Just got back from Ohio

[KylaGWolf]

OK just got back from an 8 day trip to Ohio and Minnesota (drove through Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin) and have to say the views on guns in general are different. Some good some bad.

Ohio which is supposedly an open carry friendly state according to some. I found to be a bit more anti gun then even California. On almost every single public business there were NO HANDGUN signs. Not only did that mean open carry but also no CCW. Although I did see a lot of hunting related shirts and such was just a weird thing. In Minnesota saw lots of hunting references but nothing really other than that would come out as pro gun or pro 2A.

From what I saw in the few mass retailers I was in which was one Walmart in Minnesota I have to say I was rather disappointed in what they had to offer. No ammunition what so ever to be found in other words not even a section for it to be sold.

[zman]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[Vin496]

I think there is this misconception that Pro Gun states are bristling with weaponry. I grew up in West Texas/New Mexico with many a Summers spent in Nevada and Arizona. Yes people had guns, but it's not like every truck had a gun rack or people wear carrying.

I have only seen 1 maybe 2 people open carrying in Arizona or New Mexico in 37 years. In Texas only one of my friends has a CCW.

[radioburning]

Not every walmart carries ammo. I have 3 in my area, only 1 carries ammo.

[rolo]

Boy. We sure have fallen far. I remember a time when every pickup in California had a gun rack in the rear window. Those were the days when pickups were used as Ford intended. Given the FUD I've heard at every gun store I've been in out there in the "free" 49, I'm not surprised at the apathy towards exercising their rights.

Get off mah lawn!

[Vanguard]

People have "No Handgun" signs on their businesses in Ohio because people are more likely to be carrying a handgun. You don't see those signs in California because it is just assumed by business owners that no one will be carrying. That doesn't make Ohio more anti-gun....quite the contrary.

[Tragic Image]

I have only seen 1 maybe 2 people open carrying in Arizona or New Mexico in 37 years. In Texas only one of my friends has a CCW.

Agreed. When I lived in New Mexico, which is an extremely gun friendly state, I knew of only one guy who did open carry, and he was regarded as more of a liability than anything else...

At the business I worked at, we had a policy that he had to leave his gunS in his truck. He'd walk around with a revolver on each hip.

[joepamjohn]

Boy. We sure have fallen far. I remember a time when every pickup in California had a gun rack in the rear window. Those were the days when pickups were used as Ford intended. Given the FUD I've heard at every gun store I've been in out there in the "free" 49, I'm not surprised at the apathy towards exercising their rights.

Get off mah lawn!

You can't completely blame the anti's for not seeing pickups with gun racks and one or two rifles or shotguns in the window anymore. You can blame to breakdown of our society where you can't leave anything (locked or not) in your vehicle, or it just plain won't be there when you return.

I remember my 1971 Ford F-100 XLT with the rifle rack and two shotguns in the back window parked in front of many a restaurant back in the old days while dove or pheasant hunting and no one bothered them. Now, you are a moron if you even think about it.

[heycorey]

People have "No Handgun" signs on their businesses in Ohio because people are more likely to be carrying a handgun. You don't see those signs in California because it is just assumed by business owners that no one will be carrying. That doesn't make Ohio more anti-gun....quite the contrary.

+1

I was in Cincinnati, Ohio a few weeks ago ... and then did a quick road trip up to Wisconsin to visit my brother (he just got back from Afghanistan). Illinois is just as bad as California as far as gun laws. But, by and large, most midwestern states are far more gun-friendly than not. And like California, you'll find big cities to be more politically liberal (thus anti-gun) than rural areas throughout the midwest.

Cincinnati seemed like a great place to live ... guns and all.

[forgiven]

Agreed. When I lived in New Mexico, which is an extremely gun friendly state, I knew of only one guy who did open carry, and he was regarded as more of a liability than anything else...

At the business I worked at, we had a policy that he had to leave his gunS in his truck. He'd walk around with a revolver on each hip.

I love it!

[technique]

Its legal to LOC here in Idaho (did you happen to pass through at all?), no one does it...CCW is shall issue and easy to obtain. Plus when you buy a gun and have a CCW, they don't have to call in you background before you walk out with your gun. So I suppose that is some incentive to some.

The only place I have seen a "no carry" sign is in the Post Office. (only they can have guns)

I think the reason for the signs is actually the opposite of what you think...Everyone carries!!! Thus, it needs to be posted everywhere, VS. Ca where most people don't know UOC is legal or that a CCW is obtainable.
Its pretty much up to the business owner if they choose to allow you to do that in their establishment.

Bu-Ku ammo here, same with guns/shops/pawns/smiths.

Did you take pictures of the landscape or any places of interest?

[joelukehart]

The last time I was in Minnesota I didn't see any open carry But I did see a lot of deer in the back of pickups and tied to roofs of cars. It must have been deer season. When I was a kid I remember my uncle shooting rabbits in his garden with a .22.

[Turbinator]

And the last time I was in MN, I learned that many of its inhabitants pride themselves at being a fairly progressive liberal state. It sounds like a mixed bag.

Turby