sigh...

[t1m0thy]

When talking today with an NRA supporting hunter and gun owner he said he does not carry because he feels that people who do carry tend to misuse it and regret it later and he stopped carrying because of that. He doesn't object to others carrying but he prefaced it with the above statement. I regurgitated the age old saying that its better to be judged by twelve than carried by six but it didn't sink in.

I am so tired of this stupid, asinine logic. I know its a personal decision but people who don't trust themselves to carry can't help but project their shortcoming onto everyone else. This is why its so hard to get ahead with carry rights. There are gun owners that just don't get it nor understand the importance of the right to carry openly and freely in a free society. A gun isn't just a tool for self defense it is a symbol of individual liberty and self-reliance. A gun in the hands of a law abiding citizen represents the opposite of everything the statist stands for. Anti-gun and anti-carry in any form is the debasement of the individual and the acceptance of the need for societal dictates to govern the destiny of the masses. The more I carry the more I realize why the forefathers made it the 2nd amendment. I know it may sound strange to some but the more I carry the more confidence I have in myself...not a cocky brash egotistical confidence but a surety that comes in knowing that I am the master of my own destiny. The first time you open carry and step out boldly its like a veil is torn and you see at once all the lies and distortion that kept you from doing it before. I never even saw how my mind had been distorted by the media and popular culture until that moment.

One other thing I notice, and going back to the conversation with the gentleman above, is that this permeation of our subconscious and culture to hold instinctive disdain for those who carry is frightening. The debate between those who support open carry and those who do not favor it should keep in mind this thought: that open carry of firearms is the one tool we have to reverse the trend. No matter what the media depicts if the number of we who carry openly grows and the irrational fear portrayed is confronted with a daily reality of encounters with law abiding gun owners we will see the end to the hysteria and common sense take hold. That is why open carry is so important and not just an option but a necessity for all who carry if they want to keep that right.

[ungawa]

When talking today with an NRA supporting hunter and gun owner he said he does not carry because he feels that people who do carry tend to misuse it and regret it later and he stopped carrying because of that. He doesn't object to others carrying but he prefaced it with the above statement. I regurgitated the age old saying that its better to be judged by twelve than carried by six but it didn't sink in.

If he doesn't trust himself to carry then I have no problem with that particular point.

[t1m0thy]

If he doesn't trust himself to carry then I have no problem with that particular point.

Neither do I...the problem I have is the projection onto others the same weakness. The casual observation of "most people who carry" is what set off the red flag for me.

[P7hk9]

No matter what the media depicts if the number of we who carry openly grows and the irrational fear portrayed is confronted with a daily reality of encounters with law abiding gun owners we will see the end to the hysteria and common sense take hold. That is why open carry is so important and not just an option but a necessity for all who carry if they want to keep that right.

I couldn't agree more. +rep sent.

I'm also at a loss about the people that don't trust themselves with firearms. Carrying (OC or CC) is a personal decision, and if it's not for you, that doesn't mean the people that disagree are wrong. I don't drink because I am not pleasant to be around when I do. Alcohol is not for me. It never even enters my mind that other people shouldn't drink. Why is carrying a weapon different?

Encounters like yours are what helped me to decide to OC when it warms up. If enough people do it, the negative attitudes about being armed will go away.

[PocketProtector]

When talking today with an NRA supporting hunter and gun owner he said he does not carry because he feels that people who do carry tend to misuse it and regret it later and he stopped carrying because of that.

Folks should deal with facts. Maybe HE misused it and that's why he feels that way. For the life of me, how often does an LTCF holder misuse the privilege? There are a few but it is rare indeed, despite how the State run media tries to portray us.

[ungawa]

I'm also at a loss about the people that don't trust themselves with firearms. Carrying (OC or CC) is a personal decision, and if it's not for you, that doesn't mean the people that disagree are wrong. I don't drink because I am not pleasant to be around when I do. Alcohol is not for me. It never even enters my mind that other people shouldn't drink. Why is carrying a weapon different?

Multiple contradictions and flat irony in a single, short paragraph. How can you be at a loss about people that don't trust themselves with firearms?

[t1m0thy]

Folks should deal with facts. Maybe HE misused it and that's why he feels that way. For the life of me, how often does an LTCF holder misuse the privilege? There are a few but it is rare indeed, despite how the State run media tries to portray us.

I don't know about you but when I am carrying I am more polite and careful than I am when I don't carry(which isn't often these days). Most of us know the responsibility and carry it well.

It goes back to the view of guns portrayed to the public. Think of the term gunman and what effect it has on the subconscious of the public mind. They aren't criminals; they aren't murderers; they are GUNMEN. The use of that term implies the act of evil is associated with the fact they are carrying a gun and not in the reality of the criminal acts they have perpetrated. Therefore it places in the mind of the average citizen to fear these so called gunmen based solely on the fact that they have a gun and not whether they are law abiding or criminal.

[Statkowski]

I don't worry about other people. I've got enough of a problem worrying about myself.

If someone else has a problem, guess what? Someone else has a problem. I don't have a problem.

Agreed, his feelings of inadequacy should not be applied to everyone else.

[PocketProtector]

I'm sure there are a few bad eggs out there, but in many years of shooting and carrying at different ranges, clubs, gun shops, hunting etc, I have yet to come upon any gun owners who were not gentlemen. Maybe I've just been lucky ??

[TXDMERC73]

Maybe he doesnt trust himself to carry