N.Y. Times and Open Carry

Most gun owners know that the New York Times is no friend. So imagine my surprised when I found this article while reading Snowflakes in Hell. It is one more article that has focused on open carry since the Starbucks issue first surfaced last week.

I agree with Sebastian that it is a pretty balanced article. And, you have to hand it to Alan Gotlieb for saying what many in the Second Amendment community probably are thinking but would probably not say publicly:

“I’m all for open-carry laws,” said Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun rights advocacy organization in Washington State. “But I don’t think flaunting it is very productive for our cause. It just scares people.”

If done properly, open carry offers gun owners the opportunity to educate the general public on why we carry firearms whether openly or concealed. But, the fact is, many people are shocked to see a firearm holstered to the side of the average person. And many in Northern Virginia are more likely to react in this manner than say someone in Roanoke or Emporia, Virginia. The Times led the story with this reminder of something that Charlton Heston said when referring to the need for concealed carry:

... In defending it, Charlton Heston, the actor and former president of the National Rifle Association, used to say that the flock is safer when the wolves cannot tell the difference between the lions and the lambs.

Second Amendment advocates may want to consider Mr. Heston's words when deciding whether to carry concealed or openly. Now that the ban on carrying concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol is about to be repealed (effective July 1,2010) one major impediment to carrying concealed will be removed.

Hat tip to Snowflakes in Hell.