During Ohio's fight to legalize the concealed carry of handguns, one of the major arguments against concealed carry was that open carry is already legal. Indeed the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the ban on concealed carry was constitutional because open carry was the right of all citizens.

Now, I cannot remember if similar arguments were used back in the early to mid 1990s when Virginia fought to legalize concealed carry. But for as long as I can remember, open carry has been legal in Virginia. But as someone who regularly carries a pistol, I must confess that concealed carry is my preferred method. When it comes to self defense, a low profile is the best profile. The only real reason to open carry in Virginia is because of our stupid restaurant law. Open carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol is perfectly legal, but concealed carry is not. Personally, I never carry in restaurants because if they serve alcohol you can bet I'm drinking it. (But that's another story)

In this week's email, the Virginia Citizen's Defense League notes that open carry in Northern Virginia has been coming under attack as of late. In these specific cases, the officers involved are either ignorant of the law or are purposely violating it. (infused commentary is VCDL's, not mine)

* A member was open carrying in a Loudoun restaurant (restaurant owner had been asked if open carry was OK with him and said "yes"). Loudoun police show up and tell member and restaurant owner that carry, open or concealed, is not allowed in restaurants that served alcohol! Member had to leave (unlawfully).

* On July 1st a member, [name omitted], was walking on a sidewalk in Manassas was open carrying for the first time. A Manassas police officer proceeded to check him out (no one had called to complain) and lecture him on the evils of open carry. The officer returned the member's (now) unloaded gun and member went back home.

* On July 5th a member, [name omitted by request], and his fiance were openly carrying through the Reston Town Center. 3 Fairfax police officers checked them out and all went well and was wrapping up when a Lt. arrived and proceeded to berate and humiliate the member and his fiance with such questions as why they needed to carry a gun. The Lt. then proceeded to find a mall security guard and press him to request that the members be removed from the property. The guards only said that they would "prefer" if the guns were concealed. The Lt. continued to try and stir up trouble by pressing the question with the guards. In the end failed to get the guards to ask the members to leave. (The guards should be given the Lt.'s job in my opinion.)

You can bet that VCDL will be in contact with these jurisdictions to ensure that their officers are property trained.

These problems of police harassment are outlined mainly because of the officer's seemingly elitist anti-gun attitude. Had these officers just stuck to doing there duty, I don't see much of a problem. And neither does VCDL:

An officer checking out a gun owner who is openly carrying a handgun in and of itself is not a big deal, especially in our more urban areas. Police, and much of the public, aren't accustomed to seeing citizens open carrying. As more and more of you are choosing to open carry, the odds of such interactions with the police increase. They are simply checking out a call on a person with a gun. The 911 operators could do a better job by asking the complainant, "Is the gun in a holster?" (Yes) "What is the person doing? (eating) Is anyone being threatened?" (no) etc. Basically the officer arriving has no idea what is going on, so be patient.

When folks call the police in hysterics simply because a private law-abiding citizen chooses to arm himself, it's the caller who should get the lecture. We don't want to discourage people from calling the police for an emergency, but is it too much to ask that people use a little common sense about these things?