Open Carry 1

If you had asked me a year ago, I might have said I do not favor open-carrying my pistol, opting instead to concealed-carry for the element of surprise against a "bad-guy."

After the Blockbuster incident, I got to thinking. My mind tried to wrap itself around that series of events. And I wondered if things would always be that way - having people always notice and go run in fear.

So, being the "scientist" I am, I decided to conduct an experiment. I informed the wife that I intended to try an open carry one night when we went, with the kids, to eat at Red Robin. This was about two weeks after the law was changed here in TN to allow me to do so. The restaurant had no sign, so in we went.

I chickened out of openly carrying as we entered. I kept my pistol covered under my shirt and in its holster. However, I moved my shirt once we sat. My wife noticed one person she thought had seen it. That person did nothing.

One server, not ours, noticed. He made sure to walk by as much as possible. The wife and I decided that he was intrigued by the gun itself. He was a young man, no more than 23 years old at most.

Our server never noticed. I sat on the end, with my gun side out. But she was hustling around here and there, doing her job.

The manager noticed. He "staked me out" for a few moments. Then he realized that a family dad with two young children was not his biggest threat this evening.

All in all, in a restaurant with over 150 people present, only four noticed. Nobody went haywire. Contrary to what Tennessee liberals would have you believe, I never got the first urge to shoot the place up. All was fine.

Experiment complete.