I agree with you pretty much. I know when I see a person with a holstered sidearm I assume they have it for a reason and its not a great cause for concern.
You know, honestly, I'm not sure what the point of concealed carry is ? Except for spies and detectives, its all kinda creepy that people want to walk around with something they can kill with but its a
secret.
ooh, you don't even know what I got here in my pocket buddy so..are you talking to me ?
Sounds like some kind of mental issue at the outset.
On the surface I agree with you - in a world where guns are accepted by the general public, open carry starts to work a little better. But currently, if you open carry, cops will often stop you and demand ID and whatnot. Or someone will call the police because there's someone with a gun and they're scared. For these reasons, concealed carry generates less drama...it lets me, the person concealing, live a normal life day to day, beyond the weight hanging off my belt. It also causes other people less concern. Granted, I also conceal not only the fact I carry, but also the fact I even own guns. Less than half of my friends know I do - simply because I live in a liberal area where I find people are quick to judge if you show you're pro gun, conservative or some other thing they disagree with. I made the grave mistake of letting a coworker find out I bought a gun (friend told a friend told a coworker type thing) and their response was "how long until you come to work and shoot us?"
The other reason I can justify concealing is that my gun is for defense - I view part of defense as the element of surprise, or at the very least not being made a target. If a criminal sees I'm carrying, that might deter them. Or it might make me their first target. Concealing means that I'm not made a target, and should I ever need to pull my gun out, I'll be doing it on my terms and hopefully not endangering other lives, or being at higher risk simply because I am armed.
Edit: Additionally, some states don't allow open carry. If you're arguing everyone should open carry this point is moot, but in some states (or even just some cities if the state allows local municipalities to set their own rules) conceal carry is going to be the only way to do it. In these cases, the permit requires fingerprinting and a complete background check: ensure you're not a criminal and not wanted and also add your fingerprints to a database so that they can use it for evidence in the future (not totally cool with that, but it was the price I had to pay) - I'm find with the idea of people who are allowed to carry be required to pass some common sense requirements and checks. Hell, I think WA should require a proficiency class to get a CPL - be able to hit a human sized target at 21 feet, 5 out of 5 rounds in 10 seconds or something - put the person under stress and make them perform. If they can't pass, they probably shouldn't be carrying in public because they're a danger to those around them.
I don't think that people who carry are like DeNiro feeling empowered by the gun - some number are going to be, but from the people I've met, I don't know a single one that sits at home practicing their draw while asking the wall "are you talking to ME?"
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