I regard anyone in the street with a gun as a potential risk to life. I wonder why they believe they have to be armed at that moment. If I spot a "concealed" weapon I move as far away as I can, I'm not going to ask them if they have a permit. I may try and spot someone wearing a uniform to do that instead.
There are circumstances where carrying a gun might be logical, there are cases where it is completely legal to do so, these two circumstances don't always seem to have a common connection.
When going hunting there are many people carrying guns, usually the risk is only to the wildlife and each other, outside of that type of circumstance the situation becomes blurred.
Open carry, at least you can see the weapon and behave how you deem fit.
Concealed carry, if you don't see it, you don't pose questions, when you do, what should you think?
I am not going to get into the head of others as to why they react in a certain way, nor suppose their motivations for so doing.
To my mind outside of a very few circumstances the only real reason for carrying a gun is one based on fear, the fear that we live in a society where we are at risk. This fear is also reflected when we see someone else carrying a gun. This is augmented every time where hear about some crime involving a gun. It's a vicious cycle, when you add racism and bigotry the whole thing becomes absurd. When your view of a perceived threat is formed/deformed by your world view [whether you are law enforcement or a civilian] then the whole thing can devolve into a nightmare.
It gets even more confusing when stand your ground laws get thrown into the mix. It gets dangerously absurd when racism is evident or presupposed and even more so when law enforcement appears to apply a threat level based on skin color.
I was raised around guns, you could always tell a shotgun was not in use, it was carried emptied, open and in the crook of the arm with the barrels pointing down and away from the feet. When it was loaded and in the hands it was about to be used. If it was ever pointed at you, you knew there was a problem. Rifles [and some types of shot gun] were carried unloaded, when held in both hands you could assume they were loaded and ready to fire, you could always tell if someone didn't have a clue and was potentially dangerous by how they carried a gun at any time. Hanguns were pretty rare, although some seem to like them for hunting.
However once I get into an urban environment this basic logic of how to carry a gun safely becomes blurred. I am not around people I know, I don't know if that gun I see is loaded or not, I don't know why they are carrying that gun or what their objective is in so doing. All I know is that someone else is carrying an extremely dangerous piece of hardware, so my first reaction is to move away. I don't like concealed carry for that reason, it does not give me an option, it blurs further already confusing boundaries.
If it comes down to assuming everyone is armed then staying in the country seems to be a good move as I know the assholes who endanger both me and anyone else near them. Yes Frederick, I am referring to you; the bloody idiot shot his own dog. [Note:The dog survived minus an ear.]
I find it confusing that you would walk into a shop carrying a gun and in turn you should ask yourself why you are carrying a gun into a shop. This isn't a case of rights to do so, this is a question of why in the first place.
When people treat guns as something banal accidents happen, as can be seen from the death toll in the US [and in France btw]. When people get confused as to a situation then all sorts of things can and will go wrong. When you throw racism and bigotry into the mix it gets a whole lot worse.
When dealing with something as dangerous as a gun then motivations become integral.
What is your need in carrying a gun and what is your motivation for carrying it into certain areas. People seeing it will come to their own conclusions and these conclusion will also be twisted by any preconceived prejudice.
If the motivations are not clear then there is only one real solution, gun control. When, where and how you should carry a gun, if at all.
Just so you know, if I see you with a gun, apart from in a few circumstances, I will move away, I will not talk to you, and if it is badly concealed then I will inform someone else. Preferably I would like to see nobody with a gun [or the hint of one] unless it is required for a bloody good reason in a given circumstance and fear of the unknown isn't one of those. Oh, and please get rid of those perverted stand your ground laws.
Who is a good guy with a gun?
Why are they carrying a gun?
Then you can apply all sorts of preconceived ideas both real and bigoted.
These can then be used with respect to the outcome by others.
You even get some opposing sides coming up with the same reasoning but different conclusions, or the same conclusions but with different reasoning.
The answer to me is sometimes clear and sometimes not, for the most part, I remain confused, why a gun and why there? Why should I even have to think about motivation? So I apply the simple solution, you have a gun, you are potentially a risk, and how to minimize the risk you pose. Should I have to? I just wanted some butter.
Same thing applies to other weapons, walk into a shop carrying a knife, same logic applies.
If you don't need a weapon in a given circumstance then don't carry one, and if you cant abide by that simple principle then laws should forbid you to do so. Making stuff up does not count, what if......
My only conclusion is that the fewer guns and other weapons carried by people the clearer the reasons why some are carrying them become.
Hence I am for gun control, proper licensing, proper tracking, storage laws and all round common sense.
Sorry for the ramble.
Just a thought