Virginia man robbed of gun while open-carrying
The Daily Press of Newport News, VA is reporting that city police are investigating after a man reported he was pushed to the ground and had his handgun stolen.
From the article:
Officers responded to a report of the robbery in the 6000 block of Jefferson Avenue just before 8 p.m. Jan. 29, according to police spokesman Harold Eley.
The victim, a 37-year-old Hampton man, told police he was robbed as he walked across Jefferson Avenue to the lot at the Windsor House after visiting a friend at the Travelers Inn. He was wearing his handgun in a holster, open carry, on his hip, Eley said.
The man said he was approached from behind by two men, and one of them demanded his gun. The other then grabbed the gun from the holster and pushed him to the ground. Both men fled on foot southbound toward the trailer parks, Eley said.
The suspects have not been located, and police are asking for tips.
This is not the first such incident that has made news. Last year, a Portland, OR man was robbed of his Walther P22 by a man in flip-flops. Similar incidents have occurred in Michigan and Wisconsin.
I read a lot of firearms-related news media reports every day, and have done so for over a decade now, and I can't think of a single incident in which a concealed carry licensee was taken by surprise and had their concealed gun taken away from them. I'm not saying it's never happened, but it stands to reason that a thug is much less likely to try and steal something from you when they don't know it's there.
As these examples prove, openly-carried firearms may not be much of deterrent to today's street thugs - even ones wearing flip-flops. Instead, a gun worn so that others know it is there may be perceived as nothing more than an invitation to take it.
I am glad open carry is legal in Ohio. I want it to remain legal in Ohio. That being said, I share law enforcement and TDI instructor Greg Ellifritz's conclusion that the perils of open carry are such that it just isn’t a very good idea most of the time.
Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.
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