Yes, yes, yes. Believe it or not, (for those of you who are unawares), it is wholly legal to open carry your legal firearm legally in CT. Yep.
Personally, I adore open-carrying my pistols. Allow me to tell you why, if I may…..
- Open carry lets everyone know I am armed. Simple as that. No sneaking around. No concealing. Nope. It’s right there for all to see.
- Open carry can possibly stop a criminal from attempting to commit a crime. When a criminal relies on no one being armed in a target location, and then they see me with a fully exposed firearm on my hip, I would bet dollars to doughnuts they change their mind and walk away.
- Open carry makes me the first recognizable threat to a criminal, thus making me their possible first target. I accept this as a possible reality, and would much rather the criminal seek to engage me than to fire randomly upon unarmed citizens. Besides, this would give others more time to contact the authorities.
- Open carry makes some folks feel comfortable and secure, bringing peace of mind when I am around them with my open-carried pistol, and knowing I passed all the required vetting needed by law enforcement to be entrusted with a firearm for public carry. Yep. They consider me a good guy with a gun.
- Open carry shows others that guns, in and of themselves, are not killing machines that just up and shoot people.
- Open carry prompts some amazing conversations, and opens up the door for answering questions about guns and CT’s gun laws. When I open carry, I am ever ready to chat with folks who are curious and have many questions. Since I began open-carrying my pistols, I have had no less than 20 conversations with the curious and uneducated. Good stuff, folks. Open carry is a great way to introduce others to Proper Gun Culture.
- Open carry demands discipline, restraint, sober-mindedness, and focus on situational awareness. When I open carry, I am actually bettering myself on many levels, as the requirements to properly and responsibly open carry push me to higher levels.
So when you see me with my OC going on, there is not a one reason to be afraid or freaked-out. Not at all. Come on up to me and ask your questions. I’m always happy to answer and educate.
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I don’t know how likely you are to respond, but if you’re reading this, I would appreciate any help you can give me. I live in Connecticut. I have been looking for some people who can give me some support, information, and advice about open carrying in Connecticut. I have my permit to carry, but I always carry concealed. The only times I’ve ever open carried have been in places like gun stores where nobody cares. I would like to open carry, but I’ve heard a lot of stories of people getting arrested and harassed by police. I even talked to one man who used to be a police officer in Connecticut. While he is an advocate for gun rights, he has advised me that open carrying in Connecticut will get me arrested for breach of peace. I’m afraid that if I carry openly in someplace like a grocery store or restaurant or anywhere else that I go on a daily basis, that someone will complain and I’ll get arrested for breach of peace or have my permit revoked. I would appreciate any advice you can give me on what it’s like to open carry in Connecticut. How do people react? Do people often get the cops called on them for open carrying? What happens when the cops do come? What kinds of places are safe to go without getting a negative reaction? If you could give me some help and let me know what your experiences have been, I would really appreciate it.
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