General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A terrible precedent is being set with guns in public places... [View all]Flatulo
(5,005 posts)and possibly even blocking traffic. If it's your contention that no one could ever be placed in fear in such circumstances, I would have to strongly disagree.
Personally, and I want to emphasize that I am speaking only for myself here, I would not be fearful of a holstered and secured weapon in plain sight. I can understand that others might be terrified, and I would not open carry even if it were legal in my state (it's not), but I grew up in a gun culture/neighborhood/household. Everyone had a .22 rifle by their eighteenth birthday, and got their CCW at the same time. Guns were not, and are not, a big deal for me.
Having said that, there are too many people who are carrying guns who've obtained them for some personal projection of power that I don't quite understand. I wish I knew a way to filter out these individuals. In my state, the local police chief has discretion over who may or may not carry a pistol, the idea being that the local cops have a pretty good idea of who the troublemakers are. It works very well for us, as we have among the lowest gun crime rates in the country.