Nothing goes together quite like guns, shopping, and fried chicken.

Kudos, Responsible Citizens of California. A most excellent and audaciously conceived orthopraxy around the right to keep and bear arms. :)

Ok, I had to look up orthopraxy. Suggest the puzzled consult the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthopraxy

A reporter told me there was a lot more media than either demonstrators or looky-loos. Very low interest of on either side in spite of all the pre -event publicity.

Now I want some chicken!

Next door to the staging area in the parking lot PetSmart was offering kittens for adoption.

I hope they had good luck finding good homes for the Kittens. Everyone needs a pet or two to own them. Well that's the way it works out,- the people take care of the expenses but the animals run the lives of their humans. PetSmart has several stores that showcase adoptable cats and kittens. Hooray for them!

My blood has been shed for this country and for the freedom of the citizens of this country-I pledged on the Bible to protect the people as well as the Constitution of the United States. People should be ashamed of themselves when trying to stop a person from the undeniable right to bear arms and protect himself,his family, and the citizens of this great nation; no one should think that they have the right to soil the Constitution-to defame the Declaration of Independence and to trash the blood lost for the right of a persons freedom. No one in their right mind can say that arming the citizen has harmed any innocent person; they (Brady bunch wantabees) swore that it would be a wildwest showdown and O.K. corral all bunched into one. No such occurrance happened-crime has dropped in every city and state that has given a God Blessed right to carry arms.

Some progress. We're going back to the O.K. Corral.

If all the guns are taken away i guess every one can use sticks to protect themselves but remember the thugs will always have guns no matter what ,so if u want a stick keep complaining about guns but remember a stick wont help you or your family. There isnt enough cops to protect u in a disaster they will be protecting there own familys so your out of luck with a stick so hope u have fun .. WE NEED OUR GUNS.... i know how i will be protecting my family not with a stick

For all you Libs---Remember,Ted Kennedy's car killed more people than my guns!

Guns should be used for protection of the home and for hunting, except for the military and law enforcement. The open carry people have done more with these publicity stunts to help the cause of gun control advocates than the gun control advocates themselves. By the way, fact is thugs only kill other thugs 99% of the time. They are not at the mall waiting to shoot you.

The criminal is far less likely to attack a "hard target". They will however, attack those they feel they can easily overcome.

IN the mid-70's, San Jose two "punk types" in a chevy decided to play "chicken" at an intersection, with me having the green and they blockling both lanes on a red. I simply drove around them, but they took offense, started chasing me down McKee Rd pulling up next to me saying: "Pull over so we can kick the s**t outta you" . Being respectful I did as they asked. They both jumped out while I steped out with an AR-15 unloaded but they didn't stay around long enough to find out. Their last words: Crazy MoFo has a machine gun!" Doubt if they tried that game again!

While it is true that thugs will **generally** attack other thugs, this is not always the case. And even if that 1% number were accurate, that is a lot of folks given the population of the US. I prefer an armed citizen

David, your recommendation on the sjambok is inspired in deed. Hippos and Rhinoceri are easily raised in captivity, sjambok's have a long and well deserved tradition of useful function, and certainly would enhance most civil discourse if everyone had one, from say age 6 on. Bet that life would be much different.

Next Tuesday is brown liquor and hand gun night! Tell all your friends.
It should be a blast!

Chuck Norris kills people. And animals. And anything else that gets in his way.

Fried Chicken kills people too.

That's what I love to hear. Name calling. If you believe in the fundamental right to keep and bear, you must be a moron. God Help Us.

Marga. It is not folks like you with whom I take issue. I heartily disagree with your stance, or what I think your stance is, vis a vis the 2nd amendment. And quite frankly, I don't know that there is some great lesson to be learned in walking around with an unloaded weapon. I object to the folks on here that refer to anyone who disagrees with their ant-gunning stance as morons. I will also note however that I didn't sense PhD level rhetoric coming from them. Just rabid talk. And for the record, I never travel with an unloaded gun. I am a retired LEO and carry an HR 218 card, which allows unrestricted carry in all 50 states (or is it 57). Your comments are appreciated, disagreed with (g) and well taken.

Marga, it's real simple. "Thar's bears in them thar woods". After 30+ years in the biz, I never know when I am going to run up on someone who has an issue with me (G) Call me paranoid, or prescient. Either way

There is so much psychobabble on this thread I don't know where to begin. You HOPLOPHOBES need to realize that law abiding citizens are just that - law abiding. We believe in the rule of law. Yet we also know that the right to be armed in protection of our families, etc. pre-existed before the Constitution. You seem to think that the Constitution is granting rights to the people. You have it exactly backwards. The Constitution LIMITS what the federal and state governments can do to the citizens that created them. Governments are our servents. You seem to believe that they are our masters. Only *subjects* have masters. Citizens have rights bestowed upon them by their Creator that exist on the basis of their humanity. I propose that EVERY SINGLE GUN CONTROL LAW EVER PASSED IN THIS COUNTRY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, and I will do what ever I can to create a society where that is actually recognized. You should NEVER need a permit from the government to exercize a fundimental right. Whether it is free speech, freedom of religion, freedom to be secure in your property and effects - those rights are sacrosanct. Eventually, I see it happening that there will end up being an armed revolt in this country because the people that just want to be left alone to live out their lives without interference from a distant elitist government will have had enough. Which side will *YOU* be on?

Thank you Tim. always good to see knowledgeable folks in here. Not everybody up on HR 218

Marga..I believe you paint with a very wide brush. Please tell me why you think that I, as a pro 2nd amendment person are anti-social or dangerous. And to you David, you carry our message as well as it can be carried.

Im in Arizona right now. I spotted many people carrying handguns (concealed but in many cases a good eye will spot it). I don't see any mass shootings on the streets here. My God, how can this be? If people like Marga were right then why is Phoenix a safer city (in terms of crimes involving guns) than Oakland? I tell you, I'm not carrying because I flew here but I don't feel less safe knowing my fellow citizens are armed. In fact, it's somewhat comforting.

My whole problem with this subject is how can we be sure the gun is not loaded,- and what logic is there in carrying an unloaded gun to protect self and family?

and to think that I naively thought there was room for real dialogue........tell you what Marga. Announce to your town that there will be no doctors available tonight until 6 oclock tomorrow morning. What will happen? Someone will likely die from a lack of medical care. Sad. Now, announce that there will be no police until 6 oclock tomorrow morning. There won't be anything or anyone left to bury the dead. Your fear of the police is irrational.

"James, I fear police much more than I fear you guys or criminals. They have complete impunity vis a vis shooting and killing any individual, and have no incentive not to do it."

and Marga, everybody I may have ever shot needed to be shot, and at least one of them shot me first. An armed thug. The other two were armed but just a bit slower. I am totally distressed by your comments of your fear of the police. That was just......way over the top in my opinion

Referencing Bill Thrasher's bio on this Patch site, I note that Mr. Thrasher is well known in our community and that he is retired from The Sheriff's Office. I am curious to learn more about the ways in which his former organization has worked with schools, non-profits, and faith-based organizations to create greater public awareness about gun safety among civilians as well as protecting our young people from gun violence in the home and on the street.

And we don't shoot to kill... we shoot to stop the threat.

"I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six."

Would it even be possible for the anti-gun crowd to stop using the phrase "gun violence"? That in and of itself is quite telling about how the HOPLOPHOBES view firearms. You never hear anyone talking about the need to reduce "baseball-bat violence" or "improvised explosive device violence" or even "automobile violence" yet the stats about deaths of children from those means is just as significant as death from shooting. Violence is violence - it is totally irrevalent what tool is used by the perpetrator to kill their victims. In fact, the two most deadly mass murders in this or the last century were carried out using box cutters, and ammonium nitrate fertilizer plus diesel fuel.

I blog on patch regularly. This particular discussion appeared on my local patch and I responded. Unless there is some form of new patch apartheid policy of which I am unaware, I feel free to state my opinions regarding gun ownership/right to carry. Taking it a step further, I wish **every** citizen not under some legal disability carried heat. NRA statistic of which they are justifiably proud: 99.8% of legally owned weapons are never involved in a criminal action. We can also state accurately that 100% of thug-owned weapons are involved in criminal actions. Still trying to get over Marga's comments of her paralyzing fear of the police.

Paraphrasing a saying slightly "Gentle people will sleep safely and securely tonight because rough men stand ready to protect them"

Leah...I am far less about advocating a repeal on a ban on unloaded weapons than I am keeping an eye on articulate folks like you who would advocate total disarmament. You will not succeed by the way. Don't be confused. Patch made its way into my backyard

Marga seems quite ignorant as to the difference between the Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, and the privelege of driving on public roads, and working as a driver for Muni. In this state, you do not have a Constitutionally protected right to work as a Muni driver. Hence the state dictated requirements for the training and passing a civil service exam. The exact words of the 2nd Amendment are what is important: "... the right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms shall NOT be infringed."

Marga, your characterization of myself as anti-social and dangereous shows how out of touch you HOPLOPHOBES are. If you read my bio on Livermore Patch, you would see that I am a long time law abiding resident of Livermore. I have an absolutely clean criminal record. I have worked at LLNL for 10 years this upcoming January. I am active in the Catholic Church and Knights of Columbus. My father was a Life Member of the NRA and exposed my siblings and myself to the idea of responsible firearms ownership and usage. I was in the Boy Scouts and got the Firearms Merit Badge. I received firearms training while on active duty in the Air Force. It struck me as quite irrational that when I was on active duty, no one had a problem with my being able to fire a fully automatic M-16 rifle and M1911 handgun, yet once I was honorably discharged I somehow became untrustworthy and dangereous and anti-social? And because I know that the right to keep and bear arms is a right that pre-dates the Constitution that somehow makes me dangereous and anti-social?

Ah the old M1911.... 100 year old John Browning design and still the best handgun design imo. It puts the M9 to shame. Why did the US military ever dump the trusted .45ACP for a 9mm polished turd? If only I could get my Colt to feed jhp's I wouldn't have went to the Glock like the rest of the world. But it's still fun at the range!

"Those who can do. Those who can't, bully."

Why do people bully?

The purpose of bullying is to hide inadequacy. Bullying has nothing to do with managing etc; good managers manage, bad managers bully. Management is managing; bullying is not managing. Therefore, anyone who chooses to bully is admitting their inadequacy, and the extent to which a person bullies is a measure of their inadequacy.

Bullies project their inadequacy on to others:

a) to avoid facing up to their inadequacy and doing something about it;
b) to avoid accepting responsibility for their behaviour and the effect it has on others, and,
c) to reduce their fear of being seen for what they are, namely a weak, inadequate and often incompetent individuals, and,
d) to divert attention away from their inadequacy - in an insecure or badly-managed workplace, this is how inadequate, incompetent and aggressive employees keep their jobs. (& continue to opine on a mostly unmoderated online forum?)

Bullying is an inefficient way of working, resulting in disenchantment, demoralisation, demotivation, disaffection, and alienation. Bullies run dysfunctional and inefficient organizations...morale, productivity and profitability are low. Prosperity is illusory and such organizations are a bad long-term investment. Projection and denial are hallmarks of the serial bully.

Bullying is present behind all forms of harassment... conflict and violence.

http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/bully.htm

Leah, for a pointy-headed liberal anti-gunner....you ain't half bad :)

a comment regarding your choice of weapons. You ought to shoot whatever you are comfortable with. One thing about a wheelgun. It is going to shoot up to six times even with a dirt dobber nest growing in the barrel. Very low maintenance and good shot placement will guarantee optimum results. As far as caliber of weapon? I remember a somewhat famous debate between Jeff Cooper and Massad Ayoob on the 9mm vs. the .45ACP. Ayoob was putting forth his position about the 9mm and all the stuff he had to say supporting it. Cooper responded very simply with "Would you rather be hit by a fast moving switch, or a slightly slower moving baseball bat" Game, set, match to Cooper. I personally favor the HK USP compact, but any .45 will do nicely :)

Anyone who does not subscribe to the 2nd Amendment is not competent to handle a firearm, so it's all the better anyway in that regard.

This just popped up on Twitter: Record-Low in U.S. Favor Handgun Ban at
http://tinyurl.com/43qu85j
Seems Ms. Leah and Ms. Marga are in the minority. Really telling are the statistics in the section entitled "Support for Stricter Gun Laws Down Among Key Subgroups"

And Right On (Armed)! MagnusT - you got that straight.

The way things are going in California only illegals will be allowed to have guns. In states that allow people to carry guns they aren't afraid of muggers, burglers, criminals they are afraid of a government that fears their guns

Just got back from Phoenix. There were MANY people carrying guns on their person. Some openly, but mostly concealed (they're either printing or just plain obvious). The point is that no one was freaking out, no police being called, and people weren't shooting each other in the streets like a Clint Eastwood movie. I feel much safer walking the streets in Phoenix than I ever would in Oakland or many other east bay communities. In places like Phoenix, a potential criminal must consider that there's a good chance their victim may be armed. Phoenix has it's share of problems like any city, but in terms of gun violence, it's a much safer place than Oakland, Dopeland, Nohopeland.

Tim and Chuck, The ultra liberal troll says, I promise you it's going to happen. Just like the old west.
Shot outs at the OK Coral,
If you gun guys by carrying guns keep all the crime down then please you all go to Oakland, they need your crime buster help.

Chuck, you need to help me out. I don't know HOPLOPHOBE. I just know I don't want to be one :) And, keep up the good fight. You fight well.

Vocabulary

hoplophobe -- defined as the "fear of firearms" and as the "fear of armed citizens"
True medical phobias of firearms and other weapons can exist, but are unusual.

demonization -- the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as evil, lying demons by other religions, generally monotheistic and henotheistic ones. The term has since been expanded to refer to any characterization of individuals, groups, or political bodies as evil (or /irrational/, I would add here for purposes of this conversation).

defamation -- is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image.

Onward, Online-Soldiers!

Thank you Leah. Next time you are in Atlanta, I will show you what "gun control" is all about. You will be hitting the target every time.

www.buildtheborderfence.com
www.StopAB131.com
this otta inflame the kitty :)

More Vocabulary
liberalism -- a movement in modern Protestantism emphasizing intellectual liberty and the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
regulation of firearms -- ATF is responsible for regulating firearm commerce in the United States. The Bureau issues Federal Firearms Licenses (FFL) to sellers, and conducts firearms licensee inspections. The Bureau is also involved in programs aimed at reducing gun violence in the United States, by targeting and arresting violent offenders who unlawfully possess firearms. ATF was also involved with the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative, which expanded tracing of firearms recovered by law enforcement, and the ongoing Comprehensive Crime Gun Tracing Initiative. ATF also provides support to state and local investigators, through the National Integrated Ballistic Identification Network (NIBIN) program.

Arms trafficking -- is the illegal trafficking or smuggling of contraband weapons or ammunition. Impact areas: Although arms trafficking is widespread in regions of political turmoil, it is not limited to such areas, and for example, in South Asia, an estimated 63 million guns have been trafficked into India and Pakistan.
The suppression of gunrunning is one of the areas of increasing interest in the context of international law.

Examples of past and current gunrunning:
Larne gun-running
Mexico
El Salvador
Provisional Irish Republican Army arms importation

Vocabulary (continued)
gun violence -- defined literally means the use of a firearm to threaten or inflict violence or harm. Gun violence may be broadly defined as a category of violence and crime committed with the use of a firearm; it may or may not include actions ruled as self-defense, actions for law enforcement, or the safe lawful use of firearms for sport, hunting, and target practice. Gun violence encompasses intentional crime characterized as homicide (although not all homicide is automatically a crime) and assault with a deadly weapon, as well as unintentional injury and death resulting from the misuse of firearms, sometimes by children and adolescents. Gun violence statistics also may include self-inflicted gunshot wounds (both suicide, attempted suicide and suicide/homicide combinations sometimes seen within families).

The phrase "gun crime" is consistently used by both gun-control and gun-rights policy advocates, with differing emphases: the former group advocates reducing gun violence by enacting and enforcing "sensible regulations" on guns, while the latter group advocates controlling criminals via increased prison terms or other methods.
(continued)

When are the liberals going to outlaw cancer ?

HR 822 to be voted on in the US House tomorrow. This bill would force California to recognize concealed carry permits issued by ANY other state. It's likely to pass and it looks like Harry Reid will take it up in the Senate.

Leah, do me a favor if your schedule permits. I have a blog on Cartersville, GA Patch dealing with police chases and use of force issues. I would like your opinion. I may not agree with it but I am positive it will be well delivered :)

An interesting perspective on gun control and the second amendment, from our neighbor to the north (and they have bears!)

"In Canada, we take a different approach to collateral consequences of criminal conviction.

Most laws that denied civil rights to people convicted of crime have been repealed or declared unconstitutional by the courts. Perhaps most notably, Canada’s Supreme Court decided in 2001 that any ban on prisoner voting violates our Constitution.

The court held that to deny even those serving sentences for serious crimes this basic right of citizenship was counterproductive to the government’s professed goal of promoting civic responsibility and respect for the rule of law. Three years later, the South African Constitutional Court reached a similar decision, rejecting any ban on prisoner voting as unjustified, particularly given that country’s history of denying civil rights on the basis of race.
At the same time, there is strong support in Canada — at both a popular and a judicial level — for collateral consequences that are targeted to the crime, including lifetime bans on the possession of firearms for many violent crimes or serious drug offenses.
(continued)

HR 822 just passed the US House on a vote of 272-154 with only 7 Republicans voting against and 43 Democrats supporting. This was a solid bi-partisan bill. Next up, the US Senate. I'm counting on you Harry Reid!

Pandora's box could be opening.

Interesting article showing accounts of some not so savory people who where able to obtain concealed gun permits from other states and other incidents of the wrong people obtaining these permits.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-horwitz/the-real-slippery-slope-o_b_1096825.html

What a bunch of crap from a liberal rag. The fact that Mr. Hill was granted a CCW permit from Florida means that the jurisdiction in PA didn't do its job and isn't a reflection of anything wrong with Florida. You can NOT receive a CCW permit from the state of Florida without first having fingerprints taken and a background check conducted by the FBI. If Mr. Hill received a permit from Florida it means that he passed this background check which means his previous so-called criminal history did not include any felony convictions or certain violent misdemeanor convictions.

The State of California doesn't do any deeper background investigation to receive a CCW permit than does Florida. The only difference is that in CA local county sheriffs get to decide who does and does not get a permit. If you are a wealthy donor to the sheriffs re-election campaign or a celebrity such as Sean Penn or Democrat politician such as Diane Feinstein then you get a permit (and they both have CA permits), otherwise you're pretty much told to go to hell regardless of how law abiding you are. These peoples lives aren't worth any more than yours or mine. HR822 corrects this injustice.

Finally, the 39 "Shall Issue" CCW states have a 22% lower violent crime rate compared to the nation as a whole. Look at gun ban cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Oaklant, etc.... they have some of the worst crime rates in the nation and they don't allow concealed carry of average citizens.

One more obvious but important point. If a hardened criminal is intent of committing a violent armed robbery, murder, etc. then are they really concerned about a simple misdemeanor weapons charge for unlawful concealed carry? PC 12031 provides for only a 1,000 fine and up to one year in county jail for a concealed weapons violation. I'm no expert on CA penal law but I think that armed robbery and murder have significantly steeper penalties.... criminals won't care. Only law abiding citizens respect these unconstitutional gun laws. Every state should allow for "shall-issue" ccw upon completion of a background check and firearms training. There are more states now that allow Constitutional Carry (carry without a permit at all) such as Alaska, Vermont, Arizona, and Wyoming. I've traveled in every one of these states and never once did I see the "wild west" scenes of people brandishing weapons like the liberal media try to scare us with.

The anti-gun crowd is a shrinking minority. Today in the US House the vote on HR 822 was 272- 154 and it had 43 Democrats supporting. Last year a similar bill by John Thune in the Senate failed by just one GOP vote. Harry Reid himself supported the bill. I think he will allow it to come up for a vote again. This time with more Republicans in the Senate, it's likely to pass. I've yet to hear Obama take a side on the issue but consider this.... Obama signed into law in his first year a bill that allows citizens to carry loaded, concealed weapons in our National Parks. In addition, Obama will have a tough re-election campaign. he needs the support of moderate, "blue-dog" Democrats in the mid-west to win. CA doesn't win him a second term... Ohio, Florida, and Missouri do and he knows it. I'm not holding my breath, but this could be the year it gets done.

I just don't understand why the left is so eager to do away with their (and everyone else's) fundamental right to defend themselves...

Chuck, I've heard that argument from some pro-gun people but I've read the bill. It does not give the federal government new powers to regulate concealed carry. States still set their own rules pertaining to concealed carry. All HR 822 does is mandate reciprocity among the states similar to how drivers licenses are reciprocated. It's ironic hearing the libs cry "states rights" are being infringed because they didn't think about that when they threw Obamacare at us. The difference is 2A is supposed to prevent states from infringing our right to keep paying and bear arms.

The gun control we need in Alameda county is to take away from thugs whenever possible; and put that lethal force into the hands of the good guys. Encourage gun safety faires and allow marksmanship clubs at the high schools and junior colleges; discuss home weapon safety without the hysterical Liberal bias

I agree Suzanne,
We first have to adopt a consistent political philosophy ( we being people concerned about liberty) and form a voting block to stop anti-liberty legislation including taxes and bonds. The philosophy is classical liberalism or libertarianism.

I hope to see Ron Paul as President.

I can see and understand the arguments of both sides when it comes to gun control.. My argument is why cant gun control have the same basic idea as a motorcycle license. motorcycle license you need to prove you can ride, pass a test and your granted a license. Gun control wise, why not have the state track open/concelled carry or hell gun ownership in general. A "student" takes a series of tests background, psychology, safety, and a required annual range qualification to receive a license to carry and/or possess a gun. Or opt to take a class of however many hours that covers classroom (gun safety, laws, etc.) range practice and qualification and get a certification that is taken to the state who does the background, psych, safety tests and either grants or denies the license to carry/own a weapon.
Seems something along the lines of a program as such would serve multiple purposes. First and foremost the state isn't walking and spitting on the right to bear arms, keeps guns out of hands of nuts and crooks, and puts numberous people to work on various jobs including maintaining state databases of current license, 'background investigators', and gun safety/range personnel. Couple the above with a licensing fee, and it's a win win. State makes money, constitutional laws aren't walked on, and some sort of proof that nuts aren't buying and carrying guns is possible.... Seems to be a nice middle ground between the extremities of "guns for all" and "guns for none."

The problem is that most people consults their feelings and think this is sufficient to settle political questions. They don't see the need (in fact they reject the notion) to have some foundation in relevant studies of political theory, economics and logic. This I believe is partly the result of an anti-intellectual culture with government schooling at its foundation. The other cause is the high incidence of personality types that just go with their feelings. There is nothing wrong with this except in political matters.

Ron Paul has about as much chance of becoming President as Rick Perry.
Sanity has prevailed!

>'.. keeps guns out of hands of nuts and crooks'

Of course it is desirable to keep guns away from 'nuts' but so is keeping the vote away from them too. There is no safe way to do either and maintain a liberal democracy. This is what is at issue. Liberty involves going against your own personal preferences in order to promote what is in the properly understood interests of everyone in society.

Self interest is the bane of all society and is what is at the foundation of the anti-liberal parties in power today.

I'm posting this here because it doesn't seem we have many gun-expert patch users in San Leandro and I'm curious about this.

So last night, around 4 AM, we heard what sounded like gunshots here in San Leandro. There were several and they were associated with flashes of light, which seemed to immediately follow the gun shot noise). The strange thing is that they sounded very close to a lot of people in a large area of town, at least a couple of square miles and probably more.

As someone without much knowledge of guns it seems to me highly unlikely that these could be gun shots, given how far they were heard and seen, but I wanted to confirm this with our gun experts :-)

Hi Leah...I hope the new year finds you well! I am saddened as well that your Father is hesitant to go out dancing. I actually took the time to look up shooting statistics for the Albuquerque area and find that there are almost none. In reality, your Father I think should fear the drive to the club far worse than he should fear these alleged numb-nuts. I do hope that he changes his mind and continues to enjoy what he loves.

What I don't get is, what's the point of wearing a gun. Particularly what's the point of wearing a gun at a dance in a rural part of New Mexico. Is the wearing of a gun a square dance fashion statement? What, are they overrun with rattle snakes in rural NM?
It just make no scene, it's a sure a ticket to a no good ending.
That's to bad and sad about your Mom and Dad, Leah.
I wouldn't feel at all comfortable going anywhere with a bunch of people wearing guns .
I was in Wisconsin last fall a state that is warring over open or concealed. Many business in the downtown have already posted signs disallowing anyone packing.

I would not open carry myself because I agree that it gives many people an irrational fear but a fear nonetheless. I don't have a problem with others doing it though. I wouldn't go to a club with shady characters hanging around outside REGARDLESS of whether or not these characters had guns. Why? Because behavior is more important. They may not appear to be armed but maybe they are concealing a firearm, or knife, or other weapon. You have to look beyond the gun and look at the rest of the environment.

I have never been attacked by a bear, rattlesnake, or other wild animal here in the USA. I can't say the same about SE Asia many many eons ago. I have however, been attacked by criminals with illegal guns. I am thankful to be able to relate that to you today.