Lol at the dude who got his gun pickpocketed. Probably bought a gun with the intent of shooting a burglar, getting it swiped in public is pretty hilarious. Maybe secure your deadly weapon better. I still don’t really get the point of having a gun if you don’t tell the world. I’ve never carried any weapon that could be read as a weapon cause you’re not allowed to have them and in the circumstances one was necessary, I taped a baseball bat to my hand. The point was, during the time I was genuinely in real real danger, I made a POINT, to let it be known I was armed, if I had my baseball bat rebar replacement with me, it stuck out enough to be seen. If it’s there to make conflict not happem what’s the use in hiding it?
If the gun is concealed then it’s a tool you can use if you are ever in the situation where you need it. Which is so exceedingly rare I wouldn’t personally bother but it does exist. If the gun is carried openly then it is a public statement which influences other people’s behavior. Both have benefits and bring complications.
It can do the same things as open carry but without signaling “I have a gun”. Those things can be useful separate from the statement made by open carry. Example: you can kill someone that is a serious threat to you but can also avoid intimidating people you’d rather not intimidate.
IMO the usual non-reactionary reason to carry at all is that you live in a place where dangerous situations come up often enough that you feel the need to have the ability to shoot aggressors to protect yourself and your community. Someone wants to rob you or a neighbor by pointing their own gun to your temple. Someone starts swinging a pipe at you haphazardly and won’t stop. Someone much bigger than you keeps trying to fight you. “Stealth” is often perceived as valuable in this environment. You will have to surprise the aggressors. It’s also harder for someone else to grab your gun from its holster.
Open carry is still very useful, especially as part of an organized cadre protecting an action. One or two people open carrying at an action become targeted by cops. A group of 7 is a deterrent and the cops actually tend to act more cautiously.
When someone attacks you or another person with the intent to fatally injure?
Makes sense. I live in a relatively safe area, so I don’t really feel a need to deter anyone. In my mind it’s just another option I have if I ever need it, useless in most situations but helpful in others.
And yeah iirc the guy that got robbed was a cowboy type, it was pretty funny.
