I have noticed on several occasions that people are with sidearms that are visible in a holster in stores like kmart and 7-11 ect. I live in virginia and wondering if they are law enforcement or if it's just legal to carry a weapon in plain view holsterd. Do you still need a ccw permit to do this or can anyone who has a legaly owned wepon do this? Seems like the wild west when I see that.

I don't think open carry is a good idea. It's going to offend lots of folks and does our cause no good, IMHO.

CCW is just that, concealed carry of a weapon, and that should be all it is. Brandishing a weapon can cause concern. I, personally, don't like to see it and I'm a Life Member of the NRA and a CCW permit holder.

DF

Brandishing in Pa. No such law. Va i don't know.

CCW required in MT, but a lot of people carry without one. The people that let everyone see that they are carrying want the attention and are [bleep] idiots in my opinion....

+1

Brandishing sorta defeats the whole purpose of CCW, IMHO.

DF

Some people need to learn the definition of brandishing........here's a clue, open carrying a firearm in a holster is NOT brandishing.......

In Montana a permit is only required in towns or mining/lumber camps. You don't need a permit otherwise to carry concealed in MT. I also think that many who open carry in town (It is legal in most town. I think Helena is the exeption) are looking for attention. It doesn't bother me though. They will however get the attention of nervous police officers. What's funny about that is should a person put a rifle in their window gunrack nothing is said, but as soon as a person straps on a handgun they are suspect. Can you say phopia.

While I only conceal carry unless I am in the field, I think it takes away from everyone when people on here throw a fit about open carry. It is our Right to be able to do such, but when someone exercises that right they question it. Instead of questioning our rights, why dont you question the states where you cant open carry or CCW. That will do our cause a lot more good than gun people looking down on those who choose to open carry.

+1

Legal in the entire state here except the city of Denver, federal buildings, courts, and a few other places.
I don't do it.

I pretty much open carry when out of town in the woods and such.

+1, I'd have to agree with this...

My wife..."are you glad to see me horney?"

In SD you need a permit to conceal carry, but anyone that can legally own a pistol can carry if the gun is visible. not many people do it in town because some people are scared of seeing a gun and they don't want to deal with people hassling them. I also don't want a potential attacker to know I have a gun.

You can have a pistol in plain sight here too.

Personally, I think most criminals are spineless, and if they see that a person is actually carrying a firearm, chances are better that such pansies won't mess with them because they might get shot. Criminals are like a predator, picking out the weak....

The truth of the matter is that the 2nd Ammendment guarantees the right of all citizens to bear arms. This means open carry is guaranteed by the US Constitution. I tend to agree with gonzaga's perception of criminals. A person wishing to do harm is extremely likely to focus on someone who poses little or no threat to him. Everyone who owns a firearm should open carry as often as possible. CCW laws are, in most states, limited to concealed weapons and have nothing to do with open carry rights - which are granted by the constitution. Sometimes folks get mixed up and think the right to bear arms means we have the right to own them. But the constitution grants the right to keep (own) AND bear (carry) arms. Spread the word and exercise your constitutional rights!

Ive been in law enforcement long enough to know that the laws are only as good as the person interpreting them. You want them to mean one thing and someone else will read to far into it for it to mean something total different.

In Oklahoma, to carry a handgun either concealed or open, a person needs a handgun license that is issued by the Okahoma State Bureau of Investigation. This license is only required to carry and not to own. That being said, I carry both ways depending upon how easy it is to cnoceal.

If you have a "right" to keep and bear arms (open carry) then why do you need a CCW? If the government can regulate concealed carry, then why cant they regulate open carry? Your rights are only as good as the courts see fit.

Open carry is legal in Virginia for Virginia residents except possibly in certain areas with local rules. I would personally rather have a concealed weapon...one of the major determinants of success in war is the element of surprise. Half the people I see with openly carried weapons in public would be easy targets for someone to suddenly disarm them (or just shoot them like the school guard who simply becomes the first target). Just sayin'.

Open carry is legal in VA as in FL and KS and many others. In VA no special permit is required unless it is in fact concealed! There are plenty of open carriers in the Richmond area.....

So can anyone explain why, that when you apply for a concealed carry permit,that you are treated just like a criminal?
Finger prints, mug shot etc.

No CCW is required here either and open carry is allowed. That being said, if you open carry in Anchorage you will have visitors. A few cops will harass you but over they are just responding to a call from a scared liberal saying a guy has a gun. They usually just tell you to please conceal it.

Most folks go concealed but they don't go out of there way to hide it. I know I don't. If I bend over and my 1911 shows and some liberal doesn't like it, they can kiss my a$$

I carry daily. I most often open carry. Around my little town and surrounding areas, no one has much to say to me about it other than "Is that a Glock?" In which I respond, either Yes, a 31 or no it's a M&P, XD or P Series.

In Nevada it is legal except in a bank or a bar. It is legal to carry a loaded gun in a vehicle without a CCP. On the other hand gambling and prostitution are also legal. So are open containers and 24 hour bars.

Harvest a deer, instead of killing a deer, concealing a gun, versus carrying any way you want..........

All to not upset the sheeple.

Screw that! More liberal indoctrination. It even has so called gun people thinking it is better to conceal rather than rock the boat.

Sometimes rocking the boat is good.