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CleverNickname wrote:That would be retarded because if they're in uniform everyone would know that they're still carrying a gun. And guess what, when cops are in plain clothes, they don't open carry.

I did, for the last four years of my career. I was assigned a plainclothes assignment as a training officer and wore my 1911 in an open carry duty style holster the whole time, both on duty and off. Had a few discussions with the Chief who did not think carrying a visible gun while wearing jeans was professional in appearance, but he had no problem with open carrying in my normal slacks, dress shirt, and tie. While the field agents wore jackets most of the time, no one cared about them taking them off and letting the pistol be seen. The jacket had to be on in some places we went, so as to blend in more with their clientele, but not everywhere.

And in Luling, almost every cop open carries when off duty or in plain clothes. All the locals know who the cops are anyway (and I still get called Sarge here, though i left the agency 5 years ago).

para driver wrote:What tactical or political advantage is there to open carry?

I was a police officer for many years. I obviously carried my weapon int he open then. I also trained for using the weapon from an open carry position. And one thing we do know is that in a stress situation, you will react how you have trained. My hand will go to where my weapon would be on my duty belt first. This means that if I were allowed to open carry, and I really needed the weapon, it could save me a second or so in getting it out. This could be a vital tactical advantage to me.

In my specific case, open carry might provide a tactical advantage. I have no reason to think I am the only person who might have a reason for carrying openly. I truly do not know if I would carry openly or not, but I don't think I would. But, I would really appreciate having the opportunity to make that choice for myself. And, I assume others would like to have that choice. As a libertarian, I do not like to make choices for others. Thus, I support open carry as a goal to work for.

I am willing to make it a lower priority than some other issues, for tactical political reasons. But, we should have it in our minds as a goal we are working for. Open or concealed, licensed or unlicensed, carry on any public property and any private property where the owner does not object is my overall goal. I do not mind your (or anyone's) suggesting we put it as a lower priority right now while we work on the issues, but this should always be part of our goal and should not be opposed, even if you would never want to carry openly.