I was debating open carry on Watch Nick Offerman Deliver a Lesson on the Second Amendment, when a guy told me this:
I am extremely pro-gun, and if you walked in carrying an Ar15 I would probably should you too. Without warning.
I doubt he’s extremely pro-gun, otherwise he would know the following, and for the record, I’m not an attorney, I’m not qualified to give legal advice. I’m just giving my opinion.
1. Stand Your Ground and self-defense only applies if you’re in fear of imminent death or massive bodily injury
2. If the open carrier (OC) is not pointing his gun at you, condition 1 does not apply
3. If the OC is not wearing a mask, chances are he’s not a criminal, thus you can’t shoot him
4. The Castle Doctrine applies in your home, a patron at Starbucks is not protecting his home, even the owner of the Starbucks franchise can’t be cover by the doctrine
5. OC is legal in many states, so citizens can and should assume they will be seeing people with guns
6. If you know Open Carry Texas is coming to a business to peacefully demonstrate, and you choose to shoot one of us, that’s premeditation, not covered by self-defense
7. Any online statements you make about shooting people, even in jest, can be used against you. You can call yourself Valorius just like I can call myself Gregory Smith, but the cops will find your IP and see everything you’ve been saying online
8. I would suggest Valorious read the Myths about Self-Defense.
9. What if the open carrier has his buddies with him? You can shoot one of us, can you shoot all of us?
In conclusion, if you hate open carry, the worst thing you can do is try to shoot us, not only you might hit an innocent bystander, but the medical and legal costs might send you first to the poor house, then the Big House, and it won’t be Jordan Belfort’s minimum-security prison either.
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I do not think a pro-gun person would think such a thing let alone actually state such a thing. This sounds more like someone from MDA or VPC. And yes, people do not pay enough attention to the things that they say on-line.
I’m likely to agree with you, except for one thing, there are gun owners embarrassed by Open Carry, Bearing Arms and Gun Nuts Media have posted anti-OC blogs, one a-hole even thinks the OC Texas is funded by Bloomberg.
Mr. Smith ……I’ve been around long enough to know truth CAN be stranger than fiction…..
As an objectivist I embrace reality. I don’t embrace conspiracy theories, I believe in evidence, facts, and logic. Yes, truth can be stranger than fiction, but let’s find out what the truth is before we start speculating. For example, as much as I hate Bloomberg I refuse to believe that his money comes from a secret pact with the devil, or that George Soros is actually a 250-year-old vampire, or that Hitler died in Argentina. Conspiracy theorist are just having a good time, they’re not worth my time.
Let’s also consider this, if I was an anti-gunner I would promote my cause using stories full of blood and gore. A 6-year-old shooting himself helps my cause, an open carry activist not shooting anyone doesn’t help me. Moms Demand Action may pretend otherwise, but the reality is that if nobody’s getting shot, nobody cares. Besides, people fear what they don’t see. If people see guns and no innocent folks get shots, they will stop fearing guns and gun owners. OCT is helping the 2A.