LEO and open carry

[dugby]

The real question GED is do you support the new law for open carry? I don't think it is really a good idea to do it (Open Carry) but I certainly think it is a good idea that it be legal. The second amendment is the law of the land and should be respected. This law would restore another small bit of that respect. When we disrespect the constitution as either a legislator, LEO, or a citizen we bring down the respect for all of the law and make it harder on everyone.

 

[BadgeBunny]

I am a LEO...and I support citizen rights to openly carry a firearm if they so choose. However I will not openly carry for many, many, many reasons...and that is all I will say about that.

Thank you.

 

[mhphoto]

I just look to the other states (all 42 of 'em) when it comes to open carry.

- 43 states allow some form of open carry. 71.86% of all Americans live in a state where open carry is legal in some form.

- 42 of those states allow open carry without regard to geographical area (I'm taking California out, as they only allow it rural areas)

- Of the 42 states where open carry is generally allowed, only 14 states require a permit to open carry (statutory age limitations in parenthesis): UT (18), MD (No age limit), MN (No age limit), IA (18), HI (No age limit), TN (No age limit), IN (No age limit), MS (18), GA (No age limit), MA (No age limit), CT (No age limit), RI (No age limit), NJ (No age limit), and MD (No age limit)

- Of the 28 states that allow unlicensed open carry, only one (1) has an age requirement greater than 18 years of age (New Mexico, where the statutory age limit is 19)

- Of those 28 states that don't require a license, 20 have laws that define the statutory age limit as 18 years or older (WA, OR, ID, NV, SD, AZ, CO, NE, KS, WI, MI, LA, AL, OH, PA, WV, DE, NC, VA, and KY). That's 40% of U.S. states and 33.73% of the U.S. population, just for laws similar to SB129.

- Of the 28 unlicensed open carry states, 4 have statutory age limit lower than 18: AK (14), LA (17), VT (16), and MT (14)

- A further 4 more states have no statutory age limit: WY, MO, ME, NH

The LEOs in other states haven't had any major OC problems like the naysayers say. I mean, think back when they passed concealed carry in the 90s. There were tales of the wild west, problems for police, and bloodshed over fender benders, but they just didn't pan out.

Source for state-by-state open carry info: http://opencarry.org/opencarry.html
Source for percentages: 2010 Census data on state populations

 

[Glock 'em down]

The real question GED is do you support the new law for open carry? I don't think it is really a good idea to do it (Open Carry) but I certainly think it is a good idea that it be legal. The second amendment is the law of the land and should be respected. This law would restore another small bit of that respect. When we disrespect the constitution as either a legislator, LEO, or a citizen we bring down the respect for all of the law and make it harder on everyone.

In a nutshell, I'd say yes.

Will I continue to preach against it?

Until the cows come home.

And before anybody flies off the handle, it has absolutely nothing to do with the law and my LEGAL opinion of such. I support the 2nd Amendment 110%. It has to do with public safety. I don't wanna see any of my fellow law abiding, 2nd Amendment supporters hurt and I'm afraid that OC will do just that.

 

[BadgeBunny]

In a nutshell, I'd say yes.

Will I continue to preach against it?

Until the cows come home.

And before anybody flies off the handle, it has absolutely nothing to do with the law and my LEGAL opinion of such. I support the 2nd Amendment 110%. It has to do with public safety. I don't wanna see any of my fellow law abiding, 2nd Amendment supporters hurt and I'm afraid that OC will do just that.

Thank you ... It amazes me how fast folks throw out the "OMG YOU ARE NOT A REAL AMERICAN" argument when someone has a difference of opinion with them.

I'm not a LEO but I'm against open carry. Guess I'm not a "Real American" either ...

 

[mhphoto]

In a nutshell, I'd say yes.

Will I continue to preach against it?

Until the cows come home.

And before anybody flies off the handle, it has absolutely nothing to do with the law and my LEGAL opinion of such. I support the 2nd Amendment 110%. It has to do with public safety. I don't wanna see any of my fellow law abiding, 2nd Amendment supporters hurt and I'm afraid that OC will do just that.

I respect what you're saying, but doesn't it seem like you're cherry picking when you say you support the 2nd Amendment, which states we can keep and bear arms, but not support open carry, which is basically bearing arms?

 

[dugby]

In a nutshell, I'd say yes.

Will I continue to preach against it?

Until the cows come home.

And before anybody flies off the handle, it has absolutely nothing to do with the law and my LEGAL opinion of such. I support the 2nd Amendment 110%. It has to do with public safety. I don't wanna see any of my fellow law abiding, 2nd Amendment supporters hurt and I'm afraid that OC will do just that.

Great!

I can see me doing it in only a few places if the law passes. Generally activities that wouldn't have me in the middle of a bunch of people anyway.

 

[oklacowboy]

In a nutshell, I'd say yes.

Will I continue to preach against it?

Until the cows come home.

And before anybody flies off the handle, it has absolutely nothing to do with the law and my LEGAL opinion of such. I support the 2nd Amendment 110%. It has to do with public safety. I don't wanna see any of my fellow law abiding, 2nd Amendment supporters hurt and I'm afraid that OC will do just that.

Let me just say I have great respect for LEO and I respect your opinion, but how can you support the second amendment yet preach against it. All of the states with open carry have no problems so why all of a sudden is Oklahoma going to have such great problems?

 

[Glocktogo]

As a citizen, I believe open carry should be available, but used very sparingly and under limited circumstances. I will only open carry out of uniform under very limited circumstances, such as when fishing on my boat, hiking or camping.

As a LEO, I feel my position should be the same as my agency, no position. If it comes to pass, don't come up to me in uniform and brag about how you can open carry the same as I do, unless you're wearing a vest and a triple retention holster, and have a certificate from a class that teaches weapon retention against gun grabs. Otherwise, I'll probably look at you like you're a martian.

If OC is passed and you decide to make your Wal-Mart walk with your exposed sidearm, please take off your air of superiority before exiting your vehicle. And if you EVER loose your sidearm to an adversary because of a gun grab, you own everything that happens with it from that point on. I cannot stress that strongly enough, and neither should you.

Good day!

 

[gun001guns]

I'm LEO and I support it. If were worried about training and people handling guns then we should think about that before we allow they to buy one in general. Open or concealed carrying some people don't need guns or need training. I disagree with the gun grab thing for the most part anything can happen but is very unlikely. I think they should pass it and it shouldn't cost a dime to do it. Do I or will I carry open very unlikely. Thanks!