Open Carry and YouTube

**I just saw a new post from a friend on FaceBook with another open carry video from YouTube.  If you haven't seen the various videos, this article may not make much sense to you.  If you haven't seen the videos on YouTube, don't waste your time - just read my blog and imagine that you've seen them!**

I want to make myself clear - I completely support the 2nd Amendment, and I have NO PROBLEM if anyone wants to open carry their firearm - responsibly.  In some areas of the country, open carry is considered normal and acceptable.

Although.....

Open carrying a firearm with the intent to arouse the police or other citizens in order to make a YouTube video to -support- open carry is utterly ridiculous.  If one is a responsible person, one would realize that not everyone shares their point of view on carrying a firearm.  Why make matters worse by parading around town with a firearm exposed?  Do they not think that some people wouldn't be alarmed at seeing (oh my gosh) a gun?

Not everyone shares my views on firearms, and I have enough intelligence to understand that.  If you don't know me, I'm an avid shooter, an avid collector and and an instructor.  I carry a gun 24/7.  I practice with my firearms, and have the skills to use them responsibly.  On the other hand, there are MANY people that believe in the 2A that have never been around firearms and don't wish to have anything to do with them at all.  To try to force people into being comfortable with firearms when they have no background or education in firearms is absolutely insane.  Not only are you making yourself look like a "tacti-cool fool" (that's my word, feel free to use it), but it makes people that would normally support your right to carry become nervous - or worse - anti-gun.

To open carry only for the purpose of videoing for YouTube is even worse.  Now, you've called attention to yourself to the point that someone had to call the police.  Think about it from their side - a person at Wal Mart calls the police on their cell phone, saying that there is a man with a gun walking around the store.  What do you possibly think the police response will be?  Personally, I hope they would send out all available officers, SWAT team, etc. to check this out!

Before you criticize me for this thought, think about it.  Put yourself in the dispatcher/officers position.  You just got a call from a person in Wal Mart about a man with a gun.  What would be the normal thing to do (if you had no firearms experience)?  Obviously, you send out the troops.  Consider if you were now the officer getting the call:  "Man with a gun in Wal Mart".  How would you react?  If I were in that place, I'd certainly be calling for backup, checking my carbine, and I'm sure my adrenaline would be running in the overdrive position.

The real question is, wouldn't you WANT the police to have this response if you didn't know that the person was just an idiot trying to make a YouTube video???  I'm not even going to go into the amount of time and money that was just used to have the police respond to the call, let alone tying up the officers that may have needed to assist other people with their troubles.  To me, it's just as bad as pulling a fire alarm with no fire.

In our state, the police have a right to ask you for identification.  You MUST show your ID, or you will go to jail until you are "properly" identified.  They can "stop" you in a Tarry stop - look it up, I don't have time to explain all the nuances of the Tarry stop.  They can search you.  They can separate you from your firearm for their safety.  As a side note, Indiana is very unclear on open carry.  According to most interpretations, open carry is legal, but definitely NOT recommended.  To open carry in Indiana, you do need a permit.  Indiana issues a permit to carry, not a "concealed" carry permit.

I'll end my rant with the following true story.  I was walking around Menard's the other day doing some shopping.  A young man (I can use that phrase now that I'm old!) walked past me carrying a Glock 17 on his side, in a tacti-cool nylon Uncle Mikes drop leg holster.  The reaction of the people that saw him was "oh my, he has a gun!".  I was just waiting on the troops to storm the store.  I walked up to him and asked him a simple question - "Why?".  His answer was just as simple - "Because I can.".  I then pointed out the people walking by with mouths agape looking at him and tried to explain that he is the reason that people that enjoy, use and carry firearms are thought of as crazy people.  He didn't understand.  Again, let me be clear that this man DOES have a right to do what he was doing, but is it really necessary or responsible?

I'm going to be honest here - the whole time I spoke with him, my hand was not noticeable to anyone, but was resting securely on my Combat Commander and I was ready to react much faster than he could get to his super-duper-tacti-cool holster.  Why?  Because he made ME nervous..........

Open carry is just irresponsible, and a way to exercise one's "bravado".  If I'm standing in a store, and a somewhat intelligent robber comes in and sees my gun, who do you think he'll shoot first?  I would also venture a guess that most of these open carry advocate people don't possess the skills to retain their firearm.  I have been trained on weapon retention, but I still can't possibly say that there isn't someone out there that couldn't take my gun away if I carried openly.  I'm a big guy, with the training necessary.  But unlike a police officer on duty, I have to admit that I'm not always on my toes about retention.  I try to stay very aware of my surroundings at all times, but let's face it - you can't always be 100% and I wouldn't want to have to live that way anyway.  To open carry in a city/urban environment is advertising to some bunch of thugs to attack you for your weapon.  If someone will rob you for that $20 in your wallet, don't you think that having an expensive handgun on your side is more enticing?

Open carry serves absolutely NO PURPOSE other than to draw attention to yourself....and to make videos for YouTube I suppose!

(As I said at the beginning - in some areas of the country, open carry is acceptable.  I am NOT talking about these areas.)