Good Guy With a Gun? Bad Guy With a Gun?

On FB recently, I came across this tongue in cheek comic book style drawing from boingboing.net. Ruben Bolling is the artist. 

Good question, huh? How CAN you tell from a split second glance if the guy with the gun is a good guy or a bad guy? If he is a bad guy, a split second is about how long you have to react.

Open carry has been in the news a lot lately. The topic has been popping up more and more on Facebook. Businesses like Target, Starbucks, Chili's, Sonic and Jack in the Box have all been been involved in the open/concealed carry controversy.

I googled "open carry" and was surprised to learn that the state where I live (Pennsylvania) has very liberal open carry restrictions. In fact, many states have pretty liberal open carry restrictions. Most gun owners that I know do not strap an automatic rifle across their shoulder to pick up a few items at the local Target but more and more zealous 2nd amendment proponents are doing just that. They are exercising their 2nd amendment rights and scaring the crap out of employees and customers. 

We live in crazy times. If I bump into someone in Target with a rifle my first thought is going to be RUN….RUN fast! And I think it is rude and crude; inconsiderate and unnecessary to terrorize people. Just like freedom of speech does not allow for screaming “Fire” in a crowded theater, the right to carry should come with some common sense restrictions. 

Even a staffer at the NRA came out against the behavior of the open carry guys but unfortunately they recanted a day or so later.

When a group of heavily armed men from Open Carry Texas came into a Jack in the Box for lunch, the employees locked themselves in the freezer and called police . The Mr.Conservative” website blames the "over reaction" on the demonization of guns by politicians and the erosion of the right to bear arms.

It seems Attorney General Eric Holder’s attempts to “brainwash” the public into thinking guns are automatically bad is unfortunately working.

The employees saw guys with long guns and they were in “save my ass” mode. Can you blame them? Really?