Rural open carry is a completely different animal than the people that make open carry look bad. The douchebag in Big Rapids, Michigan that open carries in Menards, completely unaware of his surroundings, standing in line with people bumping into him and doesn't even bother to look when someone bumps his gun-side hip. Another moron that promptly comes to mind, squatted down to pick up change he dropped at Dairy Queen and in the process his "birthing hips" canted his holster and he dumped his 1911 (cocked and locked, it appeared...no argument with that portion) onto the sidewalk right in front of a herd of kids. "Happens all the time..." was his muttered response. This is just in my few years around Big Rapids, obviously not the "norm" but... When asked, neither of those people had taken a concealed carry class. I asked them personally.
A little bit of oil makes a whole lot of mess.
A few morons open carrying makes the whole thing look bad in the public eye. Unfortunately, in this world, the few are sacrificed for the many. People choosing to open carry for inappropriate reasons in inappropriate places with inappropriate training make the principals of open carry look wrong.
There are times and places for open carry, provided you are capable. In my experience, a lot of public open carry people do not fit in the "capable" criteria. We, as a society, have training of some kind to read, speak, count, dress, drive...and a lot of people still have trouble figuring those things out after instruction.
To think everyone of age to legally open carry should be allowed as it is a "right" I believe is outdated. There are special requirements of human beings living in urban environments. People in such environments without professional training on firearms CAN be a risk. So can stupid drivers, but unlike driving, there is NO ROOM for "accidents". With Rights come RESPONSIBILITY.
Again, this in no way reflects environments where open carry is necessity. Farm kids raised around firearms (myself included in this category) are some of the most responsible and careful firearms carriers around. Areas of the US that require more clothing than one could otherwise access a concealed firearm OBVIOUSLY fit with open carry.
I am not against open carry in proper environments, I'm against idiots open carrying in urban areas. Get the training, educate yourself, and keep that shit tucked away from the masses...ready when it's needed.