plowboysghost
Being targeted for OC..a dissenting opinion
Friday, May 30, 2025, 07:51

..is exceedingly rare, versus how many people targeted every single day who aren't open carrying?

I've had this discussion countless times (almost exclusively online) over the last 12-13 years that I've (mostly) open carried (in 34 years of carrying altogether) a properly holstered sidearm without incident.

What I've found is that some people (almost all of whom have never open carried as a civilian) have strong feelings against OC that aren't based in real data..and that depart from consistent logic.

Most of us believe that NO GUNS signs and "gun free zones" invite targeting those businesses/schools/etc... Most of us would probably agree that posting GUN FREE HOME signs in your front yard might invite home invasions/robbery/etc..., yet some of those same folks are fine with appearing as weaker/unarmed prey in a world of assailants who obviously target non open carriers/seemingly unarmed folks at a rate of likely greater than 99.-something percent to probably less than 1 percent.

It can be argued that some places are inhabited by people and groups of people that are more likely to try their luck than other places, and I'd agree. Of course, those places and people aren't safe for non open carriers or unarmed people, either...as statistics will prove.

With that said, OC isn't for everybody. Too many people walk around distracted. Open Carry requires a heightened sense of situational awareness, a strong dedications to personal responsibility, and secure holsters.

In 12-13 years of mostly OC, the ONLY negative comments I've ever heard were from three different women, two of whom had northern accents. One told me (when asked by me) she was from Illinois. I told her that if she felt safer in Chicago with all their anti-carry laws that she was welcome to hit I-65 North, anytime). The other wouldn't say what state she was from.

Most people here have apparently learned that someone pushing a grocery buggy around the store who just happens to be have on a properly holstered handgun isn't cause for panic and mass hysteria. Open Carry hasn't led to more violence/targeting, etc.., as the ant-2A groups now going after Open Carry in certain states/areas are claiming.