Tennessee Firearms Assoc. Inc.

Hello all,

I've long been a 100% advocate of the 2nd Amendment. I grew up with a hunting family and guns were apart of my childhood. I had a .22 rifle when I was about 10 years old. I'm a strong True Conservative. I found all it takes is Common Sense and Logic to deflate illogical fallacies. I find any and all Anti-2nd Amendment actions and/or talk disturbing and concerning. I have a Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit and had to go through an unnecessary illegal(on the part of the County gov. and TDOS to an extent) hassle getting it.
At any rate I joined the TFA fairly recently and started skimming and reading through the forums here and elsewhere to find more information about the organization I'm now a member of.

I've seen disturbing..rather I've heard disturbing commentary coming from Bob Pope at a TFA meeting some months ago. I heard this man(is he a member of this forum?) talk about more regulation and Conceal Carry ONLY laws for Tennessee. At least that's what I understood from what he was saying. He's a Gun Show promoter..or was once.
I've seen statements on these forums from people that favor Conceal Carry ONLY apparently. I'm a member of Opencarry.org as well and that really almost fully explains my position on this in the name. I open carry 24/7(except when sleeping). I wake up, I belt up with my sidearm and go about my day around the house and around the town with my pistol in clear view. I open carry to the dentist I open carry to the doctor's office. I do not look on this as "scaring little old ladies" or some other absurd(to my logical mind) comment which I see as just an excuse favoring Conceal Carry.
I know the belief by some(I hope few) that by Open Carrying I am somehow "pushing us back" or further impeding us from our 2nd Amendment Rights. I find this belief abhorrent, myself. I promote 100% Open Carry. Criminals conceal their weapons. I've heard Concealed Carry ONLY advocates say such ...and had to laugh.

The question...a rather generalized one I was wondering about is the overall opinion of the TFA on the issue of these people that wish Conceal Carry ONLY laws and other absurd laws to regulate and require us to take classes for the exact firearm we decide to carry daily? Bob Pope from what I gathered favors this and he headed a Nashville TFA meeting..the one I heard. I find it very very disturbing that so-called Gun Rights Advocates would say such (as I and others see it)absurd speculating statements regarding our 2nd Amendment Right to Bear Arms desiring to further limit our Rights. I know all the excuses used on the Conceal Carry only front. I find them all illogical in the end.

I know Open Carrying can get the police called on you by liberal buffoons or just ignorant scared citizens.
I have long hair and wear a black jacket, so I of all people should have had the police called on me by some "scared little old grandma" or liberal anti-gun nut by now. I haven't. I've walked right past police at stores. Waited in line with them. Oh I'm sure it will happen sometime, but surprisingly the people around my area seem to be a bit more educated and uncaring of a non-criminal citizen open carrying with a legal permit...even if they have evil long hair and wear a biker's jacket. Perhaps they read Aesop's Fables as they should have as children...as most police should re-read. "Never judge a book by it's cover.".
I'm aware that's something we're trying to defeat, but how does one defeat it by Conceal Carrying where almost no one..if anyone will notice?

If it's a preference to Conceal Carry I have zero problem with it. What I have a problem with is Conceal Carry ONLY people that wish to force me to Conceal Carry via further infringement on our Right to Bear Arms by promoting legislation to do so.
What is the view of this Bob Pope? Is he a member on this board, so he can defend his words himself? Or does he have time for the little people with his opinions on further limitation of our Rights?
I'm going to assume until corrected that Bob Pope's views are not the views of TFA as a whole until corrected. I would be disappointed if even a third of the TFA membership supported his views on further limitations on our Right to Carry.
I'm not trying to incite a riot.
I'm just concerned with the apparent views of hopefully just a few TFA members and of course this Bob Pope fellow and his relationship to this organization I recently joined(TFA). Everyone has their opinions, but Conceal Carry Only I don't see lining up with my views at all.

Thank you,
Markus

I can't speak for Bob Pope, or for TFA. However, I strongly support both methods of carry. I mostly conceal, but have openly carried occasionally. I say float your own boat.

The 'conceal only' crowd believes that open carry frightens people and makes one a target. I believe that open carry has the effect of target hardening. (Some criminals may attack the armed person first, however, some will choose to victimize someone else whom they believe is unarmed and is less likely to resist.) I ask this question of the 'conceal only' crowd:
How do you know the open carrier isn't simultaneously carrying a concealed backup weapon ? Also, why should conceal carriers have to fear prosecution for inadvertent exposure ? (Lawful open carry renders this issue moot.) Furthermore, the word 'concealed' is not found in the constitution. Therefore, we should carry arms as we see fit.

If you want to carry openly, good for you. If you want to carry concealed, great. Everyone should float his own boat, and stop demonizing one another.

Part of the issue on concealment versus open carry has to do with the perspective from which the issue is viewed.

For me, and for what I do for TFA, my objective is to minimize or eliminate statutes that could result in criminal prosecution for citizens who choose to carry a firearm for self-defense. Thus, since 1995, I have worked to remove restrictions on what you carry, how you carry it, whether it must be holstered, whether it must be concealed, where you carry it, etc.

So, I suggest that viewed from the citizen / government perspective, we must oppose all restriction on what, how and when you carry.

The second issue which sometimes gets lumped in with the first, is how should you carry. That more appropriately gets to the issues of what, how, when and where in my book. Thus, although I normally advocate concealment for a lot of reasons, if you were to see me at work on the weekends (e.g., the hunting lease), I will typically be open carry or have it in the truck, ATV or on the tractor. I do not want the law telling me what, when or where since those are individual decisions.