Detroit News: Open Carry = Unnecessary Antagonism

Detroit News’ Editorial Page editor Nolan Finley is “as enthusiastic about guns and the Second Amendment as anyone.” Everyone except Open Carry advocates. “I think the gun rights advocates who are pushing the issue of open carry during the Arts, Beats & Eats festival in Royal Oak risk doing their cause more harm than good. Certainly, organizers of the festival shouldn’t have written into the contract with the city a ban on weapons that runs contrary to state law. It was unnecessary. But threatening to show up at the festival fully armed is also an unnecessary provocation by the gun rights folks . . .

Not everyone appreciates guns as much as we do. A show of arms will only set off the anti-gun crowd and prompt attempts to limit Second Amendment rights. Who needs that?” Walk softly and don’t carry a weapon then. “The best way to protect Second Amendment rights is to exercise them with common sense, and do as little as possible to panic those who are afraid of guns.

Michigan Open Carry’s mission statement sees things from a different perspective:

It’s true that open carry has many advantages: a faster draw, a larger caliber handgun and greater round capacity; sure it’s been shown to deter crime, and it is immensely more comfortable to carry in warm weather, but it is much more than that. Open carry brings gun ownership out of the closet. It shows your friends and neighbors, your state and your country that you are not afraid of taking on the responsibility of protecting yourself and the ones you love from evil. Open carry is a visible expression of our natural right to self preservation. Open carry makes a statement that we are not afraid to stand up to the “politically correct” ideology that has created a nanny state, where the government is there to help us if we just do as they say, and a pox on anyone that disagrees. Open carry can lead us out of this stupor and deliver us once again to the days when a man could stand tall and be proud of his community, his state, and his country. When you open carry you are saying to the world, I’m my own man, I’m able and willing to defend myself, my family, and if need be my community, my state, and my country. It also states that I’m willing to stand up and speak truth to authority. It’s shameful that we as law abiding citizens must stand up to authority, the very authority that we have empowered, when questioned about our lawful right to openly carry a firearm. But stand up we must. The open carry of a firearm speaks volumes and it’s says much more than just open carry.