Rob Pincus comments further on the Open Carry controversy

In an email response to my post yesterday about open carry, Rob Pincus had this to say...

Eric,

Thanks for sharing your opinion on the topic. Yes, some people have taken my comments to an unfortunate extreme. Drawing an odd parallel to my disdain for a certain method of activism and a complete betrayal of everything I have believed and often fought far in regard to the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA).
Just a little research into my stance on the topic of Open Carry, including my conversations in the record at opencarry.org's forums, various other posts and the episode we did of The Best Defense addressing some of the issues surrounding Open Carry of a firearm, I think people will find that I have been consistent and certainly NOT anti-RKBA. As I said in the post you quoted, I an into tactics, not politics. What I am is a defensive firearms instructor. People come to me for advice on how to use a firearm to help them be safe. A big part of being safe is simply avoiding confrontation. I don't think that Open Carry really makes people safer, but that is not really the topic that my strong language was addressing... I think it is reckless to wear a firearm for purposes other than personal defense if you are not engaged in practice or sport at the time.

There are PLENTY of ways to do RKBA Politics and to press the agenda, most of them do not present new opportunities for your to have your means of self-defense compromised or create new opportunities for confrontation with police or others. Open Carry does both of those things. For all the good things that anyone might perceive it doing, I believe that open carry in a public environment other than what anyone would reasonably call wilderness or outside of areas where it is the ONLY option to carry legally does just those two things. It compromises your ability to avoid confrontations and stay say. That should be the #1 goal of anyone carrying a gun. 

I've been fighting for the RKBA in one way or another for quite awhile now, I was probably the first guy with a RKBA "Molon Labe" Tat and I got the key phrase of the 2nd Amendment inked onto my thigh before I was old enough to purchase a handgun legally...  AND. of course, my business kinda relies on it... so it is a little annoying that anyone would insinuate, let alone state outright, that I am somehow anti-gun.

In the discussions at oc.org, I outlined some of the things that one can do to educate the public and fight the strong, passionate fight for our rights... FWIW, I don't happen to think that wearing a gun is the best way to do those things, but that really isn't my area of concern. Safety is. There is often a suggestion that wearing a gun makes one safe because it scares away criminals. I don't know if I buy that and I certainly don't buy that it does anything by create the opportunity for low-level confrontations ("why you wearin' that gun?") and possible misunderstandings with already-overworked and besieged police officers. Even if I did, it begs the question: What about your neighbors? Look at it this way: if we increase the number of people in society carrying concealed dramatically, criminals will think twice about attacking ANYONE (we have seen this effect locally whenever CCW laws have changed dramatically). If we suggest to criminals that everyone with a gun has it brazenly displayed on their hip, it'll just make their job of picking victims easier.

Of course, what you pointed out about intentions is all very valid as well... there are a GREAT many forum posts on the internet representing the bravado of the guy who chooses to wear a gun openly "just because I can" or "to show them" or to "see what they'll do/say"... it is really pretty juvenile and I don't think those kinds of antics should be undertaken in the first place, let alone tolerated, encouraged and/or supported as they too often are in the world of code-names and post counts.

Again, thanks for re-presenting what I actually said and maybe even smoothing out some of the rough edges. Another thing that my track record shows is that I am NOT a politician when it comes to expressing an opinion.

-Rob Pincus