<snip>......And finaly, why give up your big advantage over the BG's ? Which is of course suprise.
I'm still waiting for someone to explain this line of thought. On it's face, I really think folks tend to believe this, but it doesn't stand up to much scrutiny.
Your conclusion, by necessity, forces the person contemplating the question to suppose that he/she has already come under attack, thus the assumed "element of surprise" when he/she all of the sudden draws his/her gun from some hidden holster, makes several well-placed shots, and saves the day sending the BG to the hospital and perhaps an early grave.
But this doesn't work out so well when we add reality into the mix. First, we have to assume that a BG has chosen the person carrying the concealed firearm to victimize. Yes, it could happen, but then we have to ask, would it have happened at all if the person would have been openly carrying the firearm, rather than having it hid away? Would the BG have taken the risk in the first place, or would the BG have seen the openly carried gun and moved on to, what appeared to be, a softer target? The very small number of incidents in which a openly carrying citizen has been attacked tend to suggest that BG's are much more likely to move on and find a softer target, rather than attempting to victimize the person whom the KNOW has a gun and could possibly cause them severe injury or death.
Next, we must also assume that the person carrying the concealed firearm, if attacked by a BG, will actually be able to access, present, and subsequently fire his/her weapon in the midst of this attack. Will they have the time? Will they have the physical ability? Will they have the presence of mind? I'm not sure how much close-quarters force-on-force training you've taken part in or watched, but in my experience, the person who comes under attack will generally have to fight his/her way to the gun, if they get a chance to use it at all. If, God forbid, the gun is in a purse, it's an even harder task. In these situations, calling the "element of surprise" a "big advantage" over your attacker is more along the lines of "wishful thinking" rather than tactical reality.
Finally, we must assume that the element of surprise is, indeed, a "big advantage" over the BG. In other words, we are anticipating the attack, waiting for it to happen, and then at just the right moment, we're pulling the gun out from it's hidden location as if to say, "AH HAH! YOU WEREN'T EXPECTING THIS, WERE YOU!"..... I don't believe this really stands up to reality. In the first place, if we are anticipating an attack, why in the world would we stand around and wait for it to happen? I don't know about you, but gun or no gun, I'm going to try to make a hasty retreat! Secondly, if it's too late for a retreat and we now realize the attack is inevitable, why in the world would we wait to access and present our firearm? I want that gun in my hand as soon as I know that it's going to be needed because I want to try to eliminate having to "fight my way to it" if at all possible. This, of course, removes any "element of surprise" and if we're lucky, sends the BG running the other way when he sees it.
There are a number of valid reasons why I could see a person not wanting to open carry, but this one doesn't really hold water. I generally don't open carry primarily because it's doesn't work well for my line of work, and because Missouri has a hodge-podge system of local ordinances that restrict/prohibit OC making it a daunting task to know where it is or isn't legal, depending on the jurisdiction you are in. That said, there are a number of folks around this state who don't mind researching those local ordinances and being very careful about which side of the street they are on when they open carry. I don't begrudge them that. They have a right to carry their firearm any way they choose, as long as they do it in accordance with the law, and my opinion of them or the reasons why they choose to carry one way or another is entirely irrelevant. When the people opposed to open carry, for whatever reason, resort to childish name calling, making up lies, and spreading disinformation, I believe they invite others to call their support for the 2nd Amendment and their patriotism into question.
