Hi, I'm new and so apologies if this has been discussed ad nauseum already, but I was wondering how this board's members deal with public reaction to carrying. I have a carry permit but I've never routinely carried. I might if my handgun was more easily concealable but it's a Beretta 90-two, a fairly full-sized sidearm. I open carried this when I worked once for about eight weeks as a security guard, and I was astonished by how many people absolutely freak at the sight of holstered gun (and this while I was in uniform!). I'd known of course that lots of people are anti-gun on general principles, but I hadn't appreciated just how many genuine "hoplophobes" there were- people with a paranoid neurotic phobia about guns.

So given this widespread reaction, what carry practices do you use? Concealed only? Only open carry in certain times or places? Or do you say "I'm a licensed carrier, deal with it"?

I open carry only at certain times, in my yard/home, when walking in the neighborhood (north minneapolis), and when in our truck (getting threw seat belts and clothes is unfun). I am sure others would disagree, as police tend to react poorly to open carry, but the drug dealers at the corner (that the police ignore) kind of make me a tad nervious...

I have never seen anyone react poorly to open carry when the person carrying is in uniform, from what I have seen, they tend to be ignored. I tend to pay attention to then for two reasons, I am hyper-vigilant, and anone one can buy a uniform.

I've seen a security guard with an empty holster before. That made me wonder more than if he had a weapon in his holster.

That does seem strange!

Cub on Lake Street.

Not, my favorite place to shop... Tho if I were a security guard there I would want to be as well armed as MPD is in N.MPLS! (H&K MP5 or similar)!

I will say, livinging in N.MPLS, I feel less safe with MPD so armed...

Mpls police carry MP5s?! That's news to me.

I think these are M16s, but close enough for me.




Recent Star Trib Story

If I remember an asian MPD officer amost died when another MDP officer shot him multiple time with a MP5.
I think this will link to some of the story

We only go to that Cub with my Mother in Law if we don't come into SLP.

I'm sure the police have full-automatics available for special situations (like the post-storm curfew). I thought you meant they had full-autos with them routinely. As far as I know, handguns plus a shotgun in the squad car is the standard.

I have heard they have dropped the shotgun in favor of a m4, mp5, or m16.