I hesitated to write about this because I try to steer clear of controversial topics on the blog, but this has bothered me so much that I'm going to put it out there.
You might have heard that Texas, which has had a
concealed-carry law for guns for about 20 years now, recently enacted an open-carry law. I
can't tell you how much I hate this. I am not a gun person, first of
all, and I feel like those who choose to display their weapons openly
are looking for a reason to use them. And while I fully acknowledge that, this being
Texas, the person standing in line behind me at the grocery store might
very well have a gun in their purse or somewhere on their body, I don't see it, and therefore I can pretend
that it doesn't exist.
But open-carry is another story. Jeff and I
discussed it and agreed that if we ever walked into a place (a
restaurant, for example) and saw patrons with guns on display at their
waistbands, we'd turn around and walk right out. We have much less
trust in those who feel like they need to show their weapon to the
world. So, imagine my dismay when our next-door neighbor wandered over a
couple of weeks ago, with his holstered pistol clipped to the waistband
of his jeans. I mean, WHY??? Our neighborhood is safe. It was the
middle of the afternoon. It's not like he just got home from work;
he'd been out in the yard most of the day. Realistically, I know that
probably several of my neighbors have their concealed-carry
permits, but why oh why does this man have to open-carry like that?
I will fully admit that I don't even want to try and understand why my neighbor is doing this. I know I sound close-minded, but honestly, there is no argument that will sway me...this isn't the wild wild west, it's a normal suburban neighborhood. And even though I've lived in Texas for nearly as long as I lived in California, I haven't let go of my inner west coast hippie liberal rainbow being - and that person doesn't see the need to openly display a gun while watering the lawn.
Put it AWAY, dude.
My mouth was falling open while reading this. My opinion is that nobody should be allowed to have a gun permit unless it's for your job. Too many accidents can happen when people carry a gun. Here in Holland it's the law that you can't own a gun unless it's for work and I am happy about that.
ReplyDeleteI totally don't understand either why your neighbour is carrying it. Put it away dude indeed!
It's quite different here in the U.S. regarding gun ownership, but I swear, people are just getting weirder about it.
DeleteYour neighbor carrying a gun like that seems excessive to me to. Weird neighbor you have there.
ReplyDeleteHe is. I saw him briefly today - he was wearing a nice pair of shorts and a polo shirt, with his gun at his side. Very silly looking.
DeleteI'm with you 100%. I'm proud of everything the State of Connecticut has done to enact stricter gun laws. Unfortunately it took the lives of 20 innocent children to do it, but at least we're trying to lead the way.
ReplyDeleteSad circumstance that brought about the changes, to be sure, but it's great that your state actually DID something after the horror.
DeleteI'm with you. I grew up around guns in a hunting family, but none of them carry personal weapons. I don't feel safer seeing someone open carry. In fact, it makes me feel *less* safe and, frankly, I think it is just ego and testosterone that make people want to open carry.
ReplyDeleteYES. This to a T.
DeleteHere in Utah there has always been an open-carry law, but I never see anyone with a holstered gun except for law enforcement! Wow, I think it is because he can he is. I grew up in the south when you could have your hunting rifle proudly displayed in your truck window. There were plenty of high school kids with guns in their trucks and not once were they ever used during any arguments. It just wasn't part of our up bringing to use a gun except for hunting or protection at home. Everyone in my family had rifles in their trucks displayed on the gun racks. It was so normal to me and I knew never to touch them as well. It is all about how you raise kids around guns and teach them what they are really for. I see no need for anyone to carry a gun openly unless they are law enforcement.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how your state is, Wynette; I suspect you have a lot less people trying to prove something because it's always been an option to open-carry. For the record, when I was in SLC a few years ago, I saw no one with a gun out in the open.
DeleteThe other month when I went to Charleston SC...I stopped halfway down for the night......I was eating at a little BBQ joint that had great reviews. Halfway through my meal a guy walked in with a gun in a holster on his hip...it made me sooooo uncomfortable!!!!! I ate quick and made a hasty retreat!!!
ReplyDeleteSee, that's exactly how I'd feel and I'd probably just pack up my food and get out.
DeleteJust go to restaurants that also serve alcohol. It's illegal to have any firearms at those places. (Not that a sign on the door will necessarily stop people, of course. And that may be just in this neck of the woods? I don't know if that's a state law).
ReplyDeleteI live in the Dallas area, and I haven't seen anyone yet open-carry. One time I was at Walmart and I saw an older gentlemen wearing two holsters underneath a very thin white t-shirt. That's the closest I've seen so far. It was a real fashion faux-pas let me tell you. Didn't do a thing for his hips.
Good to know about the alcohol/firearms connection (or lack thereof, haha).
DeleteI totally agree with you on this one and can't even imagine an open carry state here in California. That would be terrifying for me! I'm so not a fan of guns, and greatly prefer to just pretend like most people aren't carrying. If I can't see it, it doesn't exist!
ReplyDeleteYou and me both, Pahla.
DeleteOh I feel exactly like you do. I detest guns. And I'm afraid of them. When President Obama was trying to get stricter gun laws passed, some of my friends got all worked up, and went and took shooting lessons. Honestly, I just think its awful when people protest against stricter gun laws, and hold up the second amendment as their banner. I'm pretty sure that's NOT what that amendment was for.
ReplyDeleteI remember when that was happening that we'd run by our local sporting goods store and see people lined up outside - at 5:15 am. I finally asked the manager when I was there during normal business hours, and he said it was customers waiting to stock up on bullets - the new supply would arrive on certain days and these people were convinced that President Obama's ruling would take away their right to purchase ammo. Worked up? Yeppers.
DeleteWhat you said is exactly how I feel. Exactly.
ReplyDeleteGood to know I'm not alone in this, Hope.
DeleteOh my! I totally agree. What are they trying to prove??? I see it as a potential accident just waiting to happen.
ReplyDeleteI KNOW. I just hope the bullet doesn't travel through our walls or windows!
DeleteThe owner of the law firm I worked at carried a gun on him every single day. He drove literally 10 minutes from his ultra expensive neighborhood, to our office which is in an equally ultra expensive neighborhood, and his point was "just in case." Just in case what? That the guy who's delivering your Jimmy John's happens to pull a gun on you? No thanks.
ReplyDeleteWhat is he so afraid of? I'd hate to live in fear like him, if that's what he really is doing...or maybe that's just his justification to carry a gun.
DeleteOh my goodness. I'm VERY anti-gun....not sure if I'd fare well in Texas. Time for you to move to Canada Shelley! Not to say we don't have gun toting idiots up here too, but we are polite about it. "Excuse me, eh? Mind if I point a gun at you? Thanks, eh". OMG...so kidding....about the conversation, not about the gun toting idiots.
ReplyDeleteLOL on the polite Canadian gunslingers! I know that there are gun-toting idiots everywhere, but to see them in person is a little (ok, a lot) disconcerting.
DeleteOh my goodness Shelley I think that would make me feel very uncomfortable living with a neighbour who has some need to display his firearm.... Why does he think it's important for everyone to know? We have strict firearm laws here in Australia and our nation reacted very differently when these laws were implemented to the reactions we observe in the US when any firearm discussion comes up. Some of Jeff's workmates in the States were those who went out and stocked up on ammo and bought their 4 year old daughter a little pink gun of some kind (oh my!). I don't understand the culture of fear in the US and the 'right' to own a gun should be seen more as a priviledge and a responsibility. How oftern does a civilian such as your neighbour pull out his gun and actually stop a mass shooting or a crime involving a firearm? The whole thing does my head in. I just don't understand....this from someone who grew up with guns on the farm.
ReplyDeleteI hate that they make child-sized weapons, in kiddie colors, too. I don't care how much you educate a child about gun safety, they are still children and they, or a friend who happens to be visiting, can still look at a pretty pink gun as a toy.
DeleteWe actually saw someone with a gun on their hip in IL at a gas station last week and we were taken aback. First of all, I think we just got conceal and carry so we were alarmed they were displaying it. It just makes me feel uneasy. I know it's their right, but it makes me uneasy. And wasn't it in Texas that people didn't want to go in Target because people were shopping with their guns out? WTH.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was Starbucks and guns? I think Target is still the place of the great bathroom debate ::rolleyes::
DeleteYou are right to feel uneasy when someone is walking around with a gun like that. Not sure what the rules are in your state, but here, I feel like just because you CAN doesn't mean that you SHOULD.
Maybe it was! LOL. And I have completely ignored the Target bathroom stuff.
DeleteYeah, I'd feel exactly that way too.