California bans open carry

This morning's paper carried a small article about action in California on Monday to ban the open carry of a gun. And this got me thinking about why someone might want to carry a gun openly, anyway. Wisconsin has an open-carry law, and I believe it is on November 1 that Wisconsin will permit concealed carry.

The article did not carry a source, such as the Associated Press or any other generator of news, and it left a lot to be desired. For example, it read that the law, AB144, "makes it a misdemeanor to carry an exposed and unloaded gun in public or in vehicles". It exempts persons to whom concealed carry permits have been issued.

So consider this. If the law now prohibits carrying an "exposed and unloaded" gun, what about carrying an exposed and loaded gun?

I personally favor the privilege of carrying a concealed, loaded handgun. I'm okay with reasonable restrictions on that privilege. Those restrictions are reasonable in most state laws where what is called Right to Carry has been enacted.

Is it a privilege or a right to carry? I think it is more properly called a privilege. In my book it is a right to own guns, but I'll call the carrying of them off one's property a privilege. Something that is a "right" cannot contain restrictions. Something is either a right, or it's not.

A person who is a convicted felon has lost that right. I also believe that persons convicted of certain felonies should be able to have their right to own guns restored.

So why would a person want to carry a gun exposed? In our urban society today we are not accustomed to seeing persons walking around with holsters and guns. Out on the range? That's another story, when the cowboy swings up onto his horse and might run into a rattlesnake out on the trail. But on the Square in Woodstock?

Carrying a gun openly could even make the person the first target in a crime. If he is sitting in a coffee shop and the armed robber comes in, whom will the robber shoot first, if the robbery "goes south"? He'll shoot the customer whose gun he can see.

If that customer is carrying concealed, he might not even attempt to draw his weapon in a robbery, unless someone is injured or about to be injured. If a robber displays a gun but doesn't threaten to shoot, the armed citizen might not draw, knowing that shots he fired might hit someone other than the robber. On the other hand, if the shooting starts, then the armed citizen is in a position to take action.

Here in Illinois we fight another battle, and that is the privilege to obtain a concealed carry permit and carry a loaded handgun in a concealed manner. This means carrying it in a responsible manner, being trained and proficient in its use, aware of your surroundings and the extreme caution about using it, never brandishing it, and being prepared to be challenged by law enforcement, in a polite, respectful, legal manner or otherwise, at any time.