How to explain Open Carry to kids

[speck0809]

Long time lurker one time poster here.

Texas is poised to pass an Open Carry law here...yay Texas...

I have a 3 and 6 year old who know nothing about guns. We are not a gun owning household and I didn't grow up in one either.  I don't hate guns per say but am not a big fan. We live in a particularly Red county.

I'm worried about soon not being able to visit the grocery store with the kiddos in tow and seeing guns everywhere. They're going to ask questions and I'm wondering what to say.

And by what to say, I mean something other than what I want to which is: "Because leaving his house is so scary, that man had to bring the biggest gun he had with him. Say hi kids!"

[AJL]

Do you really think you'll see that many people exercising their right to open carry? I live in Austin and we have plenty of gun toters around here, though most are concealed. I'm not expecting a sudden bevy of gun proponents openly carrying their weapons.

[2curlydogs]

"So, there are these assholes with tiny penises...."

[penguingrrl]

I would probably passive aggressively tell them that person is a bully (a term they know well from school) and to stay far away from anyone with a gun. And would be totally fine if my kid publicly called them on their ridiculousness, which my 7 year old likely would. I've already shown my kids pictures of guns and told them never to touch one and to get an adult if they see it (which is all I know about gun safety myself having never actually seen a gun IRL) when we moved to an area that has higher gun ownership than anywhere I've lived before.

[downtoearth]

Does, "There is a clause in the constitution that has been misinterpreted and our state is a bit wacky, so people can carry weapons openly, not just for hunting, but to scare other people!" not work?

I think I'd call the police if I lived in an area with people who open carry a lot...every single time I saw it. I'd just call and say, "Hi, I'm at Krogers and a guy walked in with a machine gun and an angry look - he's headed to the produce and I'm leaving." Your kids should know that it's crazy and you should treat it as such.

[speck0809]

Jun 3, 2015 13:32:28 GMT -5 AJL said:

Do you really think you'll see that many people exercising their right to open carry? I live in Austin and we have plenty of gun toters around here, though most are concealed. I'm not expecting a sudden bevy of gun proponents openly carrying their weapons.

I live in Williamson County!

Maybe I'm being overly anxious over here.

I'm just thinking of all the Open Carry nuts that were walking the Capitol grounds and the people here with all the bumper stickers that still accuse Obama of trying to take their guns.

[penguingrrl]

Jun 3, 2015 13:37:29 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Does, "There is a clause in the constitution that has been misinterpreted and our state is a bit wacky, so people can carry weapons openly, not just for hunting, but to scare other people!" not work?

I think I'd call the police if I lived in an area with people who open carry...every single time I saw it. I'd just call and say, "Hi, I'm at Krogers and a guy walked in with a machine gun and an angry look - he's headed to the produce and I'm leaving." Your kids should know that it's crazy and you should treat it as such.

Oh, I'd be calling 911 any time I saw someone open carrying. And leave anywhere that allowed it and never shop there again. 

[AJL]

Jun 3, 2015 13:39:13 GMT -5 speck0809 said:

Jun 3, 2015 13:32:28 GMT -5 AJL said:

Do you really think you'll see that many people exercising their right to open carry? I live in Austin and we have plenty of gun toters around here, though most are concealed. I'm not expecting a sudden bevy of gun proponents openly carrying their weapons.

I live in Williamson County!

Maybe I'm being overly anxious over here.

I'm just thinking of all the Open Carry nuts that were walking the Capitol grounds and the people here with all the bumper stickers that still accuse Obama of trying to take their guns.

We're neighbors! (ish. I live near Hays county.)

[sfy]

Jun 3, 2015 13:32:28 GMT -5 AJL said:

Do you really think you'll see that many people exercising their right to open carry? I live in Austin and we have plenty of gun toters around here, though most are concealed. I'm not expecting a sudden bevy of gun proponents openly carrying their weapons.

I live in Georgia and I'm really surprised how often I see it, especially now that it's warm, I guess?  Once people don't have to conceal, I guess they figure why bother?  It's like anything else you have with you all the time, I suppose.

[AJL]

I guess when I think of open carry in actual practice (rather than in protests or for shock value), I'm thinking more of this -



and less of this -

[Cicero]

FWIW I grew up in an open carry OH (it well predates concealed carry there and comes from the OH constitution). I can remember exactly zero instances of someone walking around in a random public place with a gun. Hell, no one even bothered with signs saying you couldn't being a gun somewhere until concealed carry was passed because it just really wasn't an issue.

[ttt]

Jun 3, 2015 14:05:32 GMT -5 sfy said:

Jun 3, 2015 13:32:28 GMT -5 AJL said:

Do you really think you'll see that many people exercising their right to open carry? I live in Austin and we have plenty of gun toters around here, though most are concealed. I'm not expecting a sudden bevy of gun proponents openly carrying their weapons.

I live in Georgia and I'm really surprised how often I see it, especially now that it's warm, I guess?  Once people don't have to conceal, I guess they figure why bother?  It's like anything else you have with you all the time, I suppose.

Publix doesn't allow open carry, thankfully - I only shop there. I will not enter a Kroger until they change their policy. 

[ttt]

Jun 3, 2015 14:08:10 GMT -5 Cicero said:

FWIW I grew up in an open carry OH (it predates concealed carry and comes from the OH constitution). I can remember exactly zero instances of someone walking around in a random public place with a gun. Hell, no one even bothered with signs saying you couldn't being a gun somewhere until concealed carry was passed because it just really wasn't an issue.

Sadly, things have changed a lot in the past 10 years across the country. Even here in GA, even going to a high school where my classmates regularly went hunting before school in the mornings and left their rifles in their cars on school grounds, I never saw people open carry until fairly recently. 

[downtoearth]

Jun 3, 2015 14:08:10 GMT -5 AJL said:

I guess when I think of open carry in actual practice (rather than in protests or for shock value), I'm thinking more of this -

This is what I saw when my boss and his family was threatened by a former coworker - it is WAY less daunting to see and I always assume it's b/c someone is trained and respectful of the community around them. 

Jun 3, 2015 14:08:10 GMT -5 AJL said:

and less of this -

I have never seen this and I assume it's to be a Giant Asshole and I would call the cops immediately.

[jln]

Jun 3, 2015 14:09:35 GMT -5 ttt said:

Jun 3, 2015 14:05:32 GMT -5 sfy said:

I live in Georgia and I'm really surprised how often I see it, especially now that it's warm, I guess?  Once people don't have to conceal, I guess they figure why bother?  It's like anything else you have with you all the time, I suppose.

Publix doesn't allow open carry, thankfully - I only shop there. I will not enter a Kroger until they change their policy. 

We avoid Kroger for this reason, as well.  

[sfy]

Jun 3, 2015 14:09:35 GMT -5 ttt said:

Jun 3, 2015 14:05:32 GMT -5 sfy said:

I live in Georgia and I'm really surprised how often I see it, especially now that it's warm, I guess?  Once people don't have to conceal, I guess they figure why bother?  It's like anything else you have with you all the time, I suppose.

Publix doesn't allow open carry, thankfully - I only shop there. I will not enter a Kroger until they change their policy. 

I didn't realize this, but I never go to Kroger, anyway--good to know.

[ChillyMcFreeze]

I've seen it several times at Walmart now that GA has open carry. It scares the shit out of me.

[speck0809]

Jun 3, 2015 15:00:34 GMT -5 ChillyMcFreeze said:

I've seen it several times at Walmart now that GA has open carry. It scares the shit out of me.

Not helping!! Lol

[ChillyMcFreeze]

Jun 3, 2015 15:03:30 GMT -5 speck0809 said:

Jun 3, 2015 15:00:34 GMT -5 ChillyMcFreeze said:

I've seen it several times at Walmart now that GA has open carry. It scares the shit out of me.

Not helping!! Lol

Sorry!   I don't have kids. But I would tell them to stay far, far away from anyone carrying a gun other than a police officer. I like the bully angle, too.

[speck0809]

Jun 3, 2015 15:05:45 GMT -5 ChillyMcFreeze said:

Jun 3, 2015 15:03:30 GMT -5 speck0809 said:

Not helping!! Lol

Sorry!   I don't have kids. But I would tell them to stay far, far away from anyone carrying a gun other than a police officer. I like the bully angle, too.

I say not helping as in I'm scared of them, too! But I am also a smart ass/passive aggressive so my default may be to say something to said gun carrier and run away, abandoning my cart at Target

[jillboston]

Jun 3, 2015 16:14:28 GMT -5 tillie said:

I really don't see what the big deal is. I would just teach them bow to be safe. Never touch one, move away from person if you can, etc.

where should they "move away" to exactly. it is a public place. I have the right not to feel frightened for a child or myself don't I?

[AJL]

First of all, the open carry law that passed in Texas has no effect on citizens carrying long guns (shotguns and rifles) because it is already legal to carry those weapons unconcealed. They had to be carried "in a manner not calculated to cause alarm." You also do not need a license to carry those weapons.

In my 37 years of living in this state and traveling all over it, never have I seen a regular citizen carry a shotgun or rifle in the open like we've seen in the open carry protests. In fact, the ONLY time I've seen anyone carrying a long gun was when the national guard was set up at airports right after 9/11. 

The open carry law effects concealed handgun license holders and effects their ability to carry their handgun in the open in a hip or shoulder holster (so no tucking it in your waistband.) 

If we're not seeing people on the regular carrying around long guns, I don't think we're going to see it much now. If you want to carry open, you have to get a CHL anyway. Most people don't want others knowing they have a gun on them (element of surprise, maybe? I don't know.) 

My point is, I don't think this is going to cause as much of a public scene as we think it will. 

[Deleted]

I'm surprised by the amount of people who would actually open up their mouths to say something nasty to a person carrying a gun.

I'm not saying they would shoot you, that's stupid. But handing out unsolicited nasty opinions to someone as they go about their legal business no matter how fucking dumb you think it is is a really shitty thing to do. I'm not sure how it's any different than commenting on someone as they go about doing anything else perfectly legal that you disagree with.

[teflepi]

Honestly, unless you are also worried about police that walk around with a gun (not concealed), then I don't get it with a handgun as I feel a cop is just as likely to do something crazy as someone walking around with a permitted weapon. I don't get the tiny penis thing, either. Is that true of police?

[summer]

Jun 3, 2015 14:08:10 GMT -5 AJL said:

I guess when I think of open carry in actual practice (rather than in protests or for shock value), I'm thinking more of this -



and less of this -

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't stand die Deutsche but this is why I'm never coming back. I don't want to live in a world that looks like this.  When did America become Yemen or Somalia? Who are they at war with?  

[Deleted]

Jun 3, 2015 16:53:39 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

I mean, if your kids ask why that person has a gun, you say because the law says people can carry one in our state. And then go on about your business. I don't even get the point of this thread.

Apparently it's to teach one's children to be vocally condescending towards those who engage in legally protected behavior parents disagree with.

Because that'll learn 'em, right?

FWIW, I'm not an open carry kind of person. I think it's hella lame. But teaching your kid to get snarky with someone minding their own damned business, doing what they do is just asking for trouble. And telling them that anyone who is carrying is a bully is only going to terrify your kids. Why on earth would you do that?

[panicked]

I very much understand the fear that surrounds guns and open carry. I was raised to fear them terribly. We weren't allowed to even touch my grandfathers padlocked/chained/totally secure gun cabinet. I was basically told that every gun was GOING to kill someone if you so much as touched it. Then I married the son of a cop, who was raised to respect a gun, learn about it, and follow the rules of good gun ownership (ie don't point it at anything you don't intend to shoot, always treat it as loaded until proven otherwise, etc) he taught me that guns shouldn't be feared; they won't explode if you touch them. They need to be respected and the more educated you are about them, the less scary they are.

We have quite a decent collection now: handguns, rifles, and shotguns. I know how to use them, how to clear them (take bullets out, make sure it's not loaded), and how to safely handle them. I am much more comfortable having them around. We store them safely and securely, in a locked safe with ammo stored separately.

I say all of this because I was completely terrified of guns, but now that I understand them and have met other gun owners, I don't feel scared anymore. My child knows that if she sees a gun, she is to walk away and tell an adult. Most guns owners who open carry are responsible, safe gun owners. Yes, you'll find some who just do it because they can, but by and large, people that open/concealed carry are educated, safe, quiet people.

[mominatrix]

I dunno.

I think that somebody who feels the need to carry a weapon into a grocery store (when they aren't LEO or security on the job) is doing so because of their issues, their fear, their problems.

And I don't think that it's necessarily a bad thing to assume that somebody who's carrying a weapon into a grocery store has issues, fear, and problems.

And treat the situation accordingly (meaning: leave).



Also, as much as there's been an unfortunate rash of unjustified killings by LEO's lately, I KNOW that LEO's are screened more, trained more, and have more practice hours in on firearms than Joe Schmoo who (even though there's a restraining order against him / rap sheet a mile long / etcetc) picked one up at a gun show or on Craigslist. So, no, I don't see a LEO with a gun in the same way as a civilian with a gun AT ALL.

[annieblah]

Jun 3, 2015 18:37:20 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I dunno.

I think that somebody who feels the need to carry a weapon into a grocery store (when they aren't LEO or security on the job) is doing so because of their issues, their fear, their problems.

And I don't think that it's necessarily a bad thing to assume that somebody who's carrying a weapon into a grocery store has issues, fear, and problems.

And treat the situation accordingly (meaning: leave).



Also, as much as there's been an unfortunate rash of unjustified killings by LEO's lately, I KNOW that LEO's are screened more, trained more, and have more practice hours in on firearms than Joe Schmoo who (even though there's a restraining order against him / rap sheet a mile long / etcetc) picked one up at a gun show or on Craigslist. So, no, I don't see a LEO with a gun in the same way as a civilian with a gun AT ALL.

that's very white privilege of you. For you and me, I'd say there is less fear of leo. For anyone of color? Not so.much so, yeah, I worry whenever I see.one. sorry not sorry

[kadams767]

Jun 3, 2015 16:22:14 GMT -5 tillie said:

Not being snarky, but the fear is your problem, shouldn't you have to deal with the fear? Serious question.

No, I shouldn't have to deal with my fear of guns and other deadly weapons. Especially at a grocery store or Target.