blueorison wrote:Rapier1772 wrote:Starbuck's no longer wants guns in their stores
http://news.yahoo.com/starbucks-guns-in ... 15379.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
They aren't banning them but they are officially requesting customers don't carry - at least not openly.
In a way, I can see their point. They've been put in the spotlight & made an example of on both sides of the gun debate. They didn't want to be there, they just deferred to local laws.
I just hope they don't put those stupid gun spree zone signs up.
Idiots carrying guns "exercising their rights". I am all for exercising your rights, but just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD.
Bringing AR15's and shotguns into Starbucks with magazines inserted is idiotic and very irresponsible. It makes people perceive gun owners like fools.
http://practicaltacticalpodcast.com/starbucks/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Conversely, just because you don't, doesn't mean you shouldn't
There are many different ways to expose people to law abiding, upstanding people with guns. The best response in any vaguely diplomatic encounter isn't to be as in-your-face as possible (which is what some of the OC guys do...particularly with the staged Starbucks events).
The other side of the coin is that if people are never actually exposed to appropriate/calm gun owners, then there is a good chance they will believe the anti-gun rhetoric that is espoused in most of media.
Much like any fear of the unknown, one of the best ways to treat it is with a slow inoculation. You don't start out with everything at once. You slowly over months, years, or decades keep pushing the envelope just a little.
This is also basically the way guns were removed from everyday society. Each generation was pushed a little further from them until it was no longer considered socially acceptable to simply have one on your hip or in your truck. With that social shift came laws to reinforce the fears by ensuring that the guns stayed out of sight. It's only been in the last decade or so that it seems folks are starting to realize just how far the envelope has been pushed and they have started to push back. Open carry and concealed carry have made a HUGE comeback in nearly every state.
That didn't happen by people just sitting back and not becoming involved. It happened because some people decided that it was worth the inconvenience, the ridicule, the embarrassment, and sometimes being arrested (in order to have an appropriate case that could be addressed by the Supreme Court).
I have personally been lambasted by a couple of the CC crowd when I brought up the fact that I've OC'd while accompanied by my young boys as we went out to get some ice cream cones on a hot summer day.
Statements like "well that was dumb" and "just think what might have happened if someone screamed or got in your face about it, or if a Cop had shown up and cuffed you in front of your sons...or worse" show the exact same kind of fear (just on the opposite side of the coin) that needs to be slowly worn down.
In response to rash judgements, I made the statement that in any event I would hope it would serve as a learning experience for my sons on how a man should handle himself when presented with people of different opinions who may or may not be friendly. Honestly, where else are kids going to learn how to act like adults in tough situations, if they have no one to watch. TV doesn't show it, schools rarely have it (they have forfeited their maturity and their ability to make sound judgements in favor of "Zero Tolerance" policies).
Do I hope for a confrontation and have a camera handy just so I can youtube it for ratings or get some wannabe superhero thrill? Nope.
Do I regularly OC? Nope.
Do I flagrantly OC? Nope.
Do I dress like a gang-banger or a mall-ninja when I OC? Nope.
Do I go in blind to my surroundings or strut around? Nope.
Do I go about my business in such a manner that I don't deliberately draw attention to myself? Yep.
Do I have a plan A, B, and C (and sometimes half the alphabet) in case something goes sideways? For damn sure.
Not to equate the OC guys to the founding fathers, but the final line in the Declaration of Independence does resonate in the sense that some people are willing to risk much in order to reclaim some of the lost ground. "And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor"
So to summarize my long-winded response, the immediate tactical benefits of OC generally lose to the CC arguments, but the long term social/political (and thus personal) benefits of reacclimating society at large with guns is huge. - again, done in a non-aggressive manner.
PS. Blue: what exactly would the point be of having an AR without a mag?
If you're gonna carry a firearm, it should either be locked and loaded or at least appear that way so as to serve as a decoy while you make a move for a hidden one that is ready to roll.