I'm going to keep saying it until it sinks in. Open carry laws are dangerous, dangerous things which do not in any way "keep us safe" or otherwise make communities better places to live.
The Denver Post reports:
Bettis said she recognized the gunman as her neighbor — whom she didn't know by name — and that before the initial slaying she saw him roaming outside with a rifle. She called 911 to report the man, but a dispatcher explained that Colorado has an open carry law that allows public handling of firearms.
Someone on Twitter asked me if it would have been better if he had a concealed weapon. My answer, of course, is that it would have been better if he had no weapon at all, since he was paranoid and irrational. But think about what might have happened if he had set out with his AR-15 and his pistol in full view and there wasn't an open carry law. Police might have gotten to him sooner. Maybe he wouldn't have shot a bicyclist and two women trying to make their lives better.
Open carry laws help no one but the NRA. No one. That same person who asked about concealed carry said this is tragic and most gun owners are appalled by it. I believe that. I'm sure they are. But as long as they donate to the NRA, as long as they pay those membership dues, there will be carnage in the streets, and it will be worse in states with open carry laws.
