Open Carry Harrassment

[Guest mustangdave]

....and WHY on earth do you want to OPEN CARRY in the first place? IMHO it just draws UNWANTED attention. Sure I know that piece of state issued plastic says...HANDGUN CARRY PERMIT...and I have to PAY the state to exercise my God given RIGHT. WHY advertise the FACT unless you're like our good buddy Leonard (not so KWIK) Embody...and crave undue attention. Just sayin....

[1gewehr]

There are several excellent reasons to open carry:

1) To acclimate the public to not panicking every time they see someone carrying. Forty years ago, I used to ride my bike to Elementary School with my .22 rifle slung across my back. It stood in the corner with my jacket during school. Nobody thought anything unusual about it. I wasn't the only kid doing this. Now, we lock up kids for drawing a PICTURE of a gun in school!

2) Open carry stops criminals. There have been cases of people open carrying in GA, VA, TX, and other states where the criminals saw people carrying and decided to NOT rob the place.

3) Why should I have to hide my firearm just to go into the gas station or store on the way to or from the range or hunting? I don't normally carry a 6" barrel revolver concealed, and I'm more likely to be arrested if someone sees me taking my belt off in the parking lot in order to get the holster off!

4) As long as a person is not causing harm, coercing, or defrauding others, it really is none of your business. And if you think that someone peacefully carrying a revolver in Walmart is scary, you have some issues of your own to deal with.

5) Lastly, it is my right as a law-abiding citizen of TN to carry any handgun as the law allows. It is my DUTY as a citizen of TN to assist others who may be in danger. And at my age, I'm not going up against someone committing violence without a weapon of my own.

[Seaslug]

Because there is a law on the books which says (and I'm paraphrasing, of course) it is illegal to carry a firearm in public in TN. The HCP is merely a defense to that law. There is no such law forbidding the driving of a car, even though you do have to have a license to do so for the most part. It's a semantic distinction, but an important one.

I don't want to derail the thread into it's own little tangent debating this, but there is a difference. There is not a law that says "it is illegal to drive a car unless you prove otherwise". There is a law that says "it is illegal to carry a gun unless you prove otherwise". It may seem like semantics, but there is a difference in the actions and the laws.

Seriously. Now you're just copying me. Go back to posting in DRM's thread or something.

[vontar]

Well it is not a Duty to assist, but it is option if you fear for a 3rd party but you had better be right (big example you don't want to step in and mistake a plain clothes LEO for a bad guy). You can also be a good witness.

[Guest friesepferd]

Alright. Just a reminder that this is a discussion on the legality of cops asking everyone who OCs for their license- not on whether or not OCing is a good idea. There has been enough discussion on that.

Way I see it, a cop may stop you to see if you have a drivers license, they may stop you to check your hunting of fishing license, they may stop you and ask for your carry permit if you are carrying, etc.

Unless you can prove that the cop is only asking black/white/male/female/glock/kimber/etc, then it is what it is.

[daddyo]

This is exactly WHY I don't OC.

[Punisher84]

Seriously. Now you're just copying me. Go back to posting in DRM's thread or something.

I can't. I promised Mac. Plus it was killing brain cells.

[jughead]

dont mind an officer asking to see my license. i do mind 3 different times in the last 8 years them telling me to cover it up. i was in my truck when one took the weapon, unloaded it and told me to put it under the seat. my truck doesnt have ac so i usually take off the over shirt while driving. didnt get a ticket that i probably deserved but did have a rather heated discusion. i now keep the paper work on carrying a handgun in tn in both my vehicles.