The Trouble With Planned Open Carry Celebration in Florida

When you achieve something you’ve long worked toward, it’s understandable that you’d want to celebrate. I get it. I’ve been there and I understand the desire.

And really, there’s nothing wrong with that, so the idea that some folks in Florida want to celebrate achieving their goal of open carry in the state is something I can grok.

The problem, though, is that the execution shouldn’t display a profound lack of intelligence.

First, allow me to set the stage. This was brought to my attention yesterday by a friend down that way.

Some food, some music, and an open carry celebration. What’s the problem there?

Well, because it’s not the only event there at around the same time.

From 9 AM to 11 AM that same day, in the same place, will be a No Kings “Music Fest.” 

Now, we all know that the No Kings crowd and the kind of people celebrating open carry in Florida aren’t likely to have a significant overlap. Where there is likely to be an overlap, though, is when people for these two events will be in a square that’s not all that large.

While one event starts after the other shuts down, there’s no time for one group to clear out before the other arrives. That means at least some No Kings folks will still be there while the open carry bunch is arriving.

That’s a recipe for conflict, and in the current environment, that kind of conflict is beyond stupid.

Confrontation has its place in politics. I’ll acknowledge that.

However, there’s a difference between confrontation with words and putting yourself in a position to either be hurt or to force you to have to hurt others.

These are people who do not agree with gun rights, by and large. They’re politically active. They’re more than willing to protest; otherwise, it’s unlikely they’d attend a No Kings event or even be aware of it. You’re an idiot if you think no one there would be willing to get in your face because you’re openly carrying a gun.

Would they be right to do so? No, but they have a right to engage you over it. Free speech is like that. All it takes is one person going too far, and what you have isn’t a celebration of a hard-won victory. You have a bloodbath that makes gun rights advocates look like everything the anti-gunners think we are.

One of the first things I’ve told people who started carrying a gun was that having one wasn’t a license to put yourself in dangerous situations. Just because you have the means to defend yourself, you’re not excused from exercising basic judgment. You don’t go to places that are known to be sketchy just because you can.

Yet this entire event is nothing but the exact same thing on a different scale.

This is all but inviting someone to start something, or even to provoke someone into starting a confrontation that turns violent. That’s a position no one should put themselves in, no matter what.

Celebrate all you want, but exercise some common sense in doing so. I don’t know the people behind this one, but I’d love to tell them just what a terrible idea it is. Florida’s a big state, and there are plenty of places to celebrate open carry without inviting conflict. 

My understanding is that there are some efforts underway to make some potential adjustments, either with time or location, so that’s good. I hope they can get all of that worked out.

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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