Open-Carry Of Guns In Public Is Bad Idea & Needs To Stop

We have all seen the photos of people openly carrying guns, especially assault rifles, into discount stores, supermarkets, and restaurants. These people think they are helping their cause (allowing the open-carry of firearms in public), but all they are really doing is frightening people and actually hurting their cause. The NRA may approve of these silly actions, but the American people do not.

The charts above (and below) are from a new survey by the YouGov Poll. It was done between June 6th and 9th of a random national sample of about 1,000 adults, and has a margin of error of about 4 points. It shows that disapproval of open-carry is 15 points higher than its approval. In addition, 64% say they are frightened when they see someone carry an assault rifle into a store, and 75% say doing so only hurts the cause of the open-carry proponents.

The nuts that carry assault rifles into stores are trying to tell us that it's their Second Amendment right to do so. That's nonsense. The Second Amendment gives law-abiding citizens the right to own a firearm. It does not give them the right to frighten or intimidate their fellow citizens by marching down the street with an assault rifle. And don't try to tell me it's for self-defense either. That's what handguns and concealed-carry permits are for.

Actually the public is being fairly generous with open-carry. The 38% who approve of it far outnumbers the percentage of people who actually own a firearm (or feel the need to do so). Only about 22% of individuals in this country own a gun, and if you consider households instead of individuals, the number only rises to about 33%. And that 33% is probably accurate since a recent General Social Survey came up with that same percentage (saying it was between 32% and 34%).

The American people are trying to give gun owners some leeway. It is time the gun owners reciprocated. They should stop carrying their assault weapons in public. And they should also stop their opposition to closing the loopholes in the background check law. It makes no sense to defend the right of criminals and other dangerous people to have easy access to a gun (and that's what opposition to closing those loopholes does). No law-abiding citizen is threatened by closing those loopholes, and it should be done.