Wary of open carry

I’m in the checkout at a big box store in the Valley with my 6-year-old. A man garbed in a camo jacket, jeans and black boots with a large semi-auto pistol dangling from a dropleg holster is in the line next to us.

My immediate reaction to him is wariness, disgust and wishing I had my .357 snubby concealed on my person. I rarely carry in public and never openly. But in that moment all I could do was assess the threat.

He buys a pack of gum. Seriously. Who goes into that store to buy only gum? Is he insecure? An open carry nut? Or something more sinister? Nobody ever knows in these situations. All the impassioned, hyperventilated words by dewy-eyed Second Amendment fetishists are pointless when you’ve got your little girl next to you.

Here’s the thing. I’ve never seen an open-carrier who appeared normal. And I’ve never seen a normal looking person open carrying. Camo. Boonie hats. Scowls. Jumpy.

An armed society is a frightened and dangerous society. I don’t want to conceal. I don’t want my daughter growing up around this.

A pack of gum.

Bob Salsbury

Spokane Valley