Gun Friendly?

greener · Post by **greener** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:42 am

I went to a meeting of the Virginia gun rights group, Virginia Citizens Defense League, Thursday night. The purpose of the meeting was to outline major objectives and bills in the upcoming session of the legislature. The group very much promotes open carry and a majority of the folks at this meeting were doing so.

It's legal to carry in a Library in Virginia. If 40-50 folks show up for a meeting at a library with lots of guns in sight, someone will call the police and a number of them will show up. They didn't disrupt the meeting, but did show their curiosity.

The legislature session starts on Monday. The first half of the day is "Lobby Day" where you can meet the senators and delegates. CHP holders can carry in the legislature building. You present your card at the security check points. You have to empty your pockets of everything but the firearm and ammo. Don't have that one quite figured out. 500-1000 VCDL members show up for this event, which may have some influence on passage of gun-friendly laws.

Hakaman · Post by **Hakaman** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:39 pm

What are some of the benefits of Open carry?

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:31 pm

The only thing I can think of is that it may be more comfortable to carry. The neg is you will be the 1st target(s) so those who CC have time to draw.

It may give the bad guys something to think about before doing something bad.

greener · Post by **greener** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:53 pm

Open carry is much easier.
You don't need to go through an invasive background check to get a permit.
You don't have to worry about keeping the firearm covered; although you do have to worry about it being covered.
More comfortable.

Concealed carry attracts less attention. I prefer this.

KAZ · Post by **KAZ** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:46 am

I would also carry concealed even if open carry were allowed here as I agree with blue that it would make one a first target of a criminal enterprise. One question greener as regards your states law. You said:" You don't need to go through an invasive background check to get a permit" Does that mean" shall issue" and those that would be denied for CCL could/might get a permit? Regards

bigfatdave · Post by **bigfatdave** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:19 pm

In the case of ohio (and many others) no permitting nonsense at all!

Hakaman · Post by **Hakaman** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:28 pm

Even though I don't think it's a practical way to carry, It would be fun going to
an open carry convention while open carrying to exercise one's rights. I think
my Ruger 45 would look good all holstered up.
Hakaman

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:54 pm

packing a hogleg in the open attracts attention to you. open carry is legal in MI but seldom practiced. there is a group that goes around openly carring waits for a Law Enforcement response then videos the results to the cop responding to a "man with a gun" call....

ruger22 · Post by **ruger22** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:26 am

Only advantage I see in open carry is it can be any handgun in any holster. That does sound nice, doesn't it. Figuring out what to CC, and how, is an ongoing process for most people.

greener · Post by **greener** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 6:40 pm

KAZ wrote:I would also carry concealed even if open carry were allowed here as I agree with blue that it would make one a first target of a criminal enterprise. One question greener as regards your states law. You said:" You don't need to go through an invasive background check to get a permit" Does that mean" shall issue" and those that would be denied for CCL could/might get a permit? Regards

You don't need to go through an invasive background check for open carry. Virginia is shall issue, but you still have to get fingerprinted, go through a background check and demonstrate training for the
CHP. Someone has a Constitutional Carry bill which would do away with the requirement to have a CHP to carry concealed. I believe they are going retain the CHP so you can carry concealed in reciprocating states.

ruger22 · Post by **ruger22** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:46 pm

greener wrote:
KAZ wrote: Someone has a Constitutional Carry bill which would do away with the requirement to have a CHP to carry concealed. I believe they are going retain the CHP so you can carry concealed in reciprocating states.

Sounds good to me.

bigfatdave · Post by **bigfatdave** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 5:01 pm

Constitutional Carry is a HUGE step in the right direction. A government that fears the armed citizen probably has reason to fear the armed citizen.

Of course, the ideal would be the L. Neil Smith ( http://lneilsmith.org/whyguns.html ) attitude from the .gov, but I don't think we have anyone in government at any lever quite ready to trust their citizens that much, although they can't articulate a single logical reason that isn't the fault of government in the first place (that would be "scumbags on the streets with eeeeeebil gunz" ... which is hardly being solved by regulating my access to various mechanisms)

Hakaman · Post by **Hakaman** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:50 pm

Goverment is taking over. Judge Napolitano warns about it. Whether he over states the issues is for your judgement. How about the Feds getting access to your computer surfing history?
Hakaman

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:46 pm

Hakaman wrote: How about the Feds getting access to your computer surfing history?
Hakaman

I think this sorta ties into the current SOPA/PIPA (Stop Online Piracy Act/Protect IP Act) outrage that many US and other countries' citizens are expressing right now. A lot of the big online companies (Google and the like) and "big" users (e.g. notable bloggers) want there to be a line in the sand drawn early on.

I think the whole topic is somewhat parallel to gun control legislation. There are already many laws in place to deter unwarranted lethal violence just as there are already laws in place to protect intellectual property; however, many politicians are still set on making redundant legislation that only makes law-abiding citizens more vulnerable to criminals.

I think history generally shows that there always was and always will be grabs for more power by politicians (see SOPA/PIPA), and there always were and always will be attempts to limit our freedoms (see the 2nd Amendment).