In today’s time, open carry is discussed by both politicians and the common man, but should it be allowed? Would open carry add to the danger that is already present in society today, or would it help in reducing crime and many other dangers that exist today? While both sides of this argument can be valid, open carry should be considered because of the following: it helps to reduce crime, it will help common people from getting in trouble because of what they are carrying, and it helps protect police officers, but first what is open carry?
Open carry is a group of laws that branch off of the second mendment of the Constitution, which states,” A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. ” (U. S Constitution Amend. 2) Open carry allows individuals to openly carry firearms without of the need of a permit, some states require a permit or license to open carry, and this includes handguns and semi-automatic rifles although it would not be necessary for anyone to bring a semi-automatic firearm anywhere unless they were shooting it or hunting.
Open carry has a lot of controversy as some say that it adds to the anger while others say it would be a direct violation of their rights as an American citizen. First, open carry helps to reduce crime. According to the Daily Beast,” There is a common belief among concealed handgun advocates (of which I am also one) that if a criminal sees a handgun, the individual carrying it will be the first one targeted. Criminals are cowards. (Daily Beast, June 12, 2014) In many cases this is true as more than often criminals will not attack an establishment if they believe that it would not be safe for them, an example of this also comes from the Daily Beast, “Two armed obbers attempted to rob an Internet cafe, but were thwarted by an armed senior citizen with a . 380 caliber pistol. In Phoenix, a jewelry store attendant scared off TWO robbers when she pulled her own gun. ” (Daily Beast, June 12, 2014) In both instances the criminals attacked targets that they believed would soft easy for them to rob; however, they were thwarted by a gun owner.
This could also be prevented with open carry as most criminals will decide against attacking their target if they cannot do it without themselves getting injured or killed. Open carry also allows the individual carrying to draw their firearm aster than if it was concealed. More than often criminals would rather be confronted by a police officer than an armed individual as many police officers will show more control and will be less likely to shoot the criminal. Secondly, open carry helps to protect the common citizen from getting in trouble because of what they are carrying.
Before open carry was introduced the only way to carry a firearm in public was concealed with a permit; however, with open carry people can carry their firearms without a permit in the open. This helps individuals because before someone could get into rouble if their firearm became exposed due to wind blowing their coat back or dropping their bag. Open carry also protects individuals if they took open carry to the extreme and decided to carry a semi-automatic rifle with them. An example of this is the Washington Post’s article about a man who brought his AR-15 with him to Walmart.
The article says,” She knows her 51- year-old husband has two guns inside the house, and this afternoon it won’t be the 9mm, which he straps on with a round in the chamber when grabbing lunch at his favorite fast-food restaurant or visiting a friend’s auto shop. It’ll be the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, which he brings when going somewhere he thinks is dangerous, like the Atlanta airport, where he’s taken it loaded with a 100-bullet drum, or Walmart, where he thinks crowds could pose an easy target for terrorists. (Washington Post, September 17, 2016)
Before open carry was passed Jim could’ve easily gotten arrested for bringing a semi-automatic to a public shopping place; on the other hand, this helps to protect the people at Walmart as many common criminals would not attack Walmart if they knew that someone was carrying that kind of fire arm. Lastly, open carry helps protect police officers. There are many reports today of how gun owners saved the lives of officers; open carry adds to that.
When people open carry police can figure out who the threats are and what fact, many times open carry helps as most gangs will conceal their fire arms to avoid suspicion. Many police officers would prefer it if people open carried instead of concealed since the police can know what they are dealing with when they arrive to a situation. According to Police Chief John Douglas,” I don’t think it’ll change much because it’s not a concealed carry, it’s an open arry and frankly given the choice of the two, open carry is probably less dangerous because we know what we’re dealing with. (Vang, Gia, September 24, 2012)
Open carry also gives individuals the chance to protect themselves instead of relying on others to protect them. In many situations police are called to a crime without knowing what to expect, and sometimes it can cost them their lives. Open carry does help to keep our police officers safe when they go to different crime scenes. Although there are many positive aspects about open carry, there are some negative aspects as well. First, many people say that open carry only adds to the danger. Tampa Bay Times stated,” In the discussions on the Dallas shootings, it appears this was an issue.
Texas allows open carry of rifles, and several people in the vicinity of the demonstration were asserting this right. Once the shooting started, these people unslung their rifles and ran for cover. The problem is they were mistaken as possible shooters, and these distractions may have caused an officer to be put in harm’s way for no reason. ” (Tampa Bay Times, July 16, 2016) Tampa Bay Times also stated,” The public are dealing with; in afety concerns cannot be overstated. There are currently about 1. 5 million people in Florida with a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Under this new legislation, all of them would be authorized to carry their weapon openly anywhere that Florida law currently allows concealed carry. For law enforcement officers, this means that when they arrive at the scene of a crime or disturbance, they will have no way to distinguish the “good guys” with guns from the “bad guys” with guns. ” (Buckhorn, Bob January 24, 2016) Both make good points as to why open carry would be a bad idea, but open carry helps o protect other people as people will begin to defend themselves at the sign of danger.
Some say that open carry puts our police officers in more danger as Tampa Bay Times States,” Our police officers need to make split-second decisions in these kinds of scenarios – they do not have the luxury of time to decipher a good Samaritan from a criminal. Adding open carry to the mix is going to make their job even tougher and potentially add to the number of victims in already tragic and life-threatening situations. ” (Buckhorn, Bob January 24, 2016) While these articles may have some truth to them, open carry as more positive aspects to it than negative.
All in all, what happens when someone handles or carries a firearm is up to them, and what they do with the tool that they have. Through these few points one can see that open carry may not be such a bad thing after all. Open carry helps to deter crime, helps to keep the common citizen from getting in trouble because of that they are carrying, and helps to keep our police officers safe. Open carry would help our country to view firearms, not as weapons, but tools, and may help to eliminate the crime in our country today.