Behold, an amazingly good read on open and concealed carry in Atlanta, courtesy of Creative Loafing author Andisheh Nouraee.
If you intend to rob me, stab me or punch me in the neck because you think I looked at you funny, I recommend you glance at my waist before lifting the pull tab on that can of whoop-ass.
I may be carrying a handgun.
Nearly everyone in our state can legally keep guns in their home. I am one of the few, the proud, the Georgia Firearms Licensed – one of a reported 300,000 Georgians permitted to carry a gun in public.
Unlike the 9.2 million-or-so Peach Staters who do not possess firearms licenses, I’m legally permitted to carry a gun pretty much everywhere I go – walking my dogs, sipping a latte at my neighborhood coffee shop, buying deodoant at Target.
…
Even though I knew the place would be filled with people openly carrying guns, and that the restaurant welcomed them, I still walked in sheepishly with my gun hidden inside my computer bag. Until I saw it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe it was socially acceptable to openly carry a pistol into a restaurant.
The scene inside amazed me – 40 or 50 people, mostly men, casually socializing in a public restaurant and every one of them had firearms.
I didn’t walk in expecting the Wild West, but I definitely expected more of a macho, sausage-party vibe than was apparent. As it turned out, I’ve been to bar trivia nights that were more menacing.
The closest thing to machismo I encountered was when gunsmith David McDonald sarcastically referred to the high-capacity, 27-round magazine in his semi-automatic pistol as, “the crowd pleaser.” He joked that he almost wanted someone to attempt a hold-up of the restaurant that night: “There’d be 500 guns pointed at him, and he’d piss himself.”
“There’s no blood on the floor,” Menkus deadpanned when I told him how surprised I was at the low-key tenor of the celebration. Menkus had a Glock 19 on his waist, and said he was happy about the new law. He believes an armed citizenry is essential to the preservation of civil liberties.
Steve Guldin, an engineer at Lockheed, took a more practical attitude. He carries a concealed weapon when he’s not at work, describing it as an insurance policy. “People ask me sometimes if I feel more safe with a gun,” he said. “I don’t. My risk of being a victim of crime doesn’t change if I have a gun concealed.”
Having a gun, he said, merely gives him one more option in how he responds – along with fleeing, or calling the police – if he’s targeted for a crime. He added that he’s never been a crime victim.
Everyone I talked to said they’ve never attracted any attention from wearing a gun in public. Menkus suggested it’s probably because they’re mostly middle-aged white guys, and many times people assume they’re police officers.
…
I had walked up to the restaurant concerned that something bad would happen because I was carrying a gun. I worried that I’d be confronted by someone, or that someone would call the police. At the least, I expected hostile or fearful stares.
Instead, nothing happened. I realized that I was more aware of my gun than anyone else in the restaurant. I was nervous and terribly self-conscious. My gun was easily visible to about 15 people during dinner. No one paid attention to it.
The only person who acted like it was strange to have a gun in a restaurant was me.
I have to admit, I am rather impressed with the reasonable tone and unbiased nature of the article… maybe there is hope for mainstream journalists after all.
Hat tip to Say Uncle.
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