If he/she is toting an AR or anything else for that matter out in the open and eating a hamburger the odds of being an unhinged psycho is slim to none at all and slim left Dodge.
Possibly, but after visiting public gun ranges and watching how some of these gun-owners violate every safe gun handling procedure ever recorded, I'd say your chances of getting accidentally shot by an "unloaded" firearm increase significantly. And I'd prefer not to get "accidentally shot" while I'm eating...
Ever go to a range and notice all the bullet marks that are 8ft up in the air by the light fixtures,....somebody put those there...
When I "bring a gun" to a public place, I am packing discreetly. Open carry, when abused in such a really stupid way turns the tide of public appearance against us. CAN do and SHOULD do are, in many cases, very different things.
Exactly! I don't agree with their lifestyle, but look at all of the strides the gay community has made by being low key. Never see much out of them and they are getting rewarded for it nationwide.
"My message to my troops is if you see anybody carrying a gun on the streets of Milwaukee, we'll put them on the ground, take the gun away and then decide whether you have a right to carry it." - Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn
Maybe, I just don't want to try and eat my cheeseburger next to a guy with an AR that may or may not be an unhinged psycho.
Think about that for a minute, Ghost. Isn't it just as likely that other folks in there are carrying that you don't know about? Bad guys don't usually, in fact, telegraph their intentions by openly carrying. That's the reason concealed carry was outlawed, except with special permission, to start with, i.e., under the assumption that honest folks go about with their weapons openly carried, while bad guys have reason to hide that they're armed.
I simply don't want to eat a cheeseburger in close proximity to some dumbschit with an AR strapped to his back.
Good thing you were never in the military. You would have been scared to death Do all guns frighten you, or just Ar's?
It doesn't make the least difference if it makes you, me, Ghostinthemachine, or Safariman nervous or not. The reason it's a stupid thing to do is that it "DOES" make a lot of other people nervous that might otherwise be on our side. They see this stupid stuff and wonder if we have sense enough to be trusted, and I can't blame them.
I carry concealed ALL the time by choice, even in IL where it is "illegal". If nobody knows, nobody has their feathers ruffled.
Been CCW since I got out of the Army and will continue to do so for as long as I am competent.
AND I will NOT let the .gov be the one to determine whether I am or not either!
Thought you were a retired police officer?
"My message to my troops is if you see anybody carrying a gun on the streets of Milwaukee, we'll put them on the ground, take the gun away and then decide whether you have a right to carry it." - Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn
Maybe, I just don't want to try and eat my cheeseburger next to a guy with an AR that may or may not be an unhinged psycho.
Think about that for a minute, Ghost. Isn't it just as likely that other folks in there are carrying that you don't know about? Bad guys don't usually, in fact, telegraph their intentions by openly carrying. That's the reason concealed carry was outlawed, except with special permission, to start with, i.e., under the assumption that honest folks go about with their weapons openly carried, while bad guys have reason to hide that they're armed.
I know exactly what you're saying. I'm just being honest about how myself and many others would respond to seeing it.
It doesn't make the least difference if it makes you, me, Ghostinthemachine, or Safariman nervous or not. The reason it's a stupid thing to do is that it "DOES" make a lot of other people nervous that might otherwise be on our side. They see this stupid stuff and wonder if we have sense enough to be trusted, and I can't blame them.
I am with those who, aside from suporting the freedom to do so, would prefer that others not openly display firearms just for show in most public settings. But, I do not agree with your above reasoning that it is "stupid" to do so.
Lots of things make people nervous, but the absence of nervous instances does not enable or cause them to "change sides" about such stimuli - their ignorance of lack of familiarity simply persists and the bias continues. If a person is so small-minded and emotion driven that he/she cannot think about the logical aspects of firearm possession in a rational manner, there seems no reason whatsoever to pander to their frailty - because pandering there will do no good. And, there is the possibility that ongoing exposure to stimuli which now make them nervous - absent negative results - might actually help them "get over it".
In addition, I think the matter of firearms familiarity and acceptance is much more complex than "our side and their side" - it might be nice if it were that simple. If there is a contest involved, I think it has to do with rationality, facts and experience being the winner over emotion and rather blind ideology.
Again, in most cases I would prefer that folks not draw undue attention to carried firearms just for the sake of display - but I do not agree that such is blanket stupidity.
I believe religion should be the same way. Keep it and shut the [bleep] up.
No, Christians shouldn't preach to those who have made it clear they don't want to hear it. We are however mandated by Christ himself to spread the Good news. Please forgive those of us who don't understand that, and instead preach condemnation. They are wrong but they mean well.
It doesn't make the least difference if it makes you, me, Ghostinthemachine, or Safariman nervous or not. The reason it's a stupid thing to do is that it "DOES" make a lot of other people nervous that might otherwise be on our side. They see this stupid stuff and wonder if we have sense enough to be trusted, and I can't blame them.
I am with those who, aside from suporting the freedom to do so, would prefer that others not openly display firearms just for show in most public settings. But, I do not agree with your above reasoning that it is "stupid" to do so.
Lots of things make people nervous, but the absence of nervous instances does not enable or cause them to "change sides" about such stimuli - their ignorance of lack of familiarity simply persists and the bias continues. If a person is so small-minded and emotion driven that he/she cannot think about the logical aspects of firearm possession in a rational manner, there seems no reason whatsoever to pander to their frailty - because pandering there will do no good. And, there is the possibility that ongoing exposure to stimuli which now make them nervous - absent negative results - might actually help them "get over it".
In addition, I think the matter of firearms familiarity and acceptance is much more complex than "our side and their side" - it might be nice if it were that simple. If there is a contest involved, I think it has to do with rationality, facts and experience being the winner over emotion and rather blind ideology.
Again, in most cases I would prefer that folks not draw undue attention to carried firearms just for the sake of display - but I do not agree that such is blanket stupidity.
I understand what you are saying and agree with the spirit of it. I just think we should be as smart as the liberals and start out with "Three's Company" rather than " Brokeback Mountain".
Maybe, I just don't want to try and eat my cheeseburger next to a guy with an AR that may or may not be an unhinged psycho.
Think about that for a minute, Ghost. Isn't it just as likely that other folks in there are carrying that you don't know about? Bad guys don't usually, in fact, telegraph their intentions by openly carrying. That's the reason concealed carry was outlawed, except with special permission, to start with, i.e., under the assumption that honest folks go about with their weapons openly carried, while bad guys have reason to hide that they're armed.
I know exactly what you're saying. I'm just being honest about how myself and many others would respond to seeing it.
I think I know what you're saying. Same reason I try to avoid the popular hours and days at the outdoor range, especially leading up to deer season.
I carry concealed ALL the time by choice, even in IL where it is "illegal". If nobody knows, nobody has their feathers ruffled.
Been CCW since I got out of the Army and will continue to do so for as long as I am competent.
AND I will NOT let the .gov be the one to determine whether I am or not either!
Thought you were a retired police officer?
He is.
So he can carry concealed in Illinois or nearly anywhere else he wants via the federal concealed carry privelege for retired police officers.
"My message to my troops is if you see anybody carrying a gun on the streets of Milwaukee, we'll put them on the ground, take the gun away and then decide whether you have a right to carry it." - Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn
Do all guns frighten you, or just Ar's? ![[Linked Image]](https://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2a/7e/b0/2a7eb050314fac77e0648ce349fe2261.jpg)
