Open Carry in Florida

[Babaganoosh 192]

Open carry in FL

 

 

Look how this reporter/writer sensationalizes this story. How he immediatly compares open carry individuals to cowboys from the wild west. He doesn't even make it one sentence before he makes the comparison.

 

 

 

 

 

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Movement under way to let Floridians openly tote their guns

 

Mike Thomas

 

COMMENTARY

 

11:43 PM EDT, October 20, 2010

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So you are walking down Park Avenue, window shopping for all the stuff you once could afford, and suddenly coming down the sidewalk you see three gunslingers.

 

It's like the Wild West except they're drinking lattes, and instead of six-shooters, they have Glocks clipped to their matching Gucci belts.

 

Would this bother you?

 

Well, it could happen because the "open carry'' movement has come to Florida.

 

Open carry means just that. Any law-abiding citizen is allowed to openly carry a handgun.

 

Advocates are pushing for legislation allowing it and are armed with a statement of support from Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott.

 

Despite Florida's reputation as a gun-crazy state, we actually are like some socialist European country when it comes to bearing our arms. We make people get permits and hide their heat under jackets and coats, lest they offend the sissy gun bigots.

 

But in 43 other states you can carry handguns openly. Even California allows open carry, although it has the Barney Fife Rule. You have to keep the bullets in your pocket.

 

Open carry has been in existence for decades. But nobody paid much attention because nobody did it. That all changed a few years ago when a few gun owners decided they needed to affirm their Second Amendment rights. Throw in the Internet and you've got a movement.

 

The open carry motto is: "A right unexercised is a right lost.''

 

Unfortunately, some decided to exercise their right near President Barack Obama events. He didn't seem to mind. But this made a lot of pro-gun people — including the NRA establishment — a bit squeamish because it played into the whole gun-nuts stereotype.

 

Open carry is to the NRA what Christine O'Donnell is to the Republican establishment.

 

I am establishment when it comes to guns. I support Florida's concealed-weapons law and the Stand Your Ground law. I cheered when the Supreme Court overturned the gun ban in Washington, D.C. I'll be heading for the gun range this weekend.

 

Liberals think I'm the unholy spawn of Charlton Heston and Marion Hammer.

 

But this is too much.

 

These guys conduct open carry demonstrations, where they stand around like exhibitionists, exposing their weaponry for all to see. What would Freud think?

 

They even have figured out a way to hold these events in Florida. By state law, you are allowed to open carry while you are fishing — a frightening thought if you've ever been to Sebastian Inlet at the opening of snook season.

 

So they go to fishing piers and stand around with their guns on hips, pretending to fish. And if someone hooks a stingray, they're not even allowed to shoot it. Well, maybe if the stingray raises its tail it would be legal under Stand Your Ground.

 

Sean Caranna of Daytona Beach is spearheading the open carry effort.

 

I asked him why he wasn't satisfied with the right to carry concealed weapons.

 

"The problem with a concealed license is you have to pay a license tax,'' he said, likening it to a poll tax in the Jim Crow days. "You have to go through a government-mandated training course. You have to be 21 to get a license, when this is a fundamental civil right.''

 

Sean said an 18-year-old should be able to carry a gun without any mandated training, a scary thought when I consider those summer of '72 flashbacks.

 

Sean said he favors training, but "you can't use the police power of government to demand it.''

 

He likened it to requiring training for someone writing a letter to the newspaper, even though a badly written letter never killed anyone.

 

Sean argued that open carry will deter crime. For example, a robber scopes out a fast-food joint and sees three customers with super-sized Sig Sauers. So he moves on.

 

And if everybody in Florida does it, the criminals would move to California where you only are allowed to throw your guns at them.

 

I agree with Sean that criminals will not be carrying their guns around like Chicago in the 1930s. So those theoretical guys I had walking down Park Avenue would be more silly than dangerous.

 

And that pretty much sums up the open carry movement.

[lunker 274]

I don't want to sound like an "anti", but I am not a fan of open carry. The advantage of concealed carry is that the criminals are always left guessing as to who can defend themselves (as opposed to New Jersey where only Police and criminals can).

In my opinion, open carry makes you a mark. Like wearing a big gold chain, it is one more thing that someone may decide they want to take from you. One of the advantages of CCW is that the attacker does not know you are armed, and his confrontation style and initial level of violence against you would usually be less than if confronting an armed victim. This allows the person being attacked a better chance to draw his weapon. When the attacker knows ahead of time that the potential victim is armed, this just escalates the initial force they feel they need to use to rob/assault/subdue the victim, because the alternative is getting shot.

Lastly, shoving something (i.e. Open Carry) in people's faces is not the way to win this "hearts and minds" war. People who are not familiar with firearms, except the murder and mayhem reported on TV, are not going to feel better about them because an increasing number of people open carry them. To me, the open carry movement is made up of more of the yahoo element of Second Amendment supporters, so they are not who we want the face of gun ownership to be. It is more productive to invite a neighbor along to a range and let them shoot a 22. I am always trying to bring new people with me to the range.

 

And strangely enough, my point about open carry in people's faces not bringing acceptance reminds me of a funny Onion article.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/gaypride-parade-sets-mainstream-acceptance-of-gays,351/

[FFDP82 4]

I don't want to sound like an "anti", but I am not a fan of open carry.

 

I'm not a fan of open carry either, have no desire to, but I don't think it should be illegal. It should be MY decision as an adult to say "I don't feel like open carrying because ______________ " not the government stepping in and making the decision for me. If people feel like open carrying, they should go right ahead and do so (where legal of course).

 

The second amendment simply says "bear" and makes no distinction between open or concealed.

[jeffesonm 0]

did you make it past the wild west comment? the author seems to support gun rights in general, just not open carry...

[vjf915 456]

If given the choice, I would MUCH rather carry concealed rather than open. However, if the ONLY option were to open carry, I would MOST CERTAINLY be carrying. I think that states that only allow OC put people who DONT carry at a severe disadvantage......kind of like NJ. When a criminal knows that someone is either open carrying, or not carrying at all.....its easy to pick out a target. Bottom line, I hate the fact that I cant carry, I want to be able to defend myself from any and all threats that may come my way....and if OC is the only way I could defend myself, then I would take it in a heart beat.

[e80hydro 120]

It's like the Wild West except they're drinking lattes, and instead of six-shooters, they have Glocks clipped to their matching Gucci belts.

 

 

Damn yuppies! They're like hippies without the smell.

[joejaxx 38]

And how exactly are people supposed to get used to guns and the reality of the 2nd amendment being ever present right if you have to go around hiding them? I do not have to hide a printing press or a cross why should I hide a gun? Most people who want to open carry are not out there with the intent of waving gun rights in people's faces nor use it as a method of forcing it down people's throats. Most people who want to open carry just want to show that it is NORMAL for regular people to have guns. It is not like we are going around wearing huge hot pink neon signs on our backs pointing to our bright red holsters saying "I HAVE A GUN HERE!" nor wearing shirts that say "I HAVE A GUN DO YOU?".

 

I find it a damn shame that you DO NOT have the CHOICE to open carry in certain free states (such as Texas) because of this mentality. The person carrying should have the CHOICE of whether to conceal or openly carry. Now there are certain situations where I would carry concealed as I thought it necessary but legislating laws to fix social fears or problems is the exact reason why we have the laws we do in New Jersey today. Does anyone have any data backing up the claim that open carry makes you more of a target? Criminals are really not looking to get into gun fights just for the hell of it. They want to pick the lowest risk target to commit crimes on.

[Babaganoosh 192]

I would prefer CCW to open carry personally. My point is how he sensationalizes it all.

[FFDP82 4]

legislating laws to fix social fears or problems is the exact reason why we have the laws we do in New Jersey today.

 

Well said.

 

Sometimes I stop and wonder "how did NJ get this bad?" Then I read the way some people on here talk, and it all makes perfect sense.

[vjf915 456]

This post is NOT meant to bash anybody, so I hope that nobody takes it that way.

 

Hoomosexuals have the right to be homosexual. They have the freedom to have whichever sexual preference they desire. On top of that, some of them are FLAUNTING the fact that they have this right with Gay pride parades, bumper stickers, shirts, necklaces, bracelets, and so on..... So WHY would it be so wrong EVEN IF someone decided to wear a "I have a gun, do you?" shirt? If Hispanics, African Americans, Christians, homosexuals, and many other groups ALL get to have parades that flaunt their right to be what they are, why can't we have a shirt that promotes 2A rights?

[specopsscout 26]

Hey Folks,

Cops open carry in high security holsters on oversized and secured duty belts. They have been trained in weapon retention to various levels depending on state, academy and department training standards. They wear body armor and a discernible uniform identifying them as a figure of authority. They often travel in pairs or more, and have back up similarly equipped a radio call away. How many have been shot and or killed with their own weapon?

How many open carry proponents are trained and equipped to a similar level?

Respectfully,

Harry

[kenw 293]

I think we're looking at this from the perspective of being a repressed New Jersey population of gunowners with virtually no rights. For us, open carry would be a screaming affirmation of the reinstatement of our rights after being freed from the burdens of overly restrictive laws.

 

"Look at my hip. Free at last... free at last!!"

 

In free America, that statement doesn't necessarily need to be made. The rights that we fight for are available to the rest of the country, and have been for so long that the open carry vs. concealed carry question has far less meaning than it does to us. The non carrying population accepts that some among them are carrying guns (either openly, concealed, or both), and the lawful citizens reap the benefits of the criminals not knowing specifically who those people are. In those places where either option is acceptable, the question of CC or OC is simply a personal choice of wardrobe and comfort.

 

Here, we don't have such freedom, so we see OC as the ultimate statement of the RKBA. "In yer face, gubbermint, I got a gun, and I ain't afeared to let everyone know it". I don't know which option makes for a safer society, or acts as a greater deterrent to violent crime, but Lunker's observations make sense to me. OC could be seen as a challenge, and that challenge could be met with a greater initial level of violence.

 

If I had the choice, I don't think I would opt for OC over CC, and if allowed only to carry openly, I'm not sure I would even consider it. Of course, I live in a rural area, with very low levels of personal violence, so that also skews my opinion on the subject, and everyone has to assess their own singular circumstances.

[lunker 274]

I don't want to sound like an "anti", but I am not a fan of open carry.

 

Please don't take my lack of enthusism for open carry to mean that I think it should remain outlawed here. As another poster said, it is that "There outta be a law" mentality that brought us to our current situation. If open carry became legal in Jersey, and concealed carry wasn't an option, there might be circumstances where I would do it.

[FFDP82 4]

Hey Folks,

Cops open carry in high security holsters on oversized and secured duty belts. They have been trained in weapon retention to various levels depending on state, academy and department training standards. They wear body armor and a discernible uniform identifying them as a figure of authority. They often travel in pairs or more, and have back up similarly equipped a radio call away. How many have been shot and or killed with their own weapon?

How many open carry proponents are trained and equipped to a similar level?

Respectfully,

Harry

 

How many cops have I read about leaving their loaded gun in someone's yard for a child to find (couple days ago...if a non-LEO did that here they'd be facing prison time) leaving a loaded, fully automatic M4 assault rifle on a sidewalk (remember that one?), shooting themselves in the face with their own duty weapon trying to clean it (couple weeks ago) the list goes on and on. Cops have training but are far from perfect either.