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An Armed Society is Truly a Polite Society

A gun carried openly is a deterrent to crime

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Do you know how many mentally unstable people roam the streets out there? Sociologists and psychiatrists will tell you it's anywhere from 1 in every 10 to 1 in every 5. Imagine being in a mall and two hot heads get into an argument, what's to stop them from taking out their guns and going at it in a public place potentially injuring people near by. Arm all of society, yeah cause you know the wild west wasn't an insane place where psychos could challenge you to a shootout over stepping on their shoe. Have fun also in murder trials when everything will come down to, 'Well he/she pulled out his gun first.' Simplistic nonsense, 'arm all of society'. A civilized society has a police force to retaliate against those who initiate force, and we want a society filled with vigilantes cause that's just better right? Well sorry, we're not all Lorenzo Lamas from Renegade people. And no matter how many assault rifles we own, if the government wants to stop a revolt it can do so with weapons that will render our firearms useless. So lets just try to reform gun laws a little shall we. Don't let regular people buy guns that fire 30-100 bullets at a time. And enough with the doomsday prepper mentality as well. If society devolves to that point, we'll storm our Bastilles then b/c we'll be screwed anyway. "Oh but if that happens, I want to be one of the last people living so I can re-populate the earth with smart, gun loving people and re-start the process of destruction all over again!". God speed.

John of NY 11:18AM December 20, 2012

well, people in all 50 states should openly carry only if they have a permit. i dont belive guns should be concealed ( hidden) because, its dangerous. i beleive that all weapons should be either on a belt or strapped to the thigh of the carrier, and MUST be in plain sight.

CodyHamrick of OH 9:22AM December 13, 2012

the problem with open carry is that it alters behavior, as many of you have already pointed out--you are more polite (please), other people are more polite (because they're scared of you). if someone who open carries alters the behavior of someone else in public is that not a violation of the equal protection clause under the constitution?

JonG of AZ 4:03AM December 01, 2012

In the 1800's, I could understand carrying a rifle or pistol-there was lawlessness and crime with little police presence in vast territories.

Today is a different story. I hardly think that most cities in Arkansas or Alabama are dangerous enough to justify carrying a .357 magnum into a grocery store.

Don't get me wrong, people should have the right to own guns. However, we don't need to carry 12 gauge shotguns inside the local mall or 7/11 store for "protection". If that's the case, we should sell our passenger cars and all buy armored humvees or surplus sherman tanks in order to avoid getting hurt in a traffic accident. There should be restrictions on where and when someone can use or carry a gun. Most US cities aren't as dangerous as Baghdad Iraq or Kabul Afghanistan.

I personally hate guns, but the constitution says that we have a right to own one.

Jason of FL 12:05PM October 05, 2012

Correction. Arkansas is not an open carry state and we do require Concealed Carry Licensing.

Brandon of AR 11:23PM July 20, 2012

that's pretty funny. my first response is to politely excuse myself and get quickly away. Don't make any fast moves, keep your hands in full sight, don't do anything that would scare the gun carrier. Just say "yes sir", and "excuse me I was just leaving". Very polite. Yep, that's the ticket.

Phil of VA 12:29PM July 09, 2012

Yes. Open Carry is the Right of the People. It is Not there to make you "feel" good or comfortable. It is there so that should the time arise, your Constitutional right to "Liberty" will not be denied as some would have it.

NORMAN PROVENCAL D.A.V. of AR 8:23AM June 01, 2012

I agree with openly carry though I would hide our guns so that the criminal would know he is rolling the dice. If most carried guns, crime would plummet. There is another dimension though that must be addressed to ensure we can defend ourselves. Mr. Zimmerman had the right to plug the punk under the no retreat law, which is essential to ensure criminals will be deterred. Less violence will ensue. The only reason this case exists is the fanatical religious belief by liberals that anti-discrimination trumps all other rights.

Paul

Paul of LA 2:03AM May 26, 2012

Mr. Jerry is absolutely, positvely... right on!

What we need is a return to the days of the glorious Wild West! Where every self respecting Man carried his Pride and Joy openly--for all to see. So it wouldn't matter if you were 6 foot 6, broad at the shoulders and narra' at the hip, or you were just Mr. Shrimpie, No One would mess with you! And if they did, you had the means to settle things right there.

With your piece handy and readily accessible, you would be prepared at all times to defend yourself... and, o yes, protect society. You would never again be caught like all those times, when you just wished you had your Friend at hand -- and you could show those Sons of Boohas they weren't messing with just anybody. Noooo Sir! Not on your LaLa.

Where Open Carry would make a real difference would be in the Inner Cities of our big cities. Crime and Violence is already at super high rates there. But with everybody openly carrying a firearm, I can guarantee you that life will be even more exciting.

Plus, as you said, we need to Protect our God Given Rights... er, our God Given Constitutional Rights. (Which, of course, God didn't give to just anybody, mind you -- but that discussion is for another time.)

stevchipmunk of PA 4:38AM May 06, 2012

@BALDR ODINSON

Technically we are at war even if that war isn't being fought on US soil. Also there are plenty of other countries that have a worse gun/crime problem than us. I mean just look at Mexico. They have far murders/crime than the US and they aren't at war with another country.

Also I'm pretty sure that Switzerland actually has more guns in people's houses than the US does given that almost every house has a FULLY AUTOMATIC gun in case they called to serve in the military. And while the US might have more "guns per capita" a lot of people who own guns own multiple guns. I mean I own 5+ guns, but yet I'm only one household but by using your logic that's 5+ households with guns.

But really, our "society" is not armed even if they own guns. The "wild" west was an armed society as nearly all inviduals were actually armed (as opposed to simply owning a gun and leaving it locked up somewhere). And the crime rates of the west were lower than the more "civilized" east and far lower than modern-day crime rates. Sure things like the OK Corral happened, but things like that were even rarer than modern-day school shootings.

So the statement "an armed society is a polite society" is a very true statement. But simply owning a gun doesn't mean one is armed, and simply put most people in our country aren't armed (but the numbers are going up and crime is going down).

Chris of OK 1:54PM May 04, 2012

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