Ayoob: Is Open-Carry Irresponsible (or the Right Move)?

Open carry — the wearing of a holstered gun in plain view in public — has become a hot-button issue among our nation’s pistol-packers. There are, naturally, talking points on both sides of the debate.

A few years ago, Mark Walters invited me to join a panel on this topic on his popular show, Armed America Radio. One of the panelists was an outspoken advocate of open carry. Another was a law enforcement officer just as adamantly opposed to the practice. I was the one in the middle on the issue.

I was reminded during that show of the NRA official who long ago said that in polarized debates, the only things in the middle of the road are yellow stripes and dead skunks. Given the intensity of emotions on this issue, the middle of the road is not a comfortable place to be … yet here I am.

The Talking Points: Pro

The arguments put forth in favor of openly carrying handguns in public seem to boil down to these, in no particular order.

1. Open carry may deter violent crime.
2. Open carry allows faster access to the defensive handgun.
3. Particularly in hot weather, open carry is more comfortable to the wearer.
4. Open carry allows the wearer to carry a larger, more effective defensive firearm.
5. Open carry may acclimate the public to the sight of ordinary people carrying guns, and thus promote positive acceptance of the Second Amendment and the concept of lawful armed self-defense.

Let’s analyze those elements one by one. Deterrence? It’s hard to find documented cases of this happening, but in fairness to open carry advocates, we can’t prove a negative. It is entirely possible that numerous predators decided not to carry out intended crimes because they thought their intended victims might shoot them.

Faster access? The last time I put a timer to it, I was able to draw from a hip holster under a blazer and score the first hit from a Weaver stance in 1.25 seconds including reaction time. Taking the sport coat off and trying again immediately with the same gun and holster, the draw to the hit took 1.06 seconds. The time difference was exactly 19/100ths of one second. Does that time difference matter? Your experience may be different. You decide.

Greater comfort and bigger guns? In hot weather, sure. That said, though, I’ve lived for some time in a sub-tropical climate and don’t find it at all inconvenient to wear an un-tucked, open front lightweight shirt over a tee shirt to hide even a full-size pistol. I for one just don’t see it as a “make or break” thing, and if you’re carrying a pocket-size gun anyway, I don’t see it mattering at all. But, that’s my personal experience. Yours may differ.

Open carry convincing a skeptical public that carrying guns is cool? I have some questions on that. Any self-appointed “Second Amendment auditor” open carrying in a place where it is uncommon — which, let’s face it, is most places — has proven on their YouTube videos that the practice can draw more negative than positive attention.

The Talking Points: Con

Opponents of open carry also make points.

1. The openly carried gun can attract criminals, show-offs, and an unbalanced person who may try to grab the gun.
2. A committed criminal who sees your gun may simply see you as a threat and shoot you first, without warning.
3. Because most people aren’t accustomed to seeing openly carried guns on people other than readily identifiable police and security personnel, it can cause undue alarm.

Let’s analyze those arguments in some detail. Attracting crime? The fact is, it can. Why do uniformed police, who carry their guns openly, uniformly use “snatch-resistant” security holsters and practice weapon retention, the science of countering a disarm? Because over history so many of them have been killed with their own guns. My friend and colleague Greg Ellifritz, one of the great police trainers, has documented cases where open-carrying citizens were disarmed. Back in the 1990’s, I witnessed such an attempt on an armed citizen in Arizona and was fortunately able to interdict the attack in time.

If you choose to open carry legally, I strongly recommend the following. Learn and practice handgun retention skills to counter disarming attempts. Consider carrying a pistol with a manual safety, which historically has slowed down criminals’ ability to shoot an unfamiliar gun if they gain control of it. Carry in a holster with some degree of security, as police have learned to do from bitter experience. Carry a backup weapon as a final fallback to a disarming attempt.

The “shoot the open carrier first” argument? I haven’t seen a case of that with a private citizen carrier yet, but there have been cases of armed robbers who shot the security guard or the cop at the opening of their violent attack. If they’ll shoot a cop to “open the ball,” they’ll do the same to any other obvious “good guy or gal” whom they perceive as a threat or an obstacle.

The “alarm” factor? The open carry community itself is well aware of the many YouTube videos of cops being called to the scene of open carriers because of an “MWAG,” a “Man With A Gun” call made by a citizen frightened by the sight of a gun in public that was not in the possession of a uniformed and readily identifiable protector.

The effect of open carry can potentially be negative. In Texas, when concealed carry was legalized, signs about section 30.06 of the Texas Penal Code that prohibits concealed carry were created for establishments which forbade carrying guns on their premises. Later, when open carry was officially approved by the state legislature there, applicable section 30.07 signs were made available to ban open carry in locations.

So many people were alarmed, soon 30.07 signs popped up like dandelions — and altogether too many were now accompanied by 30.06 signs that hadn’t been present before. This was clearly a net negative for the gun owners’ civil rights movement. In Florida when open carry was finally legalized, the popular Publix grocery store chain announced that they would respect the law: so many anti-gunners were mobilized to threaten a boycott that Publix rescinded the invitation to open carry in their stores.

Perspective from the Middle

Please allow the writer to explain his personal view. I am an advocate of gun owners’ civil rights, having served for the last half decade as president of the Second Amendment Foundation. I believe that open carry should be legal. But I also apply it sparingly.

Why legal? I have spent time in jurisdictions and countries where I was legal to carry concealed but would have been arrested if the weapon had become visible in public. A gust of wind that blows the coat open could make the difference between “law-abiding person” and “lawbreaker.” Legal open carry keeps that kind of BS from happening.

Conversely, I have been in places where any law-abiding citizens could legally open carry, but needed a permit to carry. If a person who didn’t think they needed a permit became a victim of stalking or death threats overnight, they might have had to wait 90 days to six months to get a concealed carry permit, but could open carry immediately as soon as the deadly threat became apparent.

I open carry on the range and in other firearms training and gun-friendly environments. I open carry on my own property. So does my wife, a champion pistol shooter. We both remember the time a young couple came to our house as door-to-door salespersons. My wife opened the door and the young woman saw the 9mm holstered on her hip; she looked at her male companion and blurted querulously, “I told you this was going to happen!” My wife gently assuaged her fears and sent her on her way.

I hope I’ve made it clear why I see open carry as a right I want people to have, but one that I personally use sparingly.

That opinion is mine alone, and has nothing to do with any organization I serve or to which I belong. And it’s only one person’s opinion, of course.

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