Some of you out there might be aware of the latest bit of Second Amendment shenanigans out there; these “Open Carry” idiots who decide to “raise awareness” by parading around Target and Chipotle with AR-15s and such slung over their shoulders because the law doesn’t actively prohibit it; you know, those guys so out there that The NRA told them to tone it down because they were making the other gun nuts look bad.

Luckily, I’ve not actually encountered any of these morons, other than the one fat guy who likes to lean against the trash can outside the local WaWa drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes with his buddies while wearing a holstered revolver on his hip on the weekend. It’s a little disconcerting, yes, but it’s just the one guy, not a gaggle of dudes in tactical gear brandishing rifles. Maybe he’s a bail bondsman or something; I’ve never asked, just noticed. However, there have been several events organized locally.

You can probably tell that I think these open carry folks are basically idiot attention whores; I’ve no particular problem with reasonable, responsible gun ownership; however, these guys are being neither reasonable nor responsible – they’re out there actively and intentionally making people uncomfortable, and potentially raising tension where none needs to be raised. One of these days, somebody’s going to get careless, and a situation’s going to get ugly and perhaps deadly.

It’s not a good thing.

However, recently, I’ve encountered a reaction to these things that I find absolutely brilliant: the Open Carry Guitar Movement.

In Dallas TX, musician Barry Kooda came up with the idea after seeing all the recent coverage of this open carry business, and having pretty much the same reaction as most of us (see above). Unlike the rest of us, though, he came up with a great response:

“I figured that guitars would be a better choice to carry in public and somewhat less dangerous,” Kooda said. “Why not poke a little fun and make a little sense at the same time?”

So, on July 4th in Dallas, a bunch of folks will get together publicly and compare their toys; only these toys are much less dangerous, even if they make noise. If you’re interested and in the area, here’s the facebook event listing. There are rumblings (including mine) that other events might crop up elsewhere in the country.

I say we do it.

And I really want the image above on a t-shirt – if you do too, put in a reservation to get the campaign relaunched!

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