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Media reaction to allowing open carry
Apparently (the article isn't clear) Oklahoma allows concealed carry if you have a permit, and requires that the firearm be concealed, and there is a proposal to allow permitees to carry openly, as well. The Norman Transcript worries:
"The open carry law may not make much difference in the state. It will bring questions and stares from visitors.... Police officers don’t want to see open carry either, as they can’t easily discern the good guys with guns from the bad guys with guns. In a life-threatening situation, no one is going to ask which one has a permit.
It can’t help economic development, either. A consultant brought in earlier this year said the state had an image problem because of too many tornado sightings. He didn’t mention gun sightings, but we can’t help but think it, too, doesn’t project the state’s best image."
I find these worries rather strange (how does open vs. concealed carry make it harder for police to sort out good guys vs. criminals?), but then Arizona for most of my life followed what I term the western rule. Unlimited open carry, and no concealed carry (no permits for it, either, until it went to "shall issue" and then no permit required). There at least you could see the rationale: carrying was seen as completely normal and mainstream, so it should be done openly. It's hard to see a rationale for the opposite rule, except perhaps "someone might get scared if you didn't hide it."
Comments
Why do we spend so much tine trying to rationalize the thinking of irrational people?
Posted by: Dan at May 22, 2012 09:43 AM
Amen, Dan - hoplophobia leads to strange things, but why would we need to make public policy based on a few people's irrational fears?
Posted by: Hartley at May 22, 2012 10:17 AM
i believe this legislation has since passed. (the article is dated the 15th)
Posted by: jay at May 22, 2012 12:16 PM
re: I find these worries rather strange (how does open vs. concealed carry make it harder for police to sort out good guys vs. criminals?)
The usual thought is that in a gun fight they won't be able to tell if it is a bad guy or not. Doesn't make much sense but that is what I have heard said before.
Posted by: Rich at May 22, 2012 12:19 PM
So open carry = driving while black? I think so.
And Rich, given that the police aren't at every crime scene to defend us mere citizens, the benefit in terms of self defense weighs heavily in favor of those who arm themselves.
Posted by: RKV at May 22, 2012 01:42 PM
We had a supposed hunter show up at our door when When I was a kid, there was a supposed hunter with a rifle in hand demanding to come inside and use the phone. He'd said he'd been in the cold for 24 hours and needed to come in, get a meal, and warm up. His attitude was off though, so my dad refused to let him in and called the police. Had the gun been concealed, I'm not sure it would have made any difference. It was the guy's abrasive attitude that seemed far more alarming than the gun itself.
Posted by: Sarah at May 23, 2012 06:26 AM
We had a supposed hunter show up at our door when I was a kid, I must have been 7 or 8 at the time. He said he'd been in the cold for 24 hours and needed to come in, get a meal, warm up, and use the phone. His attitude was off though, so my dad refused to let him in and called the police. Had the gun been concealed, I'm not sure it would have made any difference. It was the guy's abrasive attitude that seemed far more alarming than the gun itself.
Posted by: Sarah at May 23, 2012 06:28 AM
Ugh, my apologies. The first post came up as a webpage didn't load and then I realized in my attempt to shorten the original comment that I'd made tons of errors... Now it's duplicated and everyone can see the pre-coffee ramblings.
Posted by: Sarah at May 23, 2012 06:30 AM