In my opinion the winner of the debate is-And another:
Marica Bernstein, by an intellectual knock out. She logically explained her position, and won me over.
Haven't gotten my newsletter yet but I'm already biased by the fact that one author wrote using her real name, and the other chose not to.With minor edits, here it is. (I've not checked the validity of the links yet, and I *think* OFCC has helped to make restaurant carry laws more friendly. I live in Mississippi now so unless I'm traveling to Cincinnati-- where my carry permit isn't recognized-- I don't pay too much attention now to what's going on in Ohio.)
Open Carry
Marica Bernstein
(Authorʼs note: Every law-abiding Ohio citizen is free to choose to carry his or her gun openly, or to obtain a license from the state in order to legally carry a concealed handgun. This is an individualʼs decision. My task was to present arguments and reasons in favor of open-carry, and to motivate each reader to examine his or her choice. Thus, this short essay has two parts: the first presents a moral argument in favor of open-carry, the second offers practical reasons to open-carry.)
Part 1
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear Sir:
Your newspaper is well-known for its anti-gun position and advocacy of strong gun regulation. This position is in stark contrast to the beliefs of many readers. I am writing to strongly oppose all government regulation of gun ownership.
Specifically, I vehemently oppose... .
... Our great nation is a Republic.
... The Second Amendment ... .
... A natural right CANNOT be infringed....
Signed,
Anonymous
“Anonymous” is afraid, and rightly so. He fears his rights will be infringed by those who
do not understand the American ideals he clings to so dearly. He worries the NRA will
compromise his guns straight down the river. He is afraid “they” are going to account for his
ammunition. He laughs nervously at the suggestion they may even come for his guns. He
wakes wondering, “If this should come to pass how will I protect those I love? How will I protect
my country?” He is afraid, and so he does something. He writes, he blogs, he joins discussion
boards. But despite his posturing, rational arguments, and BIG BOLD WORDS, he remains
nameless, faceless. His tongue is stored behind zipped lips; his pen is holstered under a grey
overcoat belonging to john doe; he carries his ferocious patriotism close to his heart but
concealed, without a print.
Anonymous is a doctor, a lawyer, a professor. He is a clerk, a stock-boy, a college student. Anonymous is a teacher, a mother, a nurse. She is a city-council woman, a chief executive officer, a small business owner. Anonymous has associates, clients, students, peers, and friends who know and respect him. They seek his opinion, they ask her for guidance when troubled. He sits on boards and she coaches games. Anonymous truly and deeply cares about citizensʼ natural and inalienable right to keep and bear arms, but youʼd never know it by looking. Those closest to Anonymous, his family and dearest friends, suspect he might have a gun under his robes as he delivers the sermon, but his congregation is none the wiser. Anonymous is a coward.
What we care about makes us who we are. How we act defines us. We all want our actions to be consistent with our deepest cares. No one wants to be a coward in his own or anothersʼ eyes. Cowardice is a vice. On the moral spectrum, it is the opposite of rashness. Somewhere, between rashness and cowardice, lies the virtue of courage.
Anonymous is certainly not rash. Were he rash, his letter would have been peppered his letter with four-letter words and would have included his name, address, and phone numbers. Were he rash, he would have brazenly thrown open the swinging saloon doors, barged in à la Liberty Valance waving his ar15, and shouted that he had the right, guaranteed by the United States Constitution, to take his gun where ever he wants, regulations be damned!
Anonymous is a doctor, a lawyer, a professor. He is a clerk, a stock-boy, a college student. Anonymous is a teacher, a mother, a nurse. She is a city-council woman, a chief executive officer, a small business owner. Anonymous has associates, clients, students, peers, and friends who know and respect him. They seek his opinion, they ask her for guidance when troubled. He sits on boards and she coaches games. Anonymous truly and deeply cares about citizensʼ natural and inalienable right to keep and bear arms, but youʼd never know it by looking. Those closest to Anonymous, his family and dearest friends, suspect he might have a gun under his robes as he delivers the sermon, but his congregation is none the wiser. Anonymous is a coward.
What we care about makes us who we are. How we act defines us. We all want our actions to be consistent with our deepest cares. No one wants to be a coward in his own or anothersʼ eyes. Cowardice is a vice. On the moral spectrum, it is the opposite of rashness. Somewhere, between rashness and cowardice, lies the virtue of courage.
Anonymous is certainly not rash. Were he rash, his letter would have been peppered his letter with four-letter words and would have included his name, address, and phone numbers. Were he rash, he would have brazenly thrown open the swinging saloon doors, barged in à la Liberty Valance waving his ar15, and shouted that he had the right, guaranteed by the United States Constitution, to take his gun where ever he wants, regulations be damned!
Anonymous is not rash, but neither is he courageous. Were he courageous, he would
have simply signed his name. Were he courageous, he would carry his sidearm legally and
openly, when and where he believed it appropriate. In this way, his actions would reflect his
deepest cares. As a courageous man or woman, open-carrying Anonymous, would bring the full
weight of who he is, and who heʼs known to others to be, to a cause he cares about in the
depths of his soul. Those who know and respect him, who seek his opinion and guidance, might
view him differently, seeing his gun. But they might also be inspired to examine their own cares.
They might have sought out open-carrying Anonymous to discover why he acts as he does.
They, too, might have begun to care about the Second Amendment. Unfortunately, though,
these opportunities, along with Anonymousʼ gun, are concealed from them.
Anonymous is neither rash nor courageous. We must therefore conclude that in the face of his deepest fears, Anonymous acts as a coward.
Part 2
“The open carry of firearms is a legal activity in Ohio” (Ohioʼs Concealed Carry Law, Office of the Attorney General, revised 8/2008, p.19). (Note: Ohio Revised Code restricts this legal activity in some circumstances, e.g., in “liquor permit premises.” See References, below, for additional information.) There are sound arguments supporting open-carry (OC). (See, for example, OpenCarry.org). A quick look at the posts on the OFCC Open Carry Discussions forum reveals there are about as many reasons to OC as there are gun owners. In their own words, this is what the courageous men and women of Ohio said when asked “Why open carry?”.
Anonymous is neither rash nor courageous. We must therefore conclude that in the face of his deepest fears, Anonymous acts as a coward.
Part 2
“The open carry of firearms is a legal activity in Ohio” (Ohioʼs Concealed Carry Law, Office of the Attorney General, revised 8/2008, p.19). (Note: Ohio Revised Code restricts this legal activity in some circumstances, e.g., in “liquor permit premises.” See References, below, for additional information.) There are sound arguments supporting open-carry (OC). (See, for example, OpenCarry.org). A quick look at the posts on the OFCC Open Carry Discussions forum reveals there are about as many reasons to OC as there are gun owners. In their own words, this is what the courageous men and women of Ohio said when asked “Why open carry?”.
Rights not exercised are lost: “We are citizens not subjects.” “A statement that they
have the right to do so.” “I envy the younger folks here who will live the majority of their years
with the ability to carry legally.”
Tactical advantage: “Quicker to draw.”
Deterrence: “Some hood walking down the street is more likely to confine his targets to ʻeasy, defenseless preyʼ.” “It's a good idea for women in the woods to be [openly] armed.” “You could avoid even more trouble if you carry openly. If I were going to hold up a store and saw someone armed, I might reconsider and leave. In that case, you would be safer.”
Desensitizing and educating the public: “It lets people see that guns can exist peacefully among law abiding people.” “They never see the positive side because CCW ʻkeeps our light hidden under a bushel basketʼ.” “We allowed people to politicize, demonize, and emotionalize guns far too much.” “Exposed firearms on ordinary citizens aren't something most people are used to, but should be.” “If more of us carried openly, more people would come to understand and accept.” “OC gives me a tool to help change the gun-grabber mindset.” “Isn't there a line in the Bible about ʻnot hiding your light under a basketʼ?”
There is. Matthew 5:15 (King James Version): Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Financial: “Because I don't really have the money for a CC license, making OC my only legal option.”
Self-image: “Although I mostly conceal I, for some unknown reason, feel like I'm a bad guy. I feel ashamed or nervous about my gun. When I OC I don't have that issue.” “I've only been OCing a couple months now & its liberating. I didn't like the feeling I had that I ʻshouldn'tʼ do something that is my right over concerns for other people opinions, including the police.”
Appearance: “I WILL NOT wear a shirt untucked.” “I donʼt want to look like a slob with
Tactical advantage: “Quicker to draw.”
Deterrence: “Some hood walking down the street is more likely to confine his targets to ʻeasy, defenseless preyʼ.” “It's a good idea for women in the woods to be [openly] armed.” “You could avoid even more trouble if you carry openly. If I were going to hold up a store and saw someone armed, I might reconsider and leave. In that case, you would be safer.”
Desensitizing and educating the public: “It lets people see that guns can exist peacefully among law abiding people.” “They never see the positive side because CCW ʻkeeps our light hidden under a bushel basketʼ.” “We allowed people to politicize, demonize, and emotionalize guns far too much.” “Exposed firearms on ordinary citizens aren't something most people are used to, but should be.” “If more of us carried openly, more people would come to understand and accept.” “OC gives me a tool to help change the gun-grabber mindset.” “Isn't there a line in the Bible about ʻnot hiding your light under a basketʼ?”
There is. Matthew 5:15 (King James Version): Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Financial: “Because I don't really have the money for a CC license, making OC my only legal option.”
Self-image: “Although I mostly conceal I, for some unknown reason, feel like I'm a bad guy. I feel ashamed or nervous about my gun. When I OC I don't have that issue.” “I've only been OCing a couple months now & its liberating. I didn't like the feeling I had that I ʻshouldn'tʼ do something that is my right over concerns for other people opinions, including the police.”
Appearance: “I WILL NOT wear a shirt untucked.” “I donʼt want to look like a slob with
my shirt untucked.” “I'm not going to change my wardrobe just so I can carry a gun, and I'm
certainly not going to wear some kind of undergarment with a 'holster' built in.”
Identity: “I like seeing others OC & it makes me feel safer, I figure someone else may
like seeing it as well or be comforted knowing someone in the crowd is armed.”
Like Anonymous, each of us has a name, a gun, a today, and, God willing, a tomorrow.
Each of us acts freely and independently. The choices we make are ours alone: Anonymity or
Identity? Concealed or Open? Cowardice or Courage?
~~
~~
References and additional resources
Attorney General State of Ohio, Nancy H. Rogers. Ohioʼs Concealed Carry Law (revised 0/08)
http://www.ag.state.oh.us/le/prevention/pubs/200808_ccw_book.pdf
LAWriter Ohio Laws and Rules. 2923.121 Possession of firearm in liquor permit premises.
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2923.121
LAWriter Ohio Laws and Rules. 2923.122 Illegal conveyance or possession of deadly weapon
or dangerous ordnance or of object indistinguishable from firearm in school safety zone.
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2923.122
LAWriter Ohio Laws and Rules. 2923.123 Illegal conveyance of deadly weapon or dangerous
ordnance into courthouse - illegal possession or control in courthouse.
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2923.123
LAWriter Ohio Laws and Rules. 2923.16 Improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2923.16
Ohioans for Concealed Carry. Ohio Open Carry Discussions. http://ohioccwforums.org/
viewforum.php?f=21
OpenCarry.org. http://www.opencarry.org
