I grew up in Nevada, an open carry state. It used to be more lax than it
is, but it still is open carry. People in other states just can't seem to
grok the situation.

I have always been interested in old west history. In the old west days, it
was in the years shortly after the War Between The States. People were
migrating west, and a lot of them were ex soldiers with some severe cases of
PTSD, as well as regular non military citizens.

One of the leading causes of deaths on wagon trains was accidental gunshot
wounds. Either someone pulling a weapon out of a wagon, or people shot
while doing their business in the bushes, shot by people who would shoot at
any sound thinking it was an Indian.

But the interesting part is life in these wild west towns. I went to an old
gold mining town in Nevada, and in their museum for free was several
articles regarding the events of the day. There was one on grand jury
actions, and the other was about how bad guys met their ends. This city,
Pioche, Nevada, had 72 funerals before the first person died of natural
causes.

In the book about the bad guys, there were many accounts of how this and
that bad guy was shot by a "respectable citizen" for insulting their wives,
coming on their property, or who were just bushwhacked by "persons unknown"
in a dark alley. Those were mostly career chronic criminals who were
dispatched by lawmen who knew no one would make a fuss. Other cases where
business feuds and lovers triangle quarrels went on in the grand jury
system, but a lot were dismissed within a couple of days.

Point is that a lot of people carried firearms, and justice was often
dispatched immediately. The Hollywood scenario of cowering townspeople is
not the case. As in the Northfield Minnesota Raid, they were alerted to
bank robbers, and shot them to pieces when they ambushed them. A lot of the
people were former military who were intimately familiar with weapons, and
who hunted for sustenance.

Towns were divided in districts, and there were laws regarding low lifes
from going into the "good" sections of towns. And when they did wander off
in there, little was done about the frontier justice dispensed by the
citizens who lived there. Everyone knew that if you were a decent person,
you just went about your business. They also knew that if you were up to no
good, you may get what you had coming to you. There were also loose
alliances of townsfolks, both in neighborhoods, and larger areas, who would
go and "talk" to some of the badasses and give attitude adjustments and
sometimes worse.

So, in today's society, where we have a predator/prey situation, I can't for
the life of me understand these little lambs who pronk around among the
wolves singing Kumbaya and thinking that the world is a rosy place where, if
everyone just got along, we'd all be fine. Yes, that is true, but not among
the human species.

And I also cannot comprehend the people who want to cancel a Constitutional
right, and in addition a right given by the state, to carry a weapon, either
concealed or exposed. Shall we all start carrying machetes or shingle axes?
It says the same thing: "Don't **** with me if you're up to no good." The
next thing, they'll be collecting Catcher in the Rye and Norman Mailer books
for public barbecues.

So, until the law changes, I'll just continue to do what I do legally.

Rant off.

Steve