Open Carry

Open carry is legal in Pennsylvania. I (and several others) chose to take advantage of that.

I spent the whole weekend with a steel government 1911 strapped to my hip, and it was great. Due to the crowds, I spent most of the weekend with my Galco FLETCH retention holster (thumb break), but Saturday night we dressed up and I work my Dragon Leatherworks Talon. This was a gift/review copy from Dennis, and I couldn't be more pleased. Pictures pending, but it held my 1911 perfectly and looked GREAT doing it.

I got a few glances here and there from folks, a few nods from officers, several questions of whether or not I was law enforcement, and one interview by Liston Matthews of the Knoxville Examiner. We discussed open carry in general, normalizing it, and not scaring the white people.

I don't have a dog in the fight on open carry (that's a long way down the road in NY), but I believe we need to stop being our own worst enemies. Leonard Embody scared the white people by openly carrying his AK pistol in a park. It was entirely legal for him to do so, and anyone who claims otherwise is lying. I may not agree with his actions, but I don't have to - it's his right.

I enjoyed openly carrying. I enjoyed having a beer with friends while openly carrying. I never got intoxicated - that's a personal rule; two drink max while carrying. It was nice to carry a full-size defensize pistol without having to worry if my cover garment was going to slip or get wedged the wrong way.

And the best part? No one cared.