Conservatives should be frightened about “open carry” gun rights as opposed to more appropriate “concealed carry” regulations

 by Edward Ulrich, January 15, 2025




Image from Wikipedia.


I’m a staunch gun rights supporter, but I’m concerned about “open carry” gun rights that have recently been brought back in many U.S. states as a part of a supposed “conservative rival,” as opposed to what I think are more appropriate “concealed carry” regulations.

Open carrying refers to visibly caring a firearm in public places, as opposed to concealed carry where the firearms cannot be seen by a causal observer.  “Carrying” a weapon is not the same as “brandishing” a weapon, which can be a serious crime.

No gun will protect someone from a government’s armed forces, but people need the right to own guns to defend themselves when the government cannot or will not protect them from non-law abiding people.

Many conservatives are automatically in favor of open carry regulations, when in fact it can be problematic due to the fact that Antifa-type leftists and controlled opposition “conservatives” are almost certainly planning to exploit it in a widespread coordinated manner for a number of terrifying reasons— the least of which is to frighten the population into voting to ban guns altogether.

See this article which explains how “end the lockdown” protests were often infiltrated with gun-wielding protesters, for example.

I think the danger is not as great in the most conservative areas of the country, however many of the states that allow open carrying are at risk of such harmful actions being coordinated to occur.

In any event, I also think people should be able to know if they should be concerned if they see someone walking down the street carrying a shotgun or an AR-15, for example.


As of July 2024, 31 states allow open carrying without a permit, and 10 allow open carrying with a permit, according to this article.

States that allow permitless open carry: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

States that allow open carrying with a permit: Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.