Posted on 06/21/2014 5:07:54 AM PDT by rellimpank
Dan Sajdowitz carries his .40-caliber Walther on his hip because you never know what danger may lie just ahead.
His sidearm deters would-be criminals, he believes, although he says he has no proof of that. Sajdowitz, 39, has carried a gun openly and concealed for nearly four years; he has yet to pull his weapon in self-defense. He hopes he never has to, but if he does he will be ready.
Sajdowitz let me tag along with him recently as he open carried on the Milwaukee's south side. He told me before we left that I probably would get more "looks" as a "big, black guy with dreadlocks" than he would as a white guy with a gun on his hip. Sadly, he was right.
He took me to Home Depot, Petco, Pick 'n Save and a gas station. We walked past a police squad as we walked into Petco but were not questioned. Sajdowitz said he is hardly ever questioned and draws very few stares even when he goes to the movies with his girlfriend. He open carried when he went to see "Godzilla."
When he parked at Home Depot and got out of his Chevrolet pickup, I walked behind Sajdowitz to see if any of the workers or shoppers paid attention to the firearm. Most people appeared not to notice, and when a worker helped him to pick out an electric saw, he didn't appear to be alarmed.
"I think most people like to know that there is extra protection around, so they don't mind," he said. "Sometimes you get a look, but if you don't act like it's a big deal, then they don't act like it's a big deal, either."
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What a telling comment there on the end. The same people who appear to be scared into wetting themselves at the sight of a free person carrying a firearm, don't readily accept that it deters criminals. I guess they are just lesser people.
Like, OMG, I'm like OMG, there's like, OMG, police and no SWAT teams
and Helocopters, like, OMG.
There are places here in Michigan (Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo) where police will get so many panicked calls that they pretty much have to check an open carrier out but most places nobody notices.
The crazy thing is that open carry has always been legal in Michigan with concealed handgun carry being illegal till a few years ago. We’re getting back to the way things were in the pre Clinton gun panic era.
Hoplophobia is just pitiful. It was created and fomented by the Jim Brady bunch, and it is one of the many pebbles placed in the shoes of
the American people for the sake of disarming us all and exterminating those who are not enthusiastic about creating a communist utopia.
Sounds about right. I’ve been open carrying for...a long time. Most people don’t notice. Most who do notice don’t care or assume you’re a cop. Those very few who do comment are usually more curious about the legalities than anything.
"His sidearm deters would-be criminals, he believes, although he says he has no proof of that:
I worked in a bad neighborhood for several years. When one afternoon two dirty looking white boys took offense at my driving.
They were yelling and gesturing at me to pull over for a beating when I reached under the car seat, as they were watching. Suddenly their demeanor changed and they turned at the next light.
So I have no 'proof' they were deterred....except thbis story and that I'm here to tell it.
I’ll never hear that Marty Robbins song again without stirring up an image of the Courier walking the Nevada wasteland.
Good vid. Thanks for posting.
bttt!
Great post! I am a more comfortable with concealed carry, but I live in a poor-to-middle class mostly black neighborhood which is strongly leftist. I suspect that if residents saw somebody with a gun around here they would automatically assume you were up to no good. Unfortunately, that would not be an altogether incorrect assumption based upon past experience in this area.
Nevertheless, I have nothing personally against open carry by citizens. I just think some folks would have a larger learning curve in getting used to it.
Now that you mention it, the few comments I do get are usually from blacks. Always positive though; typical question is what kind of license would they need to open carry? Here in VA the answer is they don’t need one at all.
That is encouraging! That is the beauty of true open carry is that you get rid of all that beauracratic licensing & fees.
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--one of the key paragraphs, IMHO--
I was just thinking of that song, when I read the headline ;)
Thanks for posting the vid link.
About 4 months ago I saw something I had never seen before: a black man open carrying.
Made my day.
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