Snippitts of Illusions

A Good Guy with a Gun

I have a friend -an acquaintance really but he was once a friend- from school who I see in the store I work at from time to time. Nearly each time I see him he has a holster and a gun on his hip. He's a nice guy, we chat and exchange pleasantries now and then. We had stopped hanging out about the end of elementary school and ran in different circles in high-school, but are on pleasant terms now as adults. He has a wife and two kids, both getting close to high-school age. I'm not entirely sure what he's done with his life. I know he moved to the southern part of the state where he met his wife, then moved back to our home town a few years before I did. I know he struggles with a private business. I don't however have any knowledge of military or law enforcement service. That isn't important, but maybe it is, as it may or may not reveal the insistence he has on openly carrying a gun.
He's not the only one. There are a few customers, all men, who come into the store with a gun holstered on their hip. There's one black man that occasionally comes into the store with an open carry, of all the ones I've seen, he perhaps makes the most sense given the rural, predominantly white region we live in. Though most people aren't overtly racist, and wouldn't consider themselves such, they still have a yoke of bigotry around their necks, even if they don't recognize it.

As for my friend, I haven't asked him why he carries the gun. I don't need to honestly. He would likely give me one of two stock answers: for protection against wildlife, which is valid if he finds himself in an area where rattlesnakes and cougars are frequent, or as a deterrent for those that would use violence against him and his loved ones. There is probably in fact a bit of both reasons I'm sure.
I'm not sure how he'd respond if violence were to break out suddenly. He may have had to deal with such violence many times through his life. But just as likely not. I haven't quizzed him about that any more than I have quizzed him about his reasons for the gun. I can say that the thought of him carrying the gun and responding to an armed assailant gives me little comfort.
He's not in shape, though in better shape than me. (At least he looks like he may be able to run a few dozen yards more than me before he gets winded and kills over.) That's small comfort when confronted with violence. The gun as a deterrent is of little comfort to all those unarmed individuals caught in the crossfire. I suppose one could point out that if we, too, had guns then we wouldn't be as defenseless. Maybe not, but we may be just as likely targets.
If an armed man were to appear with intent to kill in the same area with me and my gun carrying friend I think it's quite likely that he would be dead. I think it's likely I would  be too. But if I were somebody with the aim of taking out a lot of people and was observant enough to notice a man (or woman) with a gun holstered on their hip they'd be my first target. But I could be wrong. He may be something of a quick draw. He may be calm, cool and collected. Hell, I've never been in that situation, so I might be as well. But not likely.
Between him and the three to four other semi-frequent customers that come in openly carrying fire-arms, I see it at least once a week. Usually twice a week. Usually him. It's his preferred store, which is fantastic in a way because we like repeat customers. In other places around the country the other customers would be put off by this (and I'm sure there are some that are in our store) but in my store, in my home town it's not a big deal.
For all his good intent, and the need of a security blanket that can kill I'm not sure how much of a deterrent he'd really be. I'm not sure how much of a deadly liability he'd actually be.

Honestly though, for the five or six individuals that open carry in the store, there are at least twice that many who are carrying concealed. That's no comfort either.
In fact that's a bigger concern. If violence were to break out then yes, my open carry friend would be a target. But if he managed to get his gun unholstered and up then he may be a target to some well meaning concealed carrying individual who doesn't know who he is, or if he was the active shooter initially.
That's a fun thought. Or terrifying.
Like a series of dominoes. Each open carry and concealed carry individual bringing their weapons to bear on each other because nobody knows for sure who's the bad guy or who the "good" guy is. I'm fairly sure in this scenario several of the good guys are going to be injured, or killed. The scenario can't really play out in my head in a way where innocent by-standers aren't injured in a firefight. But in his head I'm sure such a scenario plays out differently. I'm sure its the same with all the folks who have concealed guns as well. Though it's not realistic.

Labels: gun chronicles, guns

posted by F.G. Shaw @ 10:55 PM