So, let me preface this with the fact that I live in Texas, the state most proud of its guns, and open carry of handguns will become legal on January 1st here. Because of this, I've been hearing a lot of people talking about it, for and against. What are your opinions?
Mine boils down to: If you open carry you're making yourself a target. If you open carry a rifle (which is actually legal without any licensing or training in Texas), you're an idiot and a target. Not just from the logic of "He has a gun, shoot him first" but also because a gun is valuable. How much do you think an AR-15 is worth? Before or after someone shoots you in the back, lifts it off your corpse, and files the serial number off? And speaking of shooting, bringing a knife to a gun fight is surprisingly effective. Aside from the casually walking up to someone with a gun and stabbing them repeatedly and unexpectedly tactic, you can outright charge someone head on with a knife and cover a surprising amount of distance before they have time to draw a pistol from a holster and shoot you. Police are taught in training that an attacker can cover 21 feet in that time, often called the Tueller Rule.
Mine boils down to: If you open carry you're making yourself a target. If you open carry a rifle (which is actually legal without any licensing or training in Texas), you're an idiot and a target. Not just from the logic of "He has a gun, shoot him first" but also because a gun is valuable. How much do you think an AR-15 is worth? Before or after someone shoots you in the back, lifts it off your corpse, and files the serial number off? And speaking of shooting, bringing a knife to a gun fight is surprisingly effective. Aside from the casually walking up to someone with a gun and stabbing them repeatedly and unexpectedly tactic, you can outright charge someone head on with a knife and cover a surprising amount of distance before they have time to draw a pistol from a holster and shoot you. Police are taught in training that an attacker can cover 21 feet in that time, often called the Tueller Rule.