Loaded, cocked and locked, every time. If there's a safety, it's on. Trigger is always covered by holster.
I agree, you made yourself look silly and uneducated in public. It was obvious that you were concerned about something that is standard practice and is extremely safe - consider the millions of Americans who carry concealed or open every single day in this country, and then consider how few incidents there are related to that carrying. It is minuscule. Consider how many "training accidents" we see/hear about in the military - and there are way, way fewer military personnel than Americans who carry for self-defense daily. And even fewer of those military carry firearms regularly - most people in the military aren't on the sharp end, they're paper-pushers or support staff of one kind or another.
I agree, you made yourself look silly and uneducated in public. It was obvious that you were concerned about something that is standard practice and is extremely safe - consider the millions of Americans who carry concealed or open every single day in this country, and then consider how few incidents there are related to that carrying. It is minuscule. Consider how many "training accidents" we see/hear about in the military - and there are way, way fewer military personnel than Americans who carry for self-defense daily. And even fewer of those military carry firearms regularly - most people in the military aren't on the sharp end, they're paper-pushers or support staff of one kind or another.