I'm undecided about the wisdom of the in-your-face OC movement. Sunday coming home from the river, I stopped at a Sheetz (mega-minimart) at Rtes 301 and 3, and noticed a guy carrying a Glock in a normal holster on his belt. Thought about striking up a conversation, but I was in a hurry and went about my business selecting salted peanuts and getting on the road again. In line, I watched two youngish women whispering and one pointed to his gun. I watched them as they left ; sure enough, they got into a decrepit minivan from MD.
My point? OC, if noticed by the sheep at all, alarms them. They really don't understand that it's completely legal. Nor do they probably even know that the Second Amendment exists. This being rural Virginia, the 911 dispatcher, or the responding officer, would probably strongly assured them that the man's behavior was completely legal.
How do you think they would respond to some politician (MD or US) who proposed to "remove the threat to public safety caused by reckless VA rednecks who open carry weapons of mass destruction like a Glock!?
Thus my ambivalence. I prefer concealed, thanks.
TC