Open carry states?

[cilla4progress]

Virginia apparently. Not Massachusetts?

[HeartachesNhangovers]

1. smartgunlaws says:

Three states (California, Florida, and Illinois) and the District of Columbia generally prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in public. Two states (New York and South Carolina) prohibit openly carrying handguns, but not long guns, and another three states (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Jersey) prohibit openly carrying long guns, but not handguns. In the remaining states, people are generally allowed to openly carry firearms, although some states require a permit or license to do so.

http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/guns-in-public/open-carry/

[pat_k]

3. Scary. I thought legalized open carry was more limited.

I should know better.

Wikipedia:

On the other side, twenty-five states permit open carry of a handgun without requiring the citizen to apply for any permit or license. Fifteen states require some form of permit (often the same permit as allows a person to carry concealed), and the remaining five states, though not prohibiting the practice in general, do not preempt local laws or law enforcement policies, and/or have significant restrictions on the practice, such as prohibiting it within the boundaries of an incorporated urban area. Illinois allows open carry on private property only.

In Washington State:

Open carry is lawful in Washington without any permit. Open carry of a loaded handgun in a vehicle is legal only with a concealed pistol license. Open carry of a loaded long gun in a vehicle is illegal, regardless of CPL possession. State Law does not allow more restrictive local laws.

So, even liberal Seattle is an open carry city.

[Lee-Lee]

4. In most states it's been legal for many decades and it's really not a big deal

[pat_k]

6. It's just good that my mistaken notion has been corrected.

I don't know why I thought the practice was banned in more places. I've never seen anyone openly carrying a gun in NJ or WA. Now at least I won't freak if I do run across someone.

[Lee-Lee]

8. It's more common in rural areas

Spend some time in the rural areas, especially farm country, in places where the residents and not tourists hang out and you will see it more.

When I was a deputy in rural NC I probably saw someone carrying every 2-3 days. Farmers routinely had a revolver on their belt working on the farm to deal with snakes and wild dogs and such, and nobody bothered to take it off when coming to get gas or eat breakfast at the local restaurant.

[pat_k]

12. Makes perfect sense.

And I really should know better. Back in the 70's I lived in the foothills of the Sierras. My neighbor always had a rifle handy for rattlesnakes. I don't recall seeing guns (except for sale) at the local general store, but I don't imagine I would have given it much thought if I had. A few years later I stayed with a friend in VT for awhile. Skeet shooting was a regular thing, but their property extended so far I think we were always on it. Lived with a guy who kept a couple guns. I made sure I knew how to handle them before I "let" them into the house. My misapprehension that open carry was generally more regulated is probably the result of the amount of press it gets in the relatively few places where a larger percentage of people openly carry in more populous areas. As you say, it's not a big deal, so doesn't get much attention elsewhere. Guess I shouldn't find it "scary" In my experience most gun owners are pretty responsible people who take safety very seriously. I just wish the attitude translated to less resistance to making safety training and licensing a requirement.

[janx]

9. People who own firearms for their own protection generally don't like

to openly carry. They prefer to keep the gun concealed (concealed carry, which requires a permit) so that people don't suspect they are armed.

So while many states allow open carry, very few gun owners actually do that.

[Hoyt]

11. Especially if you like sporting your lethal weapons. It is a big deal when most gun toters

are white wing racists. And that's my opinion from personal experience. No one who cares about other people would walk around with a damn gun on their hip, and probably another strapped to their ankle. In some localities, I guess one isn't accepted into the klan without walking around armed.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

5. I live in WA state and have been to Seattle quite

a few times and have never seen anyone open carry. Oregon is also an open carry state (with the exception of Portland and maybe a couple of other municipalities) and I have seen zero people open carrying in Oregon, despite spending quite a bit of time in the state and national forests.

I lived in CA for over 50 years and for most of that time, CA was a legal open carry state (the current prohibition is less than 5 years old). Anyway, in about 50 years during which open carry was legal in one of the most populous states, I saw zero people carrying guns.

Come to think of it, I've been to every Western state and have never seen a single person carrying a gun outside of a shooting range or outside of a hunting area during hunting season.

[pat_k]

7. Me neither.

As I said above, it's good my misapprehension has been corrected so I don't freak if I do run across someone.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

10. I imagine lots of foreign tourists probably expect

to see lots of guns and perhaps a few shootouts.

A friend of mine was in the Peace Corps in the early 80's in a remote part of Sierra Leone, Africa. There was no TV or movies, but people had heard 3rd or 4th hand about the US - with the original source probably being TV or movies. The locals had a uniform belief that Americans were all Caucasian, all rich, and were mostly very easy-going, but if anybody ruffled anyone else's feathers, that a gunfight would quickly break out!

[cilla4progress]

2. Thanks for the research!