If Only He'd Had A Gun To Defend Himself. Oh, Wait.... (Open Carry Idiot)

William Coleman III had just purchased his brand new Walder P22 handgun and was walking down the street in Gresham, Oregon, proudly exercising his "Second Amendment right" to openly-carry the gun on his hip.

That's when he was approached by a man who said he wanted a cigarette, but when he saw Coleman's gun, he said, "I like your gun. Give it to me," and flashed a concealed handgun of his own.

Coleman then meekly handed over the gun, and the man fled.  

It's just that easy.

From an article:

Coleman, 21, was talking to his cousin in the 17200 block of NE Glisan St., after purchasing the handgun earlier that day, when a young man asked him for a cigarette, police said. 

The man then asked about the gun, pulled a gun from his own waistband and said “”I like your gun. Give it to me.” 

Coleman handed over the gun and the man fled on foot.

But, but...  the NRA says this shouldn't happen.  That simply seeing the gun openly-carried should scare away the bad guys, right??  Instead, it was merely an invitation for a free gun.  

Thankfully, Coleman handed it over instead of getting into a shootout, and no one had to die.  But that's not the fantasy ending that the gun guys dream about, is it?  Remember when Charlton Heston held up a rifle and shouted "from my cold dead hands"??

But there's nothing to keep Coleman from trying this stupidity again, is there?  And now there's one more illegal gun on the market.

[this post is part of an ongoing series of people being shot to death or attacked despite being armed (and sometimes because they are armed)]

"Open Carry" backfires -- AGAIN!

(UPDATED -- see below)

Once again, the "open carry" movement has shot itself in the foot.

no more of this....

Open carry activists, in their fevered minds, decided that going into Target stores, heavily armed, would be a great PR move for them.  Through June, in Texas and then throughout the country, they invaded Target stores and made a show of themselves.

By openly carrying assault rifles and handguns into otherwise family-friendly Target stores, these gun extremists have sent shoppers fleeing the store.  Instead of "normalizing" guns in our society or "educating" the public about guns, they've managed only to rile up normal, everyday people.  Led by Moms Demand Action, a movement began to stop shopping at Target stores until Target bans guns in their stores.

And for a couple weeks, it was looking like Target wouldn't see common sense.  They even turned away protesting moms with their strollers, despite having accepted gun-toters with open arms. But the numbers of unhappy customers kept growing.

Faced with increasing numbers of sensible people boycotting their stores, Target has now announced that guns are no longer welcomed there.  From their announcement....

[S]tarting today we will also respectfully request that guests not bring firearms to Target – even in communities where it is permitted by law. ....

[W]e are asking for help in fulfilling our goal to create an atmosphere that is safe and inviting for our guests and team members.

This is a complicated issue, but it boils down to a simple belief: Bringing firearms to Target creates an environment that is at odds with the family-friendly shopping and work experience we strive to create.

Did you catch that?  They said "not bring firearms to Target," not just openly, but in any manner, to
"create an atmosphere that is safe and inviting" (because they recognize that openly-carried guns are inherently not safe nor inviting!) and "at odds with the family-family shopping and work experience."

Perhaps it had something to do with how a loaded gun was left by a felon in the toy isle of a Target store (which, of course, the gun guys thought was a "false flag" conspiracy by Moms Demand Action).  Perhaps it had a LOT to do with thousands of safety-conscious people signing petitions for Target to ban guns in their stores.

Nearly 400,000 people signed the Moms petition!

So, once again, the "open carry" movement has backfired.  Just as it has backfired with other businesses (as I blogged on recently).  The list just keeps on growing:  Target, Texas Roadhouse, Sonic, Chili's, Chipotle's, Jack in the Box, Starbucks, Whataburger, and others.  Wherever they demonstrate with their guns, they are eventually banned.

But the "open carry" crowd didn't learn their lesson from previous demonstrations.  I'm sure they'll keep popping up.  The leader of Open Carry Texas, for instance, has already said in his Twitter posts that he'll keep going back to Target with his weapons, no matter what Target has said.  Whatever.  Keep trying, Kory.  We'll be watching.

Wherever the open carry extremists decide to make their next target for demonstrations, I and other gun violence-conscious people will be sure to fight back, with our voices and pens as our weapons, and we will continue to win, until, at last, America makes a national policy against this unsafe and extremist behavior.


UPDATE (7/3/14):  The Target spokeswoman confirmed in an article that their request not to have guns in their stores includes concealed guns as well as openly-carried guns.

The Wire reached out to Target to explain the details of this statement, and Target's stance on Concealed Carry. "This isn't a policy change, this is a position," said Molly Snyder, a member of Target's public relations team, in a phone interview. "We are requesting that people do not carry any firearms in our stores, including concealed carry. We will continue to follow local laws, however, concealed weapons are included in our position." Target also confirmed that they have not sold any guns or gun paraphernalia in their stores since the early 1980s, and have not sold realistic toy guns since the 1990s.

However, the spokesman has also said that their employees will not attempt to remove anyone who does bring in a gun, nor will they post "no guns" signs at the entrances.  More from the previous article:

While Target is "respectfully requesting" customers not bring weapons of any kind into their stores, they won't actually force customers to leave if they do so. When asked if Target will ask a gun toting customer to leave, Snyder told The Wire, "Because this is a request and not a prohibition, we do not plan to communicate with our customers at this time."

These statements, combined with the wording of the Target statement as a "request" has led to some in the open carry movement to conclude that Target is not serious about not wanting guns and plan to take their guns in anyways.

"Open Carry" Backfires

(UPDATED -- See below)


I’ve been shaking my head lately at the antics of “Open Carry” extremists.  They seem to think that showing up in force at restaurants and other public venues, with handguns on their hips and assault rifles slung over their back, is somehow going to “educate” the public or “normalize” guns in our society. 

Naturally, the normal folk who are there to eat or enjoy a family outing are alarmed to see a large bunch of stern men with loaded guns come stomping into the room, proudly proclaiming their extremist views.  Police are called. Families flee.  It’s a sad sight.  But so blind are these men to their fetish that the simply can’t understand why everyone’s alarmed and the restaurants boot them out.

They keep trying though.  And it keeps backfiring on them.  Consider the following….

Texas Roadhouse:  This week, a group of Nebraska Open Carry activists intended to invade the local Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Omaha.  Alarmed, people called the restaurant to complain, and calls were even made to the police.  With all the unwanted attention, the Texas Roadhouse manager told the activists to go elsewhere.  

Backfire! 

“I want to feed people — not have a circus in here,” [restaurant manager Steve] Jackson explained. …

Travis Doster, a national spokesperson for Texas Roadhouse, told the World Herald that the company’s policy had nothing to do with gun rights, and everything to do with being a successful business. …

But after getting calls from the Papillion Police Department, Shadow Lake’s property management and Nebraskans Against Gun Violence, the company concluded that having a group of people toting firearms in its restaurant was “not good for business.”

“I know they have their agenda. I really like to stay neutral. This thing is not a neutral issue. It’s not good for business,” managing partner Steve Jackson noted.

Naturally, the activists simply couldn’t understand.  In their minds, their “rights” were infringed by not being able to haul out their assault weapons when they get their ribeyes.  In the words of the organizer of the activists:  “It always seems like the anti-gunners always get their way instead of the pro-Second Amendment people,” he added. “That, to me, it’s getting old.”

No sir, it’s not “anti-gunners” who get their way, it’s the general public – who understand that more guns don’t make us safe. 

Chili’s and Sonic:  Also this week, some members of Open Carry Texas uploaded (and later removed) videos of them carrying assault rifles into a Sonic restaurant (see video HERE).  When the manager of Sonic told the group of 10 men that they weren’t welcome with their rifles, one gun guy complains, “That’s the second time in a row!  Man, we can’t do nothin’!  I feel like I’m a kid again; my mom won’t let me do anything!”  Another, with a little girl in hand, comments “I’m going to tell my daughter it’s not safe to be here. 

Later, they decided to go into a Chili’s restaurant and filmed it, too (see video HERE).  One of the patrons, a mother, confronted the armed men:

When a young woman approaches the group in Chili's and expresses her dismay, a guy with an assault rifle strapped across his back offers her a flyer. "Um actually, there's children here," she replies, "and you're a dumbass." As she walks away one member of the group comments mockingly, "Yes, I'm a dumbass," and then says of her, "must be Moms Demand Action," referring to the national gun reform group.

Apparently she wasn’t a member, but is now.

Now, both Chili’s and Sonic are considering a policy against guns in their stores (also here).  Backfire!  Backfire!   -->  UPDATE! BOTH HAVE NOW ANNOUNCED A BAN ON GUNS.

"Open Carry" extremists at Chipotle's

Chipotle’s:  Last week, more members of Open Carry Texas decided it would be a swell idea to carry loaded AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles into a Chipotle restaurant in Dallas.  They took pictures, then spread the pictures all over the internet.  Customers were rightly alarmed, and complained, prompting Chipotle’s to release a statement, banning the guns in their restaurants.  

Backfire! 

Here is an excerpt (read the full statement HERE):

Recently participants from an "open carry" demonstration in Texas brought guns (including military-style assault rifles) into one of our restaurants, causing many of our customers anxiety and discomfort.  Because of this, we are respectfully asking that customers not bring guns into our restaurants, unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel.

Historically, we felt it enough to simply comply with local laws regarding the open or concealed carrying of firearms, because we believe that it is not fair to put our team members in the uncomfortable position of asking that customers refrain from bringing guns into our restaurants.  

However, because the display of firearms in our restaurants has now created an environment that is potentially intimidating or uncomfortable for many of our customers, we think it is time to make this request.

Extremist Delcampo allowing a
child to hold his assault rifle.

Turns out those activists broke the law.  It’s illegal to openly carry rifles into establishments that serve alcohol, in Texas.  Seems they only respect the laws that favor their extremism.  Just another example of how gun activists are pro-criminal.  See the extremist on the right, in the picture (right)?  His name is Alfonso Delcampo.  Turns out he’s the worst sort of person.  Posts from his Facebook page clearly show his racist, chauvinistic nature, with pictures of him showing off his weapons, toting them around in public, and even letting a small boy handle his assault rifle.  Now those activists intend to target the BLM.

It’s a good thing Chipotle’s learned its lesson before someone gets hurt by a gun-toter.  Earlier this year, a Chipotle’s patron unintentionally fired his gun in the restaurant in Sandy, Utah. He was carrying legally too.  So, of course, he wasn’t cited.  Oopsie.  Can you hear the “freedom?”  Luckily no one was injured.

Jack in the Box:  In early May, a group of “Open Carry” activists  in Fort Worth, Texas, carried their assault rifles into a Jack in the Box restaurant, proudly announcing their “rights.”  What followed was mayhem, with scared customers fleeing and the employees locking themselves in the freezer.  When police showed up in force, the activists finally left, but there weren’t any charges.  Open intimidation of this sort isn’t illegal, unfortunately.

Jack in the Box immediately learned their lesson and released a statement prohibiting the carrying of guns in their stores.  Jack in the Box released a statement, saying, "The presence of guns inside a restaurant could create an uncomfortable situation for our guests and employees and lead to unintended consequences.”

Backfire!

Starbucks:  And who can forget how, after the tragic Sandy Hook school shooting, gun activists nationwide targeted Starbucks stores for “Open Carry” demonstrations.

After the activists decided, in their truly blind, thoughtless, and unapologetic manner, to target the Starbucks restaurant in Newtown on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, that store closed its doors for the day, then the company issued a statement telling gun owners not to bring guns into their stores.  From the statement:

Recently, however, we’ve seen the “open carry” debate become increasingly uncivil and, in some cases, even threatening. Pro-gun activists have used our stores as a political stage for media events misleadingly called “Starbucks Appreciation Days” that disingenuously portray Starbucks as a champion of “open carry.” To be clear: we do not want these events in our stores. Some anti-gun activists have also played a role in ratcheting up the rhetoric and friction, including soliciting and confronting our customers and partners.

For these reasons, today we are respectfully requesting that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas—even in states where “open carry” is permitted—unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel.

Backfire!  It was a move that was supported by the general public, of course, according to a poll. 

Naturally, since gun activists are pro-criminal, some have commented that they will carry concealed guns in Starbucks anyhow.  “I dont care what their sign says, I carry anyway but keep it concealed under my shirt. Are they going to frisk me or put in a metal screener ??” said one.  “If someone wants to live with the illusion that nobody would ever bring a gun into Starbucks I am willing to let them continued to fool themselves,” said another.  "I carry where I want (concealed) and will continue to do so,"  said a third.  (see HERE and HERE for comments).

Other restaurant chains that have prohibited the carrying of guns in their stores, because of “Open Carry” demonstrators, include Wendy’s, Smashburger, and Applebee’s.  Backfire!  Backfire!  Backfire!

Open Carry Texas has finally learned their lesson (sorta), releasing a notice to its followers to cease the open carry of rifles into restaurants.  But it’s too little too late.  Their extremism has been on display, and it isn’t winning them any supporters.  And they still don’t really get it (they still advocate the carrying of black powder revolvers, which aren’t covered by the state law against open carry of handguns). 

I know if I saw someone openly carrying a gun where I and my family were eating, I would leave immediately and call the police.  There is simply no way to know what that person’s intentions are or if they have any training with their weapon.  Gun toters have yet to stop a mass shooting, even in very lenient states like Arizona, but there have been plenty of incidents of them unintentionally discharging their weapons, sometimes injuring or even killing others in the act.  That, of course, is the ultimate backfire – at the cost of innocent lives.

Addendum:  And let’s not forget this Georgia “Open Carry” activist, who strutted around a little league baseball game with his openly-carried handgun, announcing to frightened parents, “See my gun? Look, I got a gun and there's nothing you can do about it,” prompting panicked calls to 911, the cancelling of the game, and the fleeing of families with their crying children. But it was totally legal, thanks to our lax gun laws.

UPDATE (5/31/14):  Both Chili's and Sonic have now announced a ban on guns in their stores.  Backfire!  Backfire!  When will the gun guys learn?  Personally, I hope they keep showing up with their guns.  They help our cause immensely with their shows of extremism.

UPDATE (6/1/14):  Even the NRA has denounced these "Open Carry" extremists!  In a statement released by the NRA, the NRA uses words to describe the armed invasions of restaurants that include "weird," “downright foolishness,”  “not neighborly,” and “counterproductive."  From the NRA statement:

As gun owners, whether or not our decisions are dictated by the law, we are still accountable for them. And we owe it to each other to act as checks on bad behavior before the legal system steps in and does it for us.  If we exercise poor judgment, our decisions will have consequences. ....

Yet while unlicensed open carry of long guns is also typically legal in most places, it is a rare sight to see someone sidle up next to you in line for lunch with a 7.62 rifle slung across his chest, much less a whole gaggle of folks descending on the same public venue with similar arms. 

Let's not mince words, not only is it rare, it's downright weird and certainly not a practical way to go normally about your business while being prepared to defend yourself. To those who are not acquainted with the dubious practice of using public displays of firearms as a means to draw attention to oneself or one's cause, it can be downright scary.  It makes folks who might normally be perfectly open-minded about firearms feel uncomfortable and question the motives of pro-gun advocates. ....

... the freedom and goodwill these businesses had previously extended to gun owners has been curtailed because of the actions of an attention-hungry few who thought only of themselves and not of those who might be affected by their behavior. To state the obvious, that's counterproductive for the gun owning community.

HERE is a related article, from Mother Jones magazine, on the NRA rebuff of Open Carry Texas's actions.

UPDATE (6/3/14):  In an interview with one of the Open Carry Texas organizers on MSBC, the spokesman refused to admit that anyone could be scared by a group of men openly carrying assault rifles into restaurants.  Just goes to show how blind they are to the effects of their actions.  From an article:

“Do you think it would scare people?” Reid asked Tov Henderson several times. “I can’t get you to answer a very simple question. Do you think it scares people to see, let alone one armed person, but a bunch of armed people in this day and age when we have so many mass shootings? Do you think it scares people?” 

“I think it has the potential to do anything, to have all kinds of emotions,” Henderson said. “It potentially could have a large range of emotions.” 

When Reid asked Henderson to name the emotions his group elicits during public appearances, Henderson said the response when his group would go to restaurants was positive.

Given the extreme positions the the NRA has taken, on every issue related to guns, I'm surprised by their statement.

UPDATE (6/14/14):  Well, the joke's on us (the American people).  Only a few hours after releasing their statement condemning the Open Carry Texas demonstrations, and after a round of outrage from the Open Carry crowd, the NRA abruptly reversed their opinion, blaming their original position on a staffer who had "expressed his personal opinion."  From an article and video:

A National Rifle Association (NRA) official publicly apologized on Tuesday for a statement the group released criticizing the growing “open carry” movement in Texas for being “downright scary,” Talking Points Memo reported.

“It shouldn’t have happened,” NRA Institute for Legislative Action director Chris Cox said on the Cam and Co. radio show. “I’ve had a discussion with the staffer who wrote that piece, and expressed his personal opinion. Our job is not to criticize the lawful behavior of fellow gun owners.”

Cox’s apologetic remarks followed threats by members of Open Carry Texas in response the NRA’s statement, which criticized the group’s practice of gathering in public places while carrying assault rifles or other long firearms to protest the state ban on carrying handguns openly.

Why am I not surprised?  Common sense is too foreign of a concept for the NRA.  They wouldn't want a handful of extremists to be lost from their flock, after all, given how close their leadership is to them (despite being so far removed from the general NRA membership).

ADDENDUM (6/8/14):  The Daily Show had a funny skit about "2nd Amendment Manners" for all those (white) Open Carry advocates:

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

UPDATE (6/16/14):  Whataburger has now joined the ranks of restaurant chains that are disallowing guns in their stores.  See their notice, HERE.  Backfire!
.

"Open Carry" Intimidation

(UPDATED -- see below)

When we see pictures on the news, of third world countries, of men toting around assault rifles in public and brandishing them at peace activists and government officials, we automatically think terms like "intimidation," "extremist," "rebel," and "terrorist."  Yet, for some reason, when we see nearly the exact same thing in America, somehow a certain subset of people think "freedom" instead.   See HERE of a telling comparison I've made.

A couple days ago, four members of the Arlington, Texas, chapter of Moms Demand Action privately met at a restaurant over lunch to talk about their program.  Some pro-gun extremists found out, so they decided to intimidate the ladies by showing up with their fellow gun lovers.  But they didn't just show up -- they came armed to the hilt with hunting rifles and assault rifles.  Look at that image and tell me that isn't intimidation.  The picture to the right which was taken by one of the Moms Demand Action members.  There were forty pro-gun extremists, and some of them even brought along some small children, I guess to give the impression of a "family event" for their armed ambush. 

See below for another image that was posted on the Facebook page of those extremists.  As stated on the "Moms Demand Action - TX" Facebook page:

Moms, restaurant employees and patrons were all shocked. One patron commented to one of our organizers," I grew up with guns, but no one would ever do this. This is like Deliverance." 

Brandishing loaded assault rifles and threatening four older ladies is the epitome of extreme, in my mind.  Is this really what our country has come to?  Texas is one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation?  What are these people so afraid of that they feel threatened by four older women?

I think these extremists have their priorities wrong.  They should be fearing the same thing that the older ladies feared:  guns falling into the wrong hands.  Every gun crime makes law-abiding gun owners look that much worse.

This same weekend, in Texas, a house party in Houston turned bloody as a mass shooting unfolded.  In all, 22 people were injured, and two teens were killed, ages 16 and 17.  But the gun guys aren't interested in actually DOING anything to stop such shootings.  They would rather intimidate old women.

Sadly, wanton shows of force by the pro-gun guys is becoming all-too-common.  

At the end of October, also in Texas, a couple "Open Carry" activists illegally carried loaded antique handguns in public.  See the video below.  When Texas Rangers confronted the men and arrested them, the men's pro-gun buddies showed up in force, verbally abusing the officers and waving their Gadsden "don't tread on me" flags.  What did these men hope to achieve by displaying their guns and resisting arrest?  What did their buddies think they were achieving by abusing the officers?  Did any of this circus actually serve to help their "open carry" cause?  I don't think so.  The video made the rounds on the pro-gun sites, with statements suggesting in the usual vitrolic anti-government language that this was an over-stepping of law enforcement.  I think the opposite.  These men wanted only one thing: intimidation of society with their guns, and I'm glad law enforcement was there to put a stop to it.

Earlier in October, an "Open Carry" rally was held at the historic Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. Billed as "Come and Take It San Antonio!" it was a statement all about anti-government sentiment and fearmongering about the government coming to confiscate all guns -- the most enduring pro-gun myth promulgated by the gun lobby.  Hundreds of pro-gun extremists showed up, weapons held high.  Some brought small children with them.  Said one of the pro-gun demonstrators:

“A rifle on our back is part of our everyday life, just like a cell phone is part of our everyday life.”

Really? They feel so afraid of their fellow citizens that they think carrying a rifle around is as normal as carrying a cell phone?  It's horrifying to me that anyone could be so blinded by gun-worship that they would see it this way.

Naturally, tourists to the Alamo that day were also shocked.  According to another article:

For the tourists who just happened upon the rally — 2.5 million visit the Alamo annually — there was initial trepidation among some. 

Mark Roberts, 63, of London, Ontario, was among a group of Canadian tourists caught off guard."We're not used to seeing guns carried openly in Canada, so that was almost like a culture shock," Roberts said, noting that it appeared well organized. It was more unnerving for his wife. 

"I didn't like it at all because you don't know who you're dealing with," Julie Roberts said. "You don't know who these people are."

Again, what, exactly, are these extremists trying to achieve?  No one is trying to take away their guns, especially in Texas!  But paranoia runs deep in these people.

But intimidation by the "open carry" crowd isn't only in Texas.   Increasingly it is across America.  

Consider the following cases:

November 5, Phoenix, Arizona:  A man brought his 12-year old son to the international airport in Phoenix.  Only two days after the shooting at LAX, he thought it would be a fine idea to show up with his assault rifle openly strapped to his back.  His son, too, was packing, with a handgun on his hip.  He clearly knew the shocking effect it would have on the people around him, and police showed up to surround him and escort him, but he knew his bounds.  Sadly, it was completely legal to do so there.  From an article:

“I was outraged by it and others around me were outraged," one woman told KNXV.  .... 

“The vibe that I received from them was that they were rather smug about what they were doing that they knew the law. They knew what they could and could not do,” the woman who witnessed the incident explained. “I think there are circumstances where people should be able to carry guns and have guns, but I don’t think this is one of the good ones.”

October 2013, Portland, Oregon:  A man with an assault rifle, body armor, and ammunition walks around on the streets.  Claims he is training for a "military training mission" and openly welcomes confrontations with police.  Has had multiple run-ins with police.

September 2013, Nebraska: A man "expressing his Second Amendment rights" enters a convenience store, armed with an automatic shotguns, ammo belt, and trenchcoat, leading to police response and the lockdown of a neighboring school.

August, 2013, Nashville, Tennessee:  A man walks downtown with a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle with silencer in a case, leading to public fears and police response.  He had been detained five other times for carrying weapons in public.

August, 2013, Wisconsin: Two men with assault rifles openly carry them to a farmer's market "to make a point."

July, 2013, Vancouver, Washington: A man carries assault rifle near family fun center, restaurant, and fireworks stand to "educate the public," prompting calls to 911 and police response. 

July, 2013, Beaverton, Oregon:  A man, dressed in camo and armed with a pump-action shotgun, carries his gun in a "low ready position" on the street to "practice his Second Amendment rights."  When police arrives, he puts a round in the chamber.

January, 2013, Charlottesville, Virginia:  A man "expressing his Second Amendment rights" carries an assault rifle into grocery, causing a panic and leading to police to arrive and draw their guns on him.

January, 2013, Utah:  A man openly carries an assault rifle and handgun into a JC Penney store "to make a statement."

January, 2013, Springfield, Oregon: A man with an assault rifle openly carries it on streets.  People become upset, and police have to respond.

January, 2013, Portland, Oregon:  Two men with assault rifles walk through neighborhoods.  People flee and businesses lock up.  Police have to respond.

And these are just a few of the cases I've noted.  I haven't even done some sort of search for them.

Over and over again in these cases we see how these pro-gun "open carry" activists alarm the public, requiring police response, and smugly confront police, sometimes seeming to purposely bait them, and then justifying it away as some sort of public education attempt or an attempt to "normalize" the open carrying of guns in public.

But their real purpose isn't any of that.  The political cartoon to the right says it all.  Their real purpose is to intimidate normal citizens and, most especially, anyone who is working to reduce gun violence, like those four moms in Arlington, Texas.  It's also a sad and public display of the paranoid fear they feel toward their fellow Americans.

As you can see by these cases, the number of "open carry" demonstrations has vastly increased this year, ever since the Sandy Hook shootings.  The pro-gun crowd is afraid.  All the mass shootings, which are increasing at an alarming rate, are turning the tide in the gun argument.  The gun guys are outnumbered by people who are fed up with the daily carnage in America, and it's got them scared.  The days of unfettered access to guns is coming to an end.  Our culture simply can't handle 100,000 shootings a year, including 32,000 deaths, at the end of bullets.  Reasonable legislation is on the way to require background checks for ALL gun sales, and other limits.  The people who parade around with their guns in public are the same ones who would rather trump their interpretation of "rights" over the right of the people to live without fear.

Honestly, the "open carry" crowd are doing me and other gun violence prevention advocates a great favor.  They are their own worst enemy.  Every gun they wave, every Gadsden flag they fly, every shout they utter at the police, is another example of their motivations.  Every time they act this way, they put on display their extremism for the rest of us to see and use against them, yet they are too blind to see it.  They are the face of a gun culture that has run amok.  It's time to change.

ADDENDUM (11/11/13):  A related post, from Common Gunsense blog.

UPDATE (11/11/13):  A Forbes online article points out that the "open carry" protesters may actually have been breaking the law by their show of force.  From the article:

While the group is certainly entitled to protest (although there are questions raised about them doing so on private property without invitation as was the case here), they are not, according to Texas law, entitled to do so by openly showing their weapons. 

While Texas permits licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons, Texas does not permit the open carry of guns
, except for long guns that are not being used in a menacing way (added). Indeed, it is the desire to change this law that the Open Carry Texas group is all about.

The updates at the end of that article are very interesting.

UPDATE (11/11/13):  Hear about the intimidation of the Moms Demand Action moms from founder Shannon Watts.

UPDATE (11/12/13):  "Open Carry Texas", the organization that intimidated the women at the restaurant, continues its high-jinks by protesting for open carry of handguns on the state capitol during a Veteran's Day memorial.  Two people were arrested for trespassing, including the president of that organization.

UPDATE (11/12/13):  Apparently the leader of "Open Carry Texas," Kory Watkins, has been dabbling in politics when he isn't carrying assault rifles everywhere he goes in public. According to an article:

At age 30, Watkins has been working his way up the political apparatus. According to his campaign site: he was ”secretary on the Volunteer Committee of the Tarrant County Republican Party, and was also a delegate to the Republican State Convention in 2012.” He is popular with the Ron Paul crowd saying, “I will work to abolish the Federal Reserve and the central banking system” – and receiving a listing as a ‘Liberty Candidate‘ on DailyPaul.com.

And he has made insurrectionist, anti-government statements, taking (of course) a hard-line Libertarian, Tea Party stance, particularly regarding the Second Amendment and his interpretation of "rights." 

UPDATE (11/17/13):  More incidents of "exercising rights" to the horror of locals.  In particular is this case from Leith, North Dakota, where white supremacists have been trying, literally, to take over the tiny town and form an all-white community of it.  From an article:

Leith City Councilman Lee Cook said he was outside his home Saturday with Gregory Bruce, the city’s website administrator, looking for a location to install surveillance cameras due to concerns for his family’s safety since Cobb moved to town. 

Within about 10 minutes, Cobb and Dutton approached them carrying a rifle and a shotgun, staying on the street but coming right up to Cook’s property line, Cook said.
“We weren’t more than 10 feet away,” Bruce said. 

Cobb, 62, and Dutton, 29, held the guns high and then lowered them, but didn’t speak and did not point the guns directly at the men, Bruce said. 

“Dutton, he had the gun in a position where he was ready to shoot,” Cook said. “I just looked right at him and didn’t say a thing and picked up the phone and dialed 911.” 

Cobb and Dutton then continued walking through the streets of Leith carrying their firearms with a woman believed to be Dutton’s wife, Deborah Dutton, following with a cellphone camera, Bruce said. 

It took at least an hour before the Grant County Sheriff’s Office arrived, Cook said. 

“They just walked around like they owned the town,” Cook said. “The whole point was, they’re trying to drive people out by terrorizing to them.” 

Bruce said Cobb and Dutton followed a local woman around town with their guns and yelled obscenities at her. 

“It’s all intimidation,” Bruce said.

The men were arrested for terrorizing, but "open carry" is allowed in North Dakota, so this sort of blatant intimidation is the natural outcome.

And then there is this case, from another tiny town:  New Castle, Virginia, where extremists convinced the tourism board to have an "exercising rights" day to parade around with their guns.  Good luck getting tourists there now!

ADDENDUM (11/26/13):  HERE is a good article about how the open carry movement is a scare campaign designed to incite confrontation. From the article:

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "In a post Aurora-Newtown environment, it's a reckless and irresponsible stunt to strut around in public with an assault-style weapon and think police should assume you're well-intentioned.”

At another stop this fall, also taped and posted to YouTube, an exasperated responding officer pleads with Branstrom, again carrying his rifle, this time in a school zone. “Do you realize what you’re doing could cost us, me, my second amendment rights? Because this is so egregious to the general public that it’s going to cause them to make decisions legally that are going to restrain us.” ..

And so, the logic of open carry goes, regular exposure to armed “good guys”—on the street, at the farmers’ market, at Starbucks—will act as immersion therapy for the needlessly frightened. And if it doesn’t work? If people are still alarmed by the sight of the armed?

“Grow the hell up,” Idehen suggests in one of his many online videos hosted on the NRA’s website. “You don’t have a right to feel safe by taking away or severely limiting people’s means to protect themselves. We aren’t in kindergarten anymore where you’re allowed to wallow in your false sense of importance by limiting other people because of how you think it makes you feel.”

ADDENDUM (12/4/13):  See HERE for a sickening video, wherein a pro-gun advocate urges "open carry" citizens to resist police, openly calls for insurrection, and even advocates attacking police if they feel that their interpretation of the law doesn't match the police's.  "Do you have enough of a spine to draw that line?" she asks.  She even attempts to compare such gun carriers / police-attackers to Revolutionary War patriots.

UPDATE (4/29/14):  White supremacist, Craig Cobb, who attempted to take over the small town of Leith, North Dakota, with his hate-fueled buddies and openly intimidated residents with guns, has now been convicted of felony terrorizing, but was given only four months probation.  Residents are scared.  From an article:

Leith Mayor Ryan Schock, who had wanted a 4-year prison term for Cobb, said outside the court that it would take a long time for the town to recover. 

"When are we going to be safe from him? He has made his mark on our lives," Schock said. .... 

The terms of Cobb's probation bar him from having contact with victims, but Cook, one of the victims in the case, said he had been given no information on where Cobb will be going. He and mayor Schock said they worry whether the town will be safe — especially since Cobb gave three of his Leith lots to white separatist Tom Metzger, National Socialist Movement Commander Jeff Schoep and white supremacist Alex Linder. 

"It's a failure of justice," Cook said. "This guy gets off. He made our lives a living hell and now he's walking the streets again."  .... 

"They were out looking for a reason to shoot us," Cook said. "Just like the guy in Kansas City who gunned down a 14-year-old boy — they're buddies." 

Cobb has acknowledged a friendship with Frazier Glenn Cross, who is accused of killing three people at Jewish sites in Kansas earlier this month. Cobb told The Associated Press earlier that he spoke with Cross just three days before the killings but that the allegations against Cross have nothing to do with him.

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You Are More Likely To Be Shot To Death In The U.S. Than In War-Torn Somalia and Yemen

Lately,  Oklahoma passed a law allowing open carry of firearms by anyone who could qualify for a conceal carry license, just in case you feel so paranoid about being shot that you must wear your gun on the outside of your jacket “for all the honest world to feel” as you walk into a Tulsa McDonald’s for your Big Mac.

"I am about the right to bear arms and constitutional freedoms," [Sheriff] Walton said. "I however have great concern for this law and the position it puts law enforcement in." 

The law could create more enforcement calls, create unnecessary distractions and interfere with public safety. 

Walton also points to the loss of tactical advantage for individuals that currently carry a concealed weapon. 

"There is a lot of 'what if' that surrounds the law and it will take some time to see how this plays out," Walton said.

Oklahoma isn’t alone.  Many states are moving this way as pro-gun extremist lobbies, particularly the NRA, urge them to do so, despite the fact that surveys show a majority of citizens oppose it.  Even in Tulsa, the opinion was evenly split.  Good enough for the NRA and their legislative lackeys.  By and large, law enforcement organizations in those states are strongly against it.  Apparently the NRA thinks it knows more about what is necessary to control crime.

27 states now allow open carry in some form.  12 of those don’t even require the same scrutiny of a conceal carry license.  17 others allow it under certain circumstances or passively allow it.  Only 6 actively oppose it in all circumstances outside of hunters and law enforcement.

Bolstered by these numbers, gun extremists continue to hold rallies to legalize unregulated open carry, like this recent one in Michigan featuring camo-clad gun fetishists with their assault rifles strapped to their backs as if they were headed off to Afghanistan.

Rallies like these remind me of scenes in some third-world countries, like Somalia or Yemen, where assault weapon-wielding men brandish their guns without fear of reprisal.  So I made the following poster:

But is this really a fair comparison?  Even I had doubts.  After all, Somalia has been in a decades-long civil war, with famine and drought, and is infamous for its hostage-taking pirates.  Yemen isn’t much better.  It, too, has been in a civil war, is a hub for Al-Qaeda, is the poorest Arabian country, has suicide attacks, and has a large swath of its territory chaotically ruled by local warlords instead of a national government (remember “Blackhawk Down”?).  So I researched some numbers. 

Here’s my shocking finding:

You are more likely to be murdered with a gun in the United States than to be murdered by any means in Somalia and Yemen.

Yes, that’s right.  Let me restate it:  Gun violence is more likely to be your cause of death here in the streets and homes of America than any form of homicide in either of these god-forsaken, war-torn, chaotic third-world countries (and I’m only talking about homicides here, not including accidental shootings, suicides, law enforcement, or defensive shootings).

Let’s look at the numbers, shall we?  The most recent year in which I could find data for all three countries was 2004 (the last year I could find for Somalia).

In Somalia in 2004 (from a World Bank study, from THIS link), there was a civilian homicide rate of 3.30 / 100K for ALL methods.

In Yemen in 2004, there was a civilian homicide rate of 2.85 / 100K for ALL methods.  (also found from the same World Bank study, from THIS link; the most recent year cited, 2008, had a rate of 4.00 / 100K).

In 2004, the United States had homicide rate of 3.97 / 100K for FIREARMS ALONE (according to CDC WISQARS data) (to compare with the most recent Yemen data, 2008 gun homicides in the U.S. also had a rate of 4.00 / 100K).

(For those interested in the rate for all forms of homicide in the U.S., in 2004 it was 5.88 / 100K, and in 2008 it was 5.86 / 100K.)

It’s important to note that these shooting rates also mirror the rates of gun ownership (again, data is from www.gunpolicy.org):

Rate of private gun ownership out of 179 countries:  America is 1st.  Yemen is 10th.  Somalia is 58th.

Private guns in America:  88.8 / 100 people

Private guns in Yemen:  54.8 / 100 people

Private guns in Somalia:  9.1 / 100 people

Every American should stand up and pay attention.  We are quick to condemn nations like Somalia and Yemen for their wanton violence and lawlessness (and they should be condemned for it), and yet these numbers show that we are dying in higher numbers right here in our streets and homes, from gunfire or any other method.  The NRA’s answer is to flood the streets with as many guns as possible, and to flaunt those guns openly with open carry laws and rallies.  But gun ownership numbers show that we already have a far, far higher rate of gun ownership in the U.S.  By the NRA’s flawed logic, we should be the safest nation on Earth.  Instead, we are one of the deadliest. 

We, of course, should fight gun violence in any form and in any nation, but let’s concentrate on where it’s worst – right here at our own door -- and create a new trajectory for our community against gun violence.

Playing "Wyatt Earp" With Their Guns

Time and again I see statements by pro-gun extremists and the NRA suggesting that, if there were just more guns on the streets, criminals would be too afraid to commit crimes for fear of being shot.  But they don't just couch these statements in the language of self-defense.  They talk about vigilantism.  They talk about "helping" the police in times of crisis.  Even though most gun carriers lack conflict mediation training, have no requirements for proficiency with firearms, and are accountable to no one beyond the law, they still propose that they play "Wyatt Earp." 

I've been in a shooting.  I know that the mind doesn't work the same way it does when you can focus at a shooting range or sit and imagine what you'd do in a conflict.  Even highly-trained police only hit their target about 15% of the time in a firefight.  Do you think the typical citizen with a gun can be even that accurate?  Or make snap judgments about who's the guilty one and who isn't?  Or decide when someone should live or die?  I don't want to be anywhere near one of these yahoos when they decide to take the law into their own hands.

Here's one recent example where a man witnessed a purse robber, then took matters into his own hands to chase the guy down and then shoot him dead.  Is the robbery of a purse from an old woman worth killing someone over?  Is this sort of vigilante justice what we want in America?

Oh, sure, the gun guys deny wanting to play "Wyatt Earp."  For instance, when I've brought this up before, one Anonymous commenter suggested:

[T]hose of us with CCPs do not want to be Wyatt Earp. If we did we go into Law Enforcement. My wife and I carry so as to protect ourselves. Period. My first thought if someone is shooting is to protect my family first and foremost. If we can leave and escape safely we will do so without drawing or shooting our weapons. However, if the threat is immediate and life threatening to my family or I than I will remove the threat.

Another, "18Echo", commented:

No one that is carrying openly or otherwise is "playing" at anything. Your statement is insulting. We all understand the potentially lethal ramifications of carrying a firearm. None of us are looking for a gunfight, as your Wyatt Earp comment implies nor are we looking to do the job of the police. In fact, all we want is to go about our lives in peace.

I hope they were telling the truth.  Probably most who carry don't have the desire to "play police."  But enough do that it worries me. Sorry, 18Echo, but you'll see how wrong you are when you read below.

This all came up again when the California Brady Campaign released an email alert about the Open Carry protesters there.  As you'll see, these gun extremists have no problem picking a fight with otherwise peaceful people, in the hope of causing a riot and getting an excuse to "play Wyatt Earp":

Open Carriers to Bring Long Guns to Occupy Protest After Being Asked to Leave

--CA Brady Campaign Urges Families to Stay Away from Todos Santos Park in Concord on Saturday, December 17th

CONCORD--According to their website, Open Carriers plan to bring long guns to an Occupy Protest (where they had previously been asked to leave) scheduled at Concord’s Todos Santos Park on Saturday, December 17, from 12 – 1 pm. From the following statement on their website it appears they are attempting to police the protesters’ behavior. The California Brady Campaign is concerned that what was previously billed as a gathering of gun owners to make a political statement about their gun rights, is now becoming a vigilante activity of attending other groups’ events. This dangerous provocation could lead to clashes resulting in accidental or intentional shootings.

(From website): “Apparently the last time we showed up to the occupy movement for a moment "took away" from the message of the occupy movement and the leaders of occupy asked Concord PD to ask us to leave. Well officers said sorry that is also free speech. Maybe Open Carry can show that we have the ability to protect ourselves and our community in case of riots. We do not need civil unrest conducted in our communities which hurts small business even though we encourage free speech.”

After the State Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a bill to ban the open carry of unloaded handguns in California, groups of Open Carriers have staged gatherings around the state displaying unloaded long guns and ammunition. Long guns, such as rifles and shotguns, are designed to be fired braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun. The protests are directed at the signing of AB 144 (Portantino), which refers only to handguns.

Said Dr. Dallas Stout, President of the CA Brady Campaign: “This vigilante behavior is irresponsible and dangerous because they are putting the community at risk in protest of a law that was sponsored and championed by law enforcement. Especially after the recent massacres in Cupertino and Seal Beach, to have Open Carriers walking around with lethal long guns and live ammunition intimidates and scares people.”

The CA Brady Campaign is urging people for their own safety to stay away from any location where the Open Carry meet-ups are taking place; and urging business and restaurant owners to enact their private property rights and forbid any guns on their premises for the safety of their employees and customers. Upon learning of any Long Gun Open Carry meet-ups the CA Brady Campaign will send out a news release to warn the community in advance.

These pro-gun extremists call their group "Responsible Citizens of California," but picking a fight so they can shoot peaceful protesters hardly seems "responsible" to me.  There is no doubt about it: these are armed bullies who wish to threaten and harm peaceful people, and they need to be called out on it.  If they think they're helping their "cause", they are sorely wrong.  It's easy for the rest of us to see their radical extremism on display.

And for the rest of the pro-gun crowd who has the daydream of playing "Wyatt Earp," think again.  Keep your daydreams in your head.  Leave your gun at home.  Don't endanger the rest of us.  America doesn't want vigilante justice.

UPDATE (12/16/11 ):  These same Open Carry protesters showed up at a mall today and ate as a group at a BJ's restaurant which had already announced that they weren't welcomed (but didn't turn them away). Open Carry of handguns (but not long rifles) becomes illegal in California on Jan. 1:  http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_19555955