Oklahoma Open Carry

[thor447]

Gov. Mary Fallin signed the Open Carry Bill into law on Tuesday.  Beginning on Nov. 1st, we will become the 14th state to have an open carry policy.  I am not sure if the other states are like Oklahoma, but this bill will require all people who chose to open carry to have their Concealed Carry License.   

http://www.news9.com/story/18426167/oklahoma-governor-signs-open-carry-bill-into-law

I (along with surely +90% of everyone else on here) have my CCL, but will refrain from carrying openly.  First and foremost, it obviously takes away the tactical advantage of surprise which concealed carry offers.  Secondly, aside from constant requests from local law enforcement the show you CCL if you open carry, I feel that there will be a lot of people who become uncomfortable if someone is carrying around them. 

Where I think that this law is fantastic, is it closes a loophole in the previous concealed carry law.  If someone who has a conceal-carry permit accidentally exposed his or her firearm under a jacket or in a purse, it technically would be a violation of the law, a problem referred to as “casual exposure”.   Now with this new legislation, this is no longer a problem, and I am thrilled about that. 

I will not be carrying openly, although later this year I will have the choice to do so.  I just think that it is more trouble than it is worth. 

What are your thoughts on the matter?

-Adam

[MRC]

I live in Iowa and we are now17 months into an open carry law.  I was really against it and I thought our legislatures had made a big mistake.

So far not one bit of trouble that I have heard of.  I asked a friend who is in Law Enforcement if they have had any problems and he said no more than we had under concealed carry laws and we now have twice the number of permits out there.  He reminded me that more permits are given out now, but all in all they are a very responsible group in his opinion.

[Richard S]

Tennessee does not require the holder of a carry permit to keep the weapon concealed, but you rarely see anyone openly carrying a firearm who is not in some form of law enforcement or the military. There may be times -- few and far between -- when openly carrying a firearm might be an advantage for a civilian. Most of the time, however, you would merely be advertising that you have a gun that the BGs and "wannabe gang bangers" might try to lift from your person if and when your attention happened to be diverted. It is better to keep the bottom feeders wondering -- "Is that person carrying or not?" Generally, they are cowards and run in packs. Keep you firearm(s) concealed, work on maintaining constant awareness of your surroundings, and always recall that when s*^% happens, it happens quickly and rarely with any warning.

The open-carry laws are valuable primarily because they protect the holder of a carry permit if he/she happens accidentally to expose his/her handgun to some nervous Nellie who thinks guns cause crime. (If the philosophy of that type were carried to its logical conclusion, rocks would be assigned serial numbers and registered.)

Stay safe.

[thor447]

Spot on Richard.