Capn, I greatly value your input. I will address each of your points with my own point of view and what I have learned in my extensive research over the past several months. Please excuse me if, on some point, my knowledge is lacking regarding the specific point you make.
Mark, Christina brought this thread to my attention, and reading it, I think I’ll share my thoughts...
I don’t carry -- you know that. But I’ve grown up around a lot of wise folks who do, who are indeed the calm, level-headed and safe sort. And to my knowledge, not a one of them carries openly on a regular basis, they would never do so as near to Philly as you are, and I can’t imagine any of them doing so at all except in very specific and restricted circumstances, or when among friends when they’re going out target shooting. They have a lot more experience with carrying than I do, and I can’t help but think there is some wisdom in the pattern I’ve seen.
Now, I haven’t had a conversation with them about open carrying, so I can’t tell you exactly what they’d say. But having grown up with them, I think I can offer a fair facsimile:
1. In the event of a crime taking place, you do not want to have previously advertised that you have a gun. You are placing a target on yourself. You want to remain an unknown quantity so if something goes down, you have the most freedom (under the least suspicion by a criminal) in which to act.
As far as I know (and I have been researching this for a long timer, as mentioned above), there has never once been a shooting or other violent crime reported in which an OCer (open carrier) was specifically targeted because he was carrying. The kids you work with may be all bad-ass with their friend and with their rival gang members, but those are people they
know, either as enemies or friends. Obviously I cannot speak for them nor would I say anything that would go against your experience given your field of work, but as I said, I have yet to hear of a single account in which and OCer was taken out because he was OCing - yet I have heard several cases in which the criminal went somewhere else to rob or hold up the joint because there was less resistance there.
2. Regardless of the law, by carrying openly you will have singled yourself out for additional undesirable attention from law enforcement, and will very likely increase your number of undesirable interactions with them. Police are humans governed by what their experiences and biases tell them, right or wrong, often despite the law. Cite the law all you like, but you will have created for yourself your own version of “driving while black” -- only with firearms in the mix. Not a good idea, even for the most patient and law-abiding of men.
This is a scenario that I have accepted is going to happen at some point. I am ready for something like this to happen, and I am prepared to take responsibility for my choice of carrying should this event come to pass. However, something of note related to this concern - just twenty minutes ago, walking home from the pharmacy to get a script filled (which didn't work out because my insurance company is a goddamned mongolian clusterfuck), a township police cruise drove right past me, within fifteen feet of my person. My gun was openly displayed on my left side, in clear and plain view of the officer driving the vehicle. I KNOW he saw it - all police officers driving that slow are trained to check out people they pass by - but he continued on his merry way and made a right turn into the police department's parking lot, a hundred yards up the road.
3. God forbid both these things happen at the same time, and you find yourself becoming the distraction for a police officer in the course of a crime taking place. In such a high tension environment, there are too many unpleasant possible outcomes. Even more if it’s a less well trained and less discriminating armed shop clerk under similar tension.
Again, this is something I am sufficiently certain I am prepared to accept responsibility for. Though these events may be out of my control, I feel that, having made the choice to open carry, I have accepted that at some point, something bad is going to happen and I am going to get looked at. However, I am also sure that, given time, the facts will show themselves and I will be proven to not have been the wrongdoer, and sent on my way, as much time as it may take.
4. Becoming known as the good guy with a gun sounds nice, but it also disproportionately places responsibility on you. In the event of a real crime, if the victim knows you’re around, they may well offer little response themselves, instead expecting you to handle things -- ‘cause hey, you’re the guy with the gun. With this assumption in place it may well limit your options on when and how to act.
Again, as stated above, I am prepared for that responsibility. If I didn't feel comfortable with taking charge of a situation, I wouldn't have even bought a gun in the first place.
What I’ll offer additionally is based on my own personal experience with adjudicated youth, some of whom, despite the best efforts of many people, will wind up committing crimes, some of them violent. And I think it speaks straight to the premise of gun possession as a deterrent:
5. Some people may be intimidated by the site of a gun, but far from all. The people I’ve worked with largely will not see a gun in the open (especially one with a flashy red handle) as a threat or deterrent so much as a challenge or trophy, and if they’re casing a place in preparation to rob when without a handgun of their own, the one displayed prominently on your hip will be the first thing they go for. If they were to see you around town regularly with it, they would create a plan to get it. I’ve had more than enough clients who have no sense of personal boundaries and whose first instinct is to “run up in your pockets”. They’ll see that gun, and the moment they think your attention is or can be directed elsewhere, they’ll go for it. Some people are very good at this.
This may be true, but situational awareness is a very important tactic that I have also been studying. Remaining aware of my surroundings and the people that are within "striking distance," so to speak, is of paramount importance when one takes on the responsibility of carrying a weapon, especially when wearing it openly. This morning, I went into Philadelphia proper (10th and Walnut, specifically) via train and spent some time on the street of the city on my way to my destination, as well as on the way back to the station. The entire time, my efforts were directed towards making eye contact with those around me and knowing who was behind me and at what distance. Self-awareness is the best way to keep out of distracting situations.
I can't say I'll never make a mistake, Captain, and it may well cost me dearly, so you are correct. However, that's what training classes are for.
This being the case, in order to carry it safely while open, your holster would have to be very secure. The more secure and difficult it is to remove from the holster, the longer it will take for even you to remove it. Since they’ll have already seen it (because that’s your stated intent) the longer a potential criminal will have to counter -- to stop you, or if they do have a gun, to shoot you first.
The holster I use (since I saw you last I purchased a new one) is a retention holster - a heavy duty strap goes over the grip of the weapon and secures it firmly in place. The thumb-break, as it is called (a snap-button which holds the two parts of the strap together) is between the holster and my hip, and I make a point out of obscuring the break underneath my shirt of sweater while the rest of the holster is unconcealed. This makes it very difficult for a would-be snatcher to visually figure out where exactly the thumb-break is, which means they would spend more time wrestling me for it - and since my left side is my strong side, a swift elbow in their direction wouldn't take too long to snap up.
To touch on your other point, if a robber or otherwise gun-toting criminal is watching me, it won't matter if I an OC or CC (concealed carry) - in fact, if CCing, it will take me
longer to draw and ready my weapon to address the threat, in which case, it doesn't matter - the robber will see me going for a gun and BANG.
Captain, you know that I do take what you have to say seriously, especially since you approach debates and discussions from a more unbiased point of view. However, I feel as though all your points are things I have given very serious thought to previously, and have made my decision because I feel comfortable accepting the possible consequences thereof.
I very much look forward to reading your final though, as well. When are you coming over again, anyway?
