<p>I’ve had occasion recently to get to know some people who routinely carry pistols in public – both concealed and openly. Of course, you’ll rarely spot see someone carrying a concealed pistol – that’s the whole idea of “concealed.” I have to admit, though, that if you are in one of the majority of states that have “must issue” laws, you start to look at everyone with a loose shirt or belt pack as carrying.</p>
<p>Here in Washington (and in a majority of states) it is perfectly legal to walk around with a loaded weapon. Doing so on private property may get the carrier asked to leave, but it is generally legal. </p>
<p>Full disclosure: I don’t have a concealed carry permit, and I don’t walk around with a pistol on my hip.</p>
<p>The thought that started this thread was, what would you do if you were shopping or at restaurant and one or more people walked in with holstered pistols? Let’s assume that the people in question are just regular folks – no skinheads, wild looks, or violent behavior.</p>
<p>That would be pretty unusual where I’m from (I’m not sure if it’s legal?), so I’d probably point it out to the people I’m with, maybe talk for a minute about why they have guns. After that, ignore them. I mean, that’s pretty much what I do with any unusual occurrence–notice, point it out, make conjectures, move on. :)</p>
<p>I’ve wondered about open carrying for awhile. Honestly, it seems like more of an attention getting thing than an actual need. From what I’ve heard, people give you an extra few feet of personal space. </p>
<p>Im with BP guy.
Unless someone is obviously an off duty cop of some sort- a powerful weapon brandished by the owner- and wearing it so that it can’t be missed- is just a step down from waving it around.
How is that different than a threat or a taunt?</p>
<h2>Get a couple people of that mindset in the same room & I will be looking for somewhere else to sip my lattes’</h2>
<p>I’d definitely try to avoid a fight with the guy, but I’m not really the type to get into bar fights, let alone bar fights with armed strangers!</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, it’s illegal to carry a loaded firearm, concealed or not, into any establishment that serves alcohol and prohibits entry to minors. In other words, if you bring a gun into a bar, you’ve already broken the law. This is probably true in most (all?) states, but it is definitely true in Washington.</p>
<p>EDITED: Mr. Payne raised the “are guns dangerous” question. The is an interesting subject, but may I politely ask that we stick to the thread theme of “what do you think of people who are legally carrying a pistol?” Thanks!</p>
<p>Motor vehicles are designed to carry goods/people.</p>
<p>Weapons that use bullets are designed to do one thing & one thing only.
Kill.
If you aren’t prepared to do that- then you don’t need to pick one up, let alone wear it as some sort of macho accessory.</p>
<p>Depends where I am. In Oregon, I’d size the person up and either ignore them or keep on eye on them. In North Dakota, I wouldn’t notice. In L.A., I’d get the hell out of there.</p>
<p>In New Jersey, I’d call the cops. Places where it’s legal, I’d probably leave and avoid whatever that establishment was. As said above, i have no way to know if normal looking means safe or not.</p>
<p>For the record, brandishing a weapon IS waving it around in a menacing manner with intention to intimidate. A holstered weapon is not a brandished weapon. </p>
<p>Personally, a person with a holstered handgun doesn’t bother me. I would probably assume they were off-duty or plainclothes police officers. And I would assume an openly displayed weapon is carried by someone who has completed proper training and licensing. But, many members of my family have been in law enforcement (from DPS Academy chief to Secret Service/ATF to state trooper), so that definitely affects my reaction. And I live in a state where it is very common for law-abiding, normal people to be personally armed. It is also very common for bad guys to be personally armed as well.</p>
<p>But…slightly off-topic… most law enforcement officers prefer the average citizen not be armed with a handgun. In our home, we have shotguns and rifles (for hunting), but no handguns.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s “irrational” to fear inanimate objects sole purpose of which is to kill.</p>
<p>I grew up with guns. My father hunted, my mother was an excellent shot, and my brothers and I shot skeet (in the front yard of our inside-the-Beltway suburban house. I find this horrifying now, of course, and have to wonder what the heck my mother was thinking, to permit such a thing).</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s irrational at all to fear guns.</p>
<p>But, owlice, when I’m on the bridge, I am convinced that bridge is out to get me. hindoo knows what I mean…</p>
<p>Seriously, the gun is not going to jump up and shoot you… I guarantee it. I’d redirect that fear to the person behind the gun, and work on a legitimate argument for more effective prosecution of criminals, or better handgun control. Bottom line…if you see a person openly wearing a holstered weapon, it’s a pretty safe bet he or she is properly trained and licensed.</p>
<p>I don’t find guns horrifying; I find people who kill others horrifying…whether they do it with kitchen knife, a baseball bat, drunk behind the wheel of an automobile…or with a handgun.</p>
<p>Yes, but all of those things have other uses. Handguns were developed for one use, only, to shoot people. That seems a qualitative difference to me. I can’t know the intent of the holder, true, but I know he/she is signalling a willingness to, under a rubric I can’t know by seeing him/her, shoot someone else. That could possibly be true of a wielder of a basball bat, knife, or car, but it is pretty much true by definition for the carrier of a gun.</p>
<p>garland - if your life were threatened, would you not be willing to pick up a baseball bat and defend it? Transferring the purpose of a handgun to the intent of the user is faulty logic. When threatened, most people will kill to stay alive…even with their bare hands. That “willingness” exists in all humans, armed or not.</p>
<p>I’m sure that’s true. but I don’t carry a weapon in anticipation of that supposition. And, following your assertion that we can’t know the intention of the user, we can’t know that a carrier of a gun is intending it for life-threatening situations only, or that he/she has good judgment about what life-threatening is. Additionally, there is much less chance of an innocent bystander victimization with other weapons which require proximity and brute force.</p>
hindoo knows what I mean…</p>