would you freak out if you were shopping and saw a man with an AR15?

[Capt Caveman]

fwiw - from the thread in P&N on the Kroger incident, the individual supposedly left the store to retrieve the rifle then re-entered the store.

Big red alert to be concerned, imho.

 

[OutHouse]

And open carry in VA is legal.....

i dont give a shit. I have a CCW and a respectable collection of weapons myself but i question anybody's mental stability who does this shit. they are either one of two people, a shooter or an attention whore. Either one would get me calling 911.

 

[John Connor]

I understand your right to bare arms, but dude, its 2013, there is no need for a militia.

It's 2013 all right. All the more reason to be armed. You watch, one day there will be a need for a militia. My friends all joined the military trying to get me to go in too. They said nothing is going to happen, there are no wars. Well 9/11 happened and look at all the shit we got into. Currently the dollar looks pretty bad. And when that goes there will be chaos.

 

[OutHouse]

Again, you're incapable of doing simple math, and worse...now you're projecting your own flaws and fears on other people.

How does simply having a rifle on your back suddenly fill your local grocery store with "nuts" and "homicidal maniacs" intent on committing murder?

You can keep digging that hole, or just admit you've been brainwashed.

if i see some whack job walking into a Kroger with a AR that is a cause for alarm? the last thing im going to think about is, "Hummm according to jpeyton, its mathematically improbable that this guy is going to shoot me because its a long gun not a short gun."

seriously dude just stfu.

 

[jpeyton]

I'm not sure why being afraid of being in the vicinity of a deadly weapon controlled by a complete stranger is embarrassing. I think that's just plain old survival instinct.

It's embarrassing, but I don't blame you completely. You said you spent 13 years in NYC, so you've had plenty of psychological conditioning.

On the other hand, thinking that seeing someone with an AR-15 in public to be completely normal is very bizarre concept to me. Because, you know, that's more in-line with the thinking of people that live in war torn countries.

Is that why people feel safer walking the streets in gun-free NYC or Chicago, versus places that allow open carry without a permit? Of course not. Again, you've been conditioned to be afraid of firearms, and by association, firearms owners. This is unfortunate, and leads to situations like that where The Journal News supplied home addresses of law-abiding gun owners after Sandy Hook as if they were people to be feared.

 

[lozina]

Hey man, nice piece!

 

[j&j]

this falls under the "just because you can do something doesn't mean you should"

it's stupid in this day and age to walk into a crowded area like Kroger and do something like this, someone will get the wrong idea and you'll get shot. The fucking SWAT team will end up waiting outside to take you down as you are putting your groceries in your car, is that worth it?

the open carry laws state something like this..... it's OK to open carry your firearm as long as it doesn't instill fear in the others around you, and that's a big gray area, as I fucking guarantee that idiot caused people to be fearful.

 

[jpeyton]

if i see some whack job walking into a Kroger with a AR that is a cause for alarm? the last thing im going to think about is, "Hummm according to jpeyton, its mathematically improbable that this guy is going to shoot me because its a long gun not a short gun."

seriously dude just stfu.

Chances are you'll never see the guy in the Depends aisle, so stop worrying.

 

[veri745]

I wouldn't actually "run like hell" like the poll option says, but I would definitely keep my distance.

 

[yuchai]

It's embarrassing, but I don't blame you completely. You said you spent 13 years in NYC, so you've had plenty of psychological conditioning.


Is that why people feel safer walking the streets in gun-free NYC or Chicago, versus places that allow open carry without a permit? Of course not. Again, you've been conditioned to be afraid of firearms, and by association, firearms owners. This is unfortunate, and leads to situations like that where The Journal News supplied home addresses of law-abiding gun owners after Sandy Hook as if they were people to be feared.

I'm not conditioned to be afraid of firearm owners. My dad owns a gun and I've gone shooting with him multiple times and I've enjoyed it.

I AM conditioned to be afraid of random strangers who think that it is wise to publicly show a rifle with no apparent reason. It's actually kind of alarming for me that you would not feel even a hint of concern seeing that in public.

 

[OutHouse]

Chances are you'll never see the guy in the Depends aisle, so stop worrying.

hahahahahahahahahah is you say so skippy.

 

[jpeyton]

I AM conditioned to be afraid of random strangers who think that it is wise to publicly show a rifle with no apparent reason. It's actually kind of alarming for me that you would not feel even a hint of concern seeing that in public.

If I see a guy pushing a cart of groceries down the aisle with an AR-15 across his back, I'd probably even approach him, even though I'm not prone to striking up conversations with random strangers.

The reason being, it's plainly obvious, the guy is simply exercising his lawful 2A rights and homicide is the furthest thing from his mind.

I'd be more afraid of the guy if he wasn't doing any shopping and had his rifle shouldered and trained on people

If you're really that afraid of dying by GSW, I sincerely hope you strap a bicycle helmet to your head every time you enter an automobile. At least be consistent with your fear of death.

 

[SheHateMe]

I'd leave the store and shop somewhere else.


I don't know this guy, he's a stranger. I don't know his intentions. I am certainly not sticking around to find out.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I'd think he was a bit of a loon, and probably avoid getting too close to him or talking to him.

No need to run and hide though.

Yeah, pretty much this. Apparently the guy at the Kroger went into the store without the gun, then went back to his car, grabbed it and came back in - if true this behavior would certainly raise a red flag for me.

From my perspective people who do this are being obnoxious, and I'd rather they didn't do it (in particular, it seems likely to needlessly scare children), but if it's legal, it's legal.

 

[Ryan]

Totally loaded answer - this poll blows. I would not run, I would not hide....but I would feel uneasy around that person.

If you feel the need to go shopping with a weapon strapped to your chest, something is fucking wrong with you. Just becaue you can...does not mean you should.

 

[keird]

At different camps in Afghanistan you had to ask what the weapon status was at the new place.

Green: No magazine; selector on safe
Yellow: Magazine in well, no round chambered; selector on safe
Red: Magazine in well with a round chambered; selector on safe

I carried an M4 with CCO and about 60 rounds of ammo routinely. Sometimes I would walk out our gates in downtown Kabul to do something without a helmet or armor. All the Aghan police and security carried AK-47s. It was pretty normal to walk through the Bazaar with most of the customers armed. The thing is if anyone actually pointed their weapon like they were going to fire it, it'd be unusual enough to draw everyone's attention to them. When a weapon is slung, at the low ready or in a holster it's really just luggage.

 

[jpeyton]

The thing is if anyone actually pointed their weapon like they were going to fire it, it'd be unusual enough to draw everyone's attention to them. When a weapon is slung, at the low ready or in a holster it's really just luggage.

:thumbsup:

 

[yuchai]

If I see a guy pushing a cart of groceries down the aisle with an AR-15 across his back, I'd probably even approach him, even though I'm not prone to striking up conversations with random strangers.

The reason being, it's plainly obvious, the guy is simply exercising his lawful 2A rights and homicide is the furthest thing from his mind.

I'd be more afraid of the guy if he wasn't doing any shopping and had his rifle shouldered and trained on people

If you're really that afraid of dying by GSW, I sincerely hope you strap a bicycle helmet to your head every time you enter an automobile. At least be consistent with your fear of death.

To each his own. But before you continue to call everyone else paranoid, ask yourself this honestly: is there a hint of possibility that you are just a tad too de-sensitized by guns?

I'm done here (wasting too much time at work). Good day to you.

 

[AMCRambler]

I've lived in NYC for about 13 years. I have NEVER seen a pistol or rifle being shown in plain sight in a public place by a civilian. If the day does come that I see this happening, I would consider the odds that it's the beginning of a gun rampage to be pretty high. Why? Because there is basically zero reason why someone would be doing that in NYC unless they plan to be using the weapon shortly.

Your overall gun violence statistics are completely irrelevant to the situation being discussed..

It's illegal to own or even bring a gun into NYC. Do you even know the laws you're talking about? You are a perfect example of why gun owners are afraid of losing their rights. You know nothing of the issue but still have formed what you think to be an informed opinion. Leave your squalid city behind and drive up into the country of which the other 97% is made up of and maybe you can begin to understand.

I'm all for legislating it at the local level. Local police are the ones that have to enforce it anyway. These overreaching one size fits all laws that will be foisted on all make no sense to me. A gun in NYC makes no sense. In the country where you have places to shoot one, they make great sense.

I'm betting you've never even fired a gun in your life. Never even held one. Hence they are this scary thing that you've seen in movies and on tv and that's how you have arrived at your opinion. Maybe the US should do what Israel does, mandatory stint in the armed forces after high school. Would change our country for the better.

 

[SP33Demon]

Humble finally got his AR, /cool.

 

[OutHouse]

Humble finally got his AR, /cool.

hahahhahaha

 

[JM Aggie08]

No, I have testicles.

 

[halik]

i dont give a shit. I have a CCW and a respectable collection of weapons myself but i question anybody's mental stability who does this shit. they are either one of two people, a shooter or an attention whore. Either one would get me calling 911.

Common sense for the motherfucking win. I have no qualms with guns and even eeeevil assault rifles (have shot ar15, mp5, HK g3 among others, my brother has a federal firearms dealer license). But if you're doing something like that, you're likely a retard or have issues and I'm not comfortable being around armed individuals of that sort.

 

[jpeyton]

To each his own. But before you continue to call everyone else paranoid, ask yourself this honestly: is there a hint of possibility that you are just a tad too de-sensitized by guns?

A gun is simply an object or tool. Some people hunt, some target shoot, plink, compete, carry, collect, build, etc. I was raised not to be afraid of objects.

 

[Jaskalas]

Ignorance is bliss, open carry leaves no room to lie by flagrantly displaying the capacity to kill. It's much more comfortable to lie to ourselves by concealment.

The truth scares us all.