Would you support "Open Carry" legislation in your state?

by Glander 71 Replies latest social current

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  Justitia Themis

  Remember folks. An armed society is a polite society.

  I must disagree. Open carry attracts both extremes: people who want to protect themselves and think open carry is an effective measure and bullys.

  I too live in WA. and my husband and I had a very nasty experience with several assholes making use of the 'open carry law.

  A furniture store was having a big sale. We, along with tons of other people, bought furniture and were told to drive to the warehouse to pick it up. Of course, the warehouse was packed, and it had several huge lines of generally well-behaved customers...except for one truck.

  That truck tried to cut in line, and the gentleman who had waited patiently was not happy about that and told these guys that he was not letting them in. They got out, all of them openly carrying their guns at the waists. They made sure to stand around this guy with their gun hips forward, just to make sure he saw the guns. He didn't back down, and the store had to call the police.

  They were exactly the "type" most would think of to openly carry a weapon: white, late-30s, John Deere caps, wife-beater t-shirts, gun racks in the truck...sigh.

  Here in Washinton state. I open carry every day all the time my Ruger SR 9 C. In fact we have open carry meets alot and we all know each other.

  We have 3 ex Jws that open carry

  LOL! Did they have any altercations at a furniture store?
• 

  Marvin Shilmer

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  "...and the store had to call the police."

  Pardon my saying it, but this story sounds a bit off. Folks who carry legally are not prone to act as depicted. Perhaps answering this question will help:

  What did the police do when they arrived?

  If "these guys" were licensed to carry then this incident would jeapardize that license, which is why legal carriers do not typically act as depicted.

  If "these guys" were not licensed to carry then they'd have been cited.

  Marvin Shilmer
• 

  Justitia Themis

  Folks who carry legally are not prone to act as depicted

  "Folks." That's an interesting word choice. Attorneys often use the word "folks" when they are seeking to humanize their client for the jury. The "folks" at the insurance company; the "folks" at the big corporation.

  I'm not sure I agree with your statement, but I have not researched the issue or read any studies, so I can't affirmatively disagree. I would love to read any evidence you have to support your assertion. Though, I suspect there might be a difference between people who merely "carry" and people who feel the need to flaunt their guns at their waist while waiting in line at a furniture store. ; )

  The police checked their licenses, and apparently the licenses were valid because they didn't cite them or anything. They just admonished them that they can't go looking for trouble or be perceived as using them to threaten...yada, yada. It was the Pierce County Sheriff's office. Those guys are pretty 'out there" themselves, which might have impacted their decision-making! I suspect the outcome would have been different if the same incident occured in Seattle.
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  Glander

  Anecdotal incidents aren't necessarily dependable evaluations of the impact Carry laws have . I'm sure there are just as many cases where the presence of an armed citizen has been a positive.

  Statistics seem to indicate legal Carry as a deterrant to crime. As said before, bad people don't give a hang about gun laws. An armed baddy is pretty much the boss when facing unarmed victims.

  In the furniture store situation, the police would be very interested to find out if the legal carriers were "brandishing", that is unholstering their pieces in a situation such as described would get them busted and licenses revoked, weapons confiscated.
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  James Brown

  It must be nice to live in England or Canada.
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  designs

  Fascinating.
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  Justitia Themis

  I'm sure there are just as many cases where the presence of an armed citizen has been a positive.

  Are you?
• 

  Diest

  Washington does not require a licence to carry there. I know lots of nice open carry people, but that does not mean that duche bags cant open carry too.
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  Marvin Shilmer

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  "The police checked their licenses, and apparently the licenses were valid because they didn't cite them or anything. They just admonished them that they can't go looking for trouble or be perceived as using them to threaten..."

  Thanks for sharing.

  It is atypical for law enforcment officers not to disarm licensed carriers when witnesses support an accusation they were displaying sidearms in any threatening manner other than defense. More typically the disarmed carrier is obligated to explain their actions to the local licensing authority to answer for why their license should not be revoked.

  Marvin Shilmer
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  notjustyet

  I'm pretty sure that there are many cases where a law abiding citizen has twarted a crime.

  Just go to youtube and do a search for "911 calls armed" or something similar and also there are some 911 calls where the homeowner was not armed with tragic endings.

  What will you do when someone tries to kick in your door at night? Call the police?

  The world has a lot of crazy people out there that do not care one iota about your life. I think it is up to us to be prepared to protect the ones we love.

  This may at times require use of deadly force.

  Having a gun does not mean that you must use it, but it is there just in case.