The Biggest Open Carry Mistake Is…
… assuming people care about your right to keep and bear arms.
Nobody, not a single person, cares about your rights, or my rights for that matter.
However, everybody is concerned about their rights. The sooner we turn the conversation to other people, the faster we win.
Let me put it another way: Your right to keep and bear arms is theoretical to me. My ability to stay safe in an unsafe world, though, is real and personal to me. When we talk about “My right to keep and bear arms,” we limit that right to just ourselves. I’d rather have that right apply to all Americans, not just one person. Limiting the right to own and carry guns to just ourselves a bad thing, because as the 20th century’s greatest philosopher once said, a man alone is easy prey. Want more gun owners? Act in a manner that people see as beneficial to themselves and society. And no, being a “sheepdog” standing on a street corner with an AR waiting for trouble to happen doesn’t count. Sheep obey sheepdogs because they think the sheep dog is a predator. Is that the impression you want to leave on potential new gun owners?
The sooner that everyone, from the open carry crowd to individual gun owners, understand that they should act normal while carrying a gun, the sooner that guns will once again become normal in American society. We are being ostracized, and in response, we do “Second Amendment Audits” and other outrageous stunts. This sort of thing makes us feel good, and it makes us feel like we’re doing something about gun rights in America. But it also makes us look like freaks, and freaks are easy to ostracize.
Gun ownership is an individual right, but it comes with a collective responsibility of not being a jerk. Gun owners of all stripes and colors (especially those who chose to open carry) must exceed the standards of politeness in our society. A nice guy with a gun makes guns nice for everyone. A jerk with a gun makes guns seem scary, and right now, that is the last thing that the gun rights movement needs.
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The second amendment recognizes a citizens right to be armed. What it really means is a citizens right to self defense. Anytime some schmuck tells you that you aren’t allowed to be armed for any reason, you really need to ask yourself why does said schmuck want you unarmed and defenseless? What exactly is said schmuck planning to do to you that works better when you can’t defend yourself?
A man walks down the street with his 5 year old daughter. He doesn’t know or care about the 2A or about guns. The subject is just not on his radar. Approaching him on the street is a man with a rifle. As he passes the little girl looks up at her Daddy and says, “Daddy, don’t let that man with the gun shoot me!” Now the gun issue is not only on his radar but he now does not approve of guns, or people who carry them, regardless of how they carry them, or what kind of gun they are carrying. He is now the gun owners sworn enemy, and he and his wife will now vote against gun rights in any way they can. Doesn’t matter if his feelings or his vote make sense or not. He is now anti- all guns. Thanks, open carrier.