OPEN CARRIERS RESPONDexcerpts:
There won’t be a retraction and I won’t be apologizing. I don’t think I was wrong.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t more to the story, however. Shortly after the article went live I was chastised by Doug Holloway of ATEi, a staunch open carrier, for not providing a pro-open carry viewpoint. Doug put me in touch with Mr. Rick Ector and Mr. John Pierce of Legally Armed in Detroit and OpenCarry.org, respectively. A short time later I became aware of a damning video and
accompanying article by “Hoss USMC” on YouTube. He wasn’t gentle in his response.
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Mr. Ector had already correctly pointed out how negative the original URL would be interpreted (the initial title was To Open Carry or Use Your Head which remained as the hyperlink even when the title was changed). Mr. Pierce then graciously spent over an hour talking with me and discussing the sociopolitical reasons for open carry vs. the tactical ones I and the instructors had considered.
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Hypocrisy often comes with big name trainers. They say don’t open carry but when they teach they’re largely teaching from open carry…it’s really the paradox of the day. They are pro- concealed carry for the average citizen, but when they teach their tactical classes, they are pulling from an exposed holster.
The most serious issue is that some people are afraid they’re going to offend people. That is entirely in the mind of the person making the argument. There is no negative impact on the community from someone carrying openly, minding their own business, obeying the law, and engaging in commerce.
In carrying a firearm openly, not only is someone demonstrating their Second Amendment right, they’re supporting their First Amendment right. I’m open carrying, I am making a statement, and it’s my right to do.”
Rick Ector, Legally Armed in Detroit
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…we want not just owning a gun but carrying it to be an accepted, ordinary part of daily personhood. We want it to be seen as part of Americana. The Concealed Carry movement has been tremendously successful, but it doesn’t move the sociological bar forward. You can stand up and be counted, and one of the ways to do that is to be a good open carry ambassador. If people come to me and say, ‘John, what can we do as individuals?’, I’m going to say, ‘First, talk to your legislators and second, open carry…let people know their friends, their neighbors, their loved ones, open carry. After all, prejudice thrives on ignorance.’
John Pierce, OpenCarry.org, author of Open Carry: a Place of Honor.
In the end I still don’t believe open carry is the wisest move, though henceforth I will strive to avoid looking at someone doing so in a condemning light.
http://www.recoilweb.com/handgun-open-carry-proponents-respond-27619.html
