What would you do ? (open-carry rifle in Utah mall)

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pchinvegas

Member
Location
Las Vegas, NV
Earlier today on my Face Book page I saw a picture of a man in a mall at what was described as a J C Penny's store in Utah. He had a rifle slung over his back, jeans and a tee shirt. The narrative stated that it was legal there and could be fully loaded.
Call me crazy, but if I encountered this I would had made my way out of there so fast. How would I know if this guy were up to no good, on a mission to get even with someone? Why would he feel the need for a rifle in a mall?
I know, bad things happen but even IF he were the good guy with the gun do I want to be among those hit by the shots fired?
Oh, wait, he just exercising his 2nd Amendment Rights, well so are the bad guys until the do something wrong, right?
Holy Crap Maynard, I'm gonna shop online ! This would be too much.

What do you think?
 

It sounds as tho' it's the norm over there and if the folk around him aren't worried then I guess that says a lot,
now if that were in any mall/ market etc here in Australia we'd all be hitting the ground,lol
 
I live in Nevada and have never see that but then it is not lawful here. In my mind I just question anyone who feels that paranoid, defensive or scared that they think they need a gun loaded and ready on their person. I would be afraid.
 

Since that type of thing is legal in Utah, it could also be his "rough-tough-stupid-male-ego" that is front and center.

Either way, it's moronic, IMO. I was raised with guns; walking around a mall with one slung over the shoulder is not cute. It's a perfect example of taking the Second Amendment waaaaay out of context; this is not the wild west days of old.

I would've probably met his stare head-on and wryly commented "whellll! aren't you CUTE!" Just enough for him to get the point yet hopefully not getting the d**n thing pointed at me:eek:nthego:
The guy needs neutered - I still have my rusty-trusty butter knife somewhere-----------------------:shark:
 
I do have an "ole" soup spoon I could use...... LOL ..... Or wait, how about my "salad tongs" ????

Here in Northern Ontario it isn't uncommon to see guys in a 4X4 during hunting season with a rifle but it is in a case and definitely NOT loaded.. The reason they carry it around is for theft reasons.. Someone will steal it if you left in the unit unattended.. This I understand but to carry it in public, you would have the police down your neck in seconds and with good reason......
 
There is always a context in these situations. For example, I work in a public library. At one point there was a guy coming in with a pistol on his belt. This made some people very nervous until I pointed out that he was dressed in a manner consistent with a detective or Federal Agent, he was meeting different people openly and talking to them for a period of time, they would shake hands when greeting and leaving, the type of pistol he carried was also consistent with a professional law enforcement officer, he always carried a set of folders which he would open and use during his meetings. Based on what I saw about this person caused me to comment that I felt safer with people like that in our library. If his overall "look" had been different I may have not felt the same about his presence.

The branch manager finally did ask him on the side and he was FBI and he was meeting potential witnesses regarding some investigation.
 
I have no problem with concealed carry, or open carry. The rifle over the shoulder thing seems a bit much though :playful:.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I have no problem with concealed carry, or open carry. The rifle over the shoulder thing seems a bit much though :playful:.
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Agreed. You can't take down the bad guys with good wishes. People fear that which they don't understand, and firearms are some of the least-understood items in our culture.

@ TWHRider - "this is not the wild west days of old" - you obviously haven't lived in some of the places I'VE lived in ... :cool:

The last time I checked (2010), 12 states allowed full open-carry. That's almost a quarter of the US. They can't ALL be wrong ...
 
That Guy said:
That's why it's called a dead end.
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Touché. ;)

We superheroes just get sad when mortals decide to just walk away from conflict. Sure, sometimes it's the right thing to do ...

... but sometimes it isn't.

It's a wise person who can both tell the difference AND respond appropriately in each instance.
 
I think it is a real sign of how much our American society has gone off course nowadays . When I was in high school , most of the country boys were apt to drive the family pickup to school, and there was usually a gun rack with a hunting rifle in the back window. They also had a knife in a sheath on their belts. No one was ever afraid of being shot at, or otherwise harmed. The principal checked out the gun to admire it, not report it to the police. We all went to the local drive-in for burgers, and no crazy person came in shooting people.

Now, even if someone looks normal, but was carrying a gun, I would just get out of the area, just to be safe. The government wants to take guns away from law abiding citizens, but they never even mention getting them away from criminals..... How backwards is that ?
 
Happyflowerlady said:
I think it is a real sign of how much our American society has gone off course nowadays . The government wants to take guns away from law abiding citizens, but they never even mention getting them away from criminals..... How backwards is that ?
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I had a long response to this, but I think this pretty much sums it up....The government and country as we once knew it is gone, it's never coming back and the last three younger generations and beyond of people will never miss the rights, freedoms and morality they never knew....and sheesh, we thought the '60's and '70's were steeped in immorality and government corruption.
 
Happyflowerlady and Ozarkgal, I agree with both of you. It's a completely different world now, and I find it scary and sad. I'm not sure how we got where we are, and it seems as though the younger generation doesn't know what real freedom is. Trading some freedoms for 'security' isn't a problem for them, but I wonder that someday they'll realize what happened, and then it might be too late to turn things around.
 
Anne said:
Happyflowerlady and Ozarkgal, I agree with both of you. It's a completely different world now, and I find it scary and sad. I'm not sure how we got where we are, and it seems as though the younger generation doesn't know what real freedom is. Trading some freedoms for 'security' isn't a problem for them, but I wonder that someday they'll realize what happened, and then it might be too late to turn things around.
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... and then China will annex the United States and all of our great-grandchildren will have jobs making cheap trinkets for Wal-Mart. :(
 
Too true. Did I mention that handbasket . . . ? Ah, yes, in another thread. We've voted, we've marched in the streets, we've written our congressmen, we've written our editors, we've seen the writing on the wall, we've seen the writing at The Wall . . . All to no avail. I'm sorry folks (no I'm not . . . well, sorta....) but I quit! I give up! I'm stickin' my head in the sand until the next good wave comes along and then, I'm outta here...
 
I think if he was walking around with it slung across his back, dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, I wouldn't worry much about it. When there are local gun shows in the vicinity, people carry the guns/rifles that they want to sell or trade, and carry the firearms that they just bought.

I doubt he was carrying it for protection at all, if there was a sticker of some sort on the gun, that would indicate that he just had attended a show. When we go into wooded areas, there are lot of people who open carry their hunting rifles or open carry the pistols that they use for self protection. I never had issue with that.

Don't know about this guy in the thread, and never did see the photo, but IMO, the more law abiding citizens possessing guns, either open or concealed, the less crime and chance of being robbed, raped, abused or killed by some jerk, junkie, nutjob or gang-banger.
 
The problem I have with everyone armed is the resultant shootout. Not every gun-toting citizen is well trained in establishing lines-of-fire and muzzle discipline.
 
That Guy said:
The problem I have with everyone armed is the resultant shootout. Not every gun-toting citizen is well trained in establishing lines-of-fire and muzzle discipline.
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Collateral damage.

To me, "gun control" MEANS muzzle discipline. ;)

I would think that just the well-publicized fact that everyone is armed would be a major damper on most crime. I also don't think we'd revert to the Old West mentality - I think that in actuality the number of violent encounters is still well under 5%-10% and would only diminish as the hard-core repeat offenders are either incarcerated or buried.
 
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