Re: Thoughts on Open Carry?
New Mexico is an open carry state. I open carry often.
I'm going to post a reply to a similar thread on a different forum that was made by Cope Reynolds of Southwest Shooting Authority and who also is a Suarez International Instructor.
Here you go:
I carry both openly and concealed. Openly about 99.975% of the time and concealed for those few times when I think it would be prudent. I am not against CC, I just don't see the point in it here in most parts of NM. When I go some places in Albuquerque or Santa Fe, I may CC. When I go to the theater, I CC. Because it's law here in NM, if go somewhere that sells liquor for consumption off the premises, I CC because it's a 4th degree felony if you don't. I will not risk my career or my FFL over a "cause".
I simply cannot believe what I am hearing here. I guess carrying a gun is something relatively new for some folks. In many places, especially out here in the West, putting your gun on every day and wearing it openly is no different than putting on your hat or a pair of gloves or a tool-belt. Jeez! It blows me away that some of you talk about tactical advantages and disadvantages and all this other stuff. Certainly there are times and places where carrying openly may not be the best thing but come on!.
How in the hell can one believe that we should have a right and then, in the same breath, say that it is one that should go un-exercised? That is one of the most ridiculous things that I have ever heard. Like any other right (or muscles), if they are not used, they will be weakened or lost.
Some say there could not possibly be a single tactical advantage to OC. Is that because Ayoob says so? They say it very definitively like it was some kind of proven statistic. It is not. I've heard this statement many times and it still doesn't make any sense. You cannot possibly have a clue as to how many crimes or attacks have been prevented because the would-be perpetrator saw someone with a gun in the area. If you were intent on robbing a store or a bank, would you go ahead with your plans if you saw someone standing in line wearing a gun? Of course not! Most people that perform these kinds of crimes are punks and cowards or too smart to want to get involved in a shoot-out. It MIGHT hold true in a very few isolated instances but that is for you to decide when the time comes.
Then there are those that claim that carrying openly makes you a target and that you'll be the first one taken out. I say BS!. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? About as likely as getting hit by lightning I think. If someone just wants to kill someone, they will. There are hundreds of interviews of convicted felons where they have said that they would not or did not carry out a plan due to employees or occupants or customers being armed. Can you count on not being a target? Certainly not. Nor can you count on not becoming a target if you are carrying concealed. Possibly, the perpetrator, upon seeing a gun, changed his mind and a shooting was averted. Possibly not. Possibly, because you were carrying concealed, the crook was braver and you were forced into a shooting. To exclaim that you are certain of either is the height of arrogance and cannot be proven.
It's a personal choice and you are taking a bit of a chance by doing either. It comes with the territory.
I think the biggest difference in some folks' opinions and mine is our locations. If I lived somewhere that I thought it was as bad as some make it out to be, I would move. Nobody cares here. As I mentioned above, I have carried openly every day since I've been back in this state which was in 1998 and I have had maybe 1 or 2 negative comments. Prior to that, I lived in AZ for a while. Same story. Before that, Wyoming. Same story. I guess the bottom line is, I will NOT live where carrying a gun in the open scares people as bad as some of you claim that it does. If I lived in St. Louis, maybe I wouldn't carry but I wouldn't live there so it doesn't matter.
No, I don't intentionally TRY to offend folks. I just don't care if I do. I don't fart at the table and I don't say f&%$ around women. When I am in someone's home, I do as they wish. If that bothers me, I leave. When they come to my house, I expect them to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with how we live. However, I don't think exercising a right can be compared to fartin' and cussin'. People are offended by guns because of emotion, not morals or scruples. AFAIC, when we worry about how much we offend them, they have won.
This is the reason that we will never win all of our rights back without bloodshed. Because the gun-grabbers all agree on one thing and we can't agree on anything. Some gun owners think it's OK to own pumps and levers but not semi-autos. Some say it's OK to have shotguns but not "black" rifles. Some say 10 round mags are OK but not 30 round mags. Some say it's OK to carry a gun as long we don't offend anyone and others don't care.
AFAIC, it's all or nothing. I'm tired of compromising. It's not working.
Be that as it may, you may be interested to know that I addressed this very thing on my radio show a few weeks ago. I said even though it was legal and we had a right to carry openly just about anywhere here in NM, it wasn't necessarily the right thing to do in some cases. I said that those that wave the Constitution in everyone's face and say the 2nd amendment is their carry permit are going to eventually disarm all of us. I admonished those that were so inclined to either carry concealed or don't take their gun in places like theaters, churches, Boys and Girls Clubs, etc. Our CCW law states, as most do, that if a business or individual puts up a sign saying "no guns" that means no guns, openly or concealed, permit or not. So, if we walk in someplace that is NOT posted and try to force our right right to carry on them, all they have to do is put up a sign and your right to carry is gone without changing the law. At least in that particular place. THAT's why I don't OC in the theater.
To that end, I very much encourage people to carry concealed under those circumstances. I never "encourage" people to carry openly except by saying that it is your right and if you want to, you should exercise that right. As far as just walking down the street and tending to my normal business, I absolutely will NOT carry concealed just for fear of hurting someone's feelings.
The difference here is that a couple of folks here don't seem to support my right as I have clearly supported theirs. If some of you think that there is some perceived "tactical advantage" to being concealed, that's OK with me, I just don't agree. I haven't called you dumb or disparaged you in any manner. As I have said more than once, there may be a handful of cases out there where that has proven to be the case but to say that carrying openly has NEVER given an advantage is ridiculous because it cannot be proven either way.
As I also said, location has a lot to do with this. Some of you are afraid to carry openly even where it is legal because of what the cops might say. THAT is where I have a problem. I was pulled over in a little town in NV late one night by a female cop. She asked me to get out and, since I was carrying openly, I told her that I was wearing a gun and asked if that was OK. She got kind of smart and said, mockingly, "you're wearing a gun and is that OK?" I said , "Yes, Ma'am." She told me to get out and keep my hands where she could see them (like that would do her any good if I had less than honorable intentions) and called in my information. She called back-up and when he got there, we discussed the finer points of the Glock vs. the 1911 and he finally left when he decided that she didn't really need any back-up. When she handed my license back, she said, "So why are you carrying a gun?" to which I said, "Why are you?". She said, "Because I'm law enforcement and I HAVE to." I said, "I'm a civilian and I GET to". She had nothing on me and we both went our merry ways.
I was stopped another time a State cop in NM for a faulty tail light. I told him that I could fix it on the spot if he would allow me to. He said OK, and I told him I was carrying before I got out. He said that for his safety, would I unload the gun and give it to him and I told him "no". I said that my vehicle was considered an extension of my home in this state and that I would be glad to leave it in the truck while I got out to fix the light. I didn't give him time to reply and he was in a position of advantage so I turned the inside light on and slowly and deliberately took the gun out and slid it between the seats. When I got out, I locked the doors and left the keys in the ignition so NO ONE could get them. Once I fixed the light, I thanked him, took the spare key out of my wallet and unlocked the door and left.
There is rarely any issue with LE in this state if you conduct yourself properly and confidently.
Colts and Kimbers are what you show your friends.
GLOCKS are what you show your enemies.
The GLOCKsmith