Concealed Carry Magazine

[The Goose]

I subscribe to CCM and had read Ms. Heil\'s article before seeing this thread. My initial reaction was that it was a good article. It made me think. I support open carry and it is certainly my impression that Ms. Heil does also. However, open carry raises some tricky questions that deserve to be discussed. Open carry is not allowed where I live and the few times that I have seen open carry it turned out to be a LEO. I will also add that I did a double take and became very alert until I was certain that it was a LEO. Why can\'t we discuss this? Ms. Heil has contributed greatly to the right to keep and bear arms and no where in her article could I find anything that I thought was harmful to the \"cause\". One of my major complaints about the anti\'s and the left wing in general is their inability to have honest and open dialog about major issues. Their negative view of firearms is a knee jerk emotional bias that they will not rationally discuss or debate. One cannot bring up anything less then the party line about abortion or gay marriage or affirmative action without being a sexist, a homophobe or a racist. The rational is always the same, any actual discussion will only fuel the fires of the opposition. I would like to think that we can do a little better then that. Everyone posting on this forum, including Ms. Heil, is on the same side. No doubt I have po\'d some of the hard line folks on this forum, as well as, any liberals, but my particular bias'aside I think that there are many issues concerning firearms and carrying that we need to discuss openly and honestly.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[coma]

You are right on Goose, on every point you bring up. A few folks got up in arms about her article, I could see her point but just thought she could have worded it some what better, that’s the only thing I saw wrong with it. Like I said in a previous post, we can not open carry here in Mass. so over all I saw the article as a non issue for me.

I also understand the hard core crowd wants to show the world that they have nothing to fear from legal gun owners, but in this over liberal and over sensitized world it may well be better to fly below the radar. All the while we should be looking to educate people about guns, gun rights and self defense. Not making nervous the people we wish to convert to our side.

[JimLally]

coma, you are right on the money.

Unfortunately the pro 2nd amendment \"hard core crowd\" are usually the ones that the liberal media and their allies tend to present as the overall gun owner type in this country. You know the drill, \"Gun owners want kids to carry AK-47\'s to school, gun owners don\'t care about the wholesale slaughter of kids by guns, blah, blah, blah.\"

It\'s also unfortunate that the REAL majority of legal gun owners (the ones that always put safety first, use common sense, have respect for other people, obey the law, and think that the Constitution REALLY means something FOR THE PEOPLE) aren\'t given the credit they deserve by the media or press. Until we are given that credit it may well be wise to \"fly below the radar\".

Also, until the liberal media stops thinking of the anti-gun \"hard core crowd\" as the \"correct\" way to look at the issue, we will have a very hard battle ahead.

Jim

[mike benedict]

Did you all see the article about me?

Rosie thought I looked real cute. I don\'t know about that!

[scratchy wilson]

I actually MIGHT be in the next iss.:kay:

[SGeringer]

Wish I could find that magazine locally......have been looking, but to no avail.

[FLM]

Originally posted by SGeringer
Wish I could find that magazine locally......have been looking, but to no avail.

I haven\'t seen it at the newstand. Here\'s a link.

http://www.concealedcarrymag.com/

[Betty]

I believe it\'s subscription only.

[DDGator]

They are working on newsstand type distribution, but its primarily subscription based for now.

[SGeringer]

Aw, that explains it, thank you. I\'ll just have to subscribe! I\'d love to see more people exposed to it as it sits on the newsstands....that kind of constructive, professional exposure would be terrific I think.

[centuryhouse]

I am looking forward to next payday so I can subscribe (my extra pay this time went to a G.O.A. membership)!

Thanks to Maria and Tim(?) for posting here to make their case.

I am in Texas which does not allow open carry, but if it were made legal today I would probably open carry in many places. When it is legal to do there is no more reason for a civilian to hide a firearm than there is for a LEO to hide their firearm. Legal is legal. If a civilian should hide theirs, so should the cops.

The only way people will ever \"get used to\" people legally carrying a firearm is to SEE people carrying who are not breaking the law. Right now people assume gun=criminal and we let them assume that.

Imagine we were in the days of the civil rights movement when blacks had just been recognized legally as having equeal rights. Would you encourage blacks to avoid riding in the front of the bus, or drinking at a public fountain - just so whites wouldn\'t get panicked or uncomfortable? I hope not!!!

Same with gun rights. We are getting some of those rights back, why shrink back and hide rather than get people used to the fact that it is something legal that law abiding people do? If someone gets apprehensive when they see you open carry in a grocery store, then let them get apprehensive. Let them also see that you are well mannered, peaceful and decent - and get used to the fact that good people carry too. Carrrying concealed will never let people see that.

Besides, if I saw someone (not in a cops uniform) carrying with a hip holster in public I would probably assume they were a police detective, off duty officer or constable and I would not panic. If I saw a few guys in masks holding sawed off shotguns enter a bank, THEN I would get apprehensive!

Daniel

[LenS]

I\'m not a big fan of open carry, although I sometimes do so under very selective circumstances.

When I was with the PD, I really didn\'t like carrying openly . . . and that was in uniform with a thumbreak holster. I was always real aware of who was near me, behind me, etc. Always conscious that someone could grab my gun.

I recall cringing when some of our detectives would carry openly in a convenience store, without cuffs or a badge visible. If some stranger walked in that didn\'t know them, they\'d probably freak out.

I also agree that you give up a significant tactical advantage by exposing the weapon. But I wouldn\'t condemn someone for doing so and I wouldn\'t be alarmed unless something in their demeanor gave me cause for alarm.

[sye]

This shooter might benefit from a training course. Don\'t cross your thumbs !!! The support thumb should be under and parallel to the shooting hand thumb.:D