Why I don’t open carry any more

Mostly because I don’t really want to deal with shit like this.

I would tell you all about getting my face mushed up against a wall for not fully concealing my legally carried firearm in public, but right now, I’m just too sad.

Tennessee, like Indiana has “carry permits”, not concealed carry permits. The difference sounds like it’s the same there as it is here; your permit entitles you to carry a firearm in public regardless of whether it’s concealed or not.

When I lived in Virginia, I would open carry a lot more frequently – VA has a culture of open carry and the VCDL is very pro-active about educating police officers about the law.

That culture doesn’t really exist where I live now. Sure, it’s a conservative area; but it’s relatively dominated by Suzy Soccermom types – you know, the kind that go into conniptions at the mere sight of a gun around their precious children.

I don’t like not carrying a gun; and yet there are times that I don’t carry because I don’t want to deal with the hassle of properly concealing my firearm. Then the fact that I’m letting myself not do something I believe I should do because of the inconvenience bothers me even more.

Hence the genesis of my problem. The law says that I can carry my firearm openly; and it should be as simple as that. Unfortunately, it’s not; and I’m not willing to put up with the hassle of being the guy that educates the civilians and the cops about the law. I guess that’s just not a cross I’m willing to bear for the cause.