulting someone or provoking attack? Other than the fact he has a gun, what is he doing that is illegal or worth of suspicion? Guns being openly carried by law abiding citizens is not a problem. Yes some times cops are harassed by people saying, he has a gun. Good one's just inform them it's legal and carry on about their business. OK one's ask you to cover up to save them time. Bad one's falsely try and arrest the carrier. Open carry though helps desensitize those who would go into PSH over the sight of someone carrying a gun. Doubly so if you actually get either of those first two officers. (The second officer isn't really a bad guy, he's just tired of answering the same question over and over. He proves his intent when after covering he says thanks and doesn't even bother to ask for your permit.) The problem we get into is that we have those third officers, who by their illegal actions reinforce the PSH as being positive. The open carrier has every right to exercise his rights within the law. If a decent population doesn't exercise the right, just the same as your legislators used the hammer of legislative force because you did, they have no reason to preserve the right. If no one exercises it, why do we need to have it legal right, it's just those nasty bad men who do it then! This also ignores the fact that California is honestly not the best example to be using. But that's beside the point given that the law they changed resulted in a legal case to push for shall issue. Back to the overall theme and out of specifics; it is not the fault of the open carrier that the officer charged with enforcing the law decided to break the law and violate his rights for merely exercising them. It is not the fault of the open carrier that the officer decided to reinforce the PSH as being positive. It is the fault of their leadership and departments for allow their officers to get away with that behavior. Why do they get away with that behavior, because we have men like Pincus who say open carriers are ass-hats. Are there actual ass-hats who open carry that I wish they shouldn't? Yes there are, but they're not actually as common as someone makes them out to be. As Robb said, Do the loud people get attention? Yes, they will and you won’t be able to stop them by making their goals harder to achieve. Instead of expending the energy ripping the few, problem OC’ers because they’re a danger to your rights, use that effort to call your representatives and explain to them why they should support the 2A. Do like I do and host calm, non threatening Open Carry events. The trick is to speak softly and still be louder than the fools. Instead of bitching about people who open carry and calling attention to open carry as if all who do it politically are "ass-clowns" that are nothing but detriments to the fight for the Second Amendment, step up and talk about the good they've done. It's not my fault that some idiot doesn't understand that discretion is the better part of valor, and that in chess the game is to not loose. Calling me an ass-clown because I'm trying to help desensitize those people while also being considerably more comfortable while carrying doesn't exactly win you any points either. It paints you as nothing more than your generic FUD of the same type as those who gifted us the GCA 1968, the Hughes Amendment, and the '94 assault weapons ban. Guess what, shut the hell up, go sit in the corner, no one gives a crap what you have to say. Doubly so since you're so smart as to put cameramen down range next to a target with someone shooting live ammunition, it begs the question, who listens to the idiot when he speaks? He obviously doesn't have any credibility, integrity is questionable since he's providing ammunition to the enemy, and his attitude is in the gutter with regards to those on his own team. Maybe he should go sign up for Smoke and Chunder, obviously with how he feels open carriers are detrimental to the gun rights movement Pincus and the Admin should get along great. Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed when an open carrier does something stupid. Especially when they're stupid and they loose. However I direct my anger directly at that specific target. I spend my time making a lesson out of them to educate others. I call them out as a specific example because they are. They are not common, they are are rather the exception. Open carriers as a whole are not the problem, no matter their reason for carrying openly. *I realize Pincus probably didn't mean to lump all open carriers under that umbrella but that's exactly what he did. That's why you need to be very careful with your words when you're directing an insult at someone. You need to make sure it's directed in the correct direction. Continue reading →