Open Carry - Deterent?

Open carry deters armed robbery in Kennesaw
February 18, 9:12 AMAtlanta Gun Rights Examiner

Lynn, Matt and J.P.'s regular waitress at the Wafflehouse, proudly displays a Guns Save Lives button. Two customers displaying holstered pistols deterred an armed robbery in a Kennesaw Wafflehouse recently.

There is some debate raging in Georgia about whether people should conceal their holstered handguns while in public. Some believe that wearing handguns openly will result in a loss of the element of surprise during a criminal attack, such as an armed robbery, while others believe that wearing handguns openly deters criminal attack. For Matt Brannan and J.P. Mitchell, who carry openly as a routine, the issue is no longer academic.

Matt Brannan and J.P. Mitchell were dining in the Wafflehouse on Barrett Parkway at I-575 in Kennesaw at 4:45 in the morning recently when a scout for an armed robbery crew entered the restaurant to case it. At the time, Matt and J.P. thought he looked a little suspicious, as he was wandering around the small restaurant like he was looking for someone. Unknown to Matt and J.P., two cars full of armed robbers were parked behind the restaurant waiting for the scout's report.

The scout saw that two of the customers were wearing holstered 1911 Springfield Mil-Spec .45 pistols, and he immediately turned and left the store.

Meanwhile, conscientious Cobb County Police Officer D. Lowe had noticed suspicious cars sitting behind the restaurant in the dark and decided to investigate. He caught men with masks and rifles who had been preparing to rob the Wafflehouse. The criminals informed the police that they had changed their mind upon discovering armed customers and were waiting for Matt and J.P. to leave. Ironically, the police car was pulling in to the parking lot just as Matt and J.P. were driving away. In other words, had Matt and J.P. not been armed, the robbery probably would have occurred before the police intervened.

Captain Jerry Quan, the Commander for Precinct One, where the Wafflehouse is located, confirmed Matt Brannan's story as one in which the open display of a pistol deterred a well armed robbery crew.

Matt Brannan is making an Open Records Act request, and there will be an update to this story when more information is available. The case number is 09-133500. There will be updates and follow up articles as more information becomes available.

Saw this story awhile back. This is probably one of the rare instances that deterrence is documented. Kind of hard to document how many times criminals change their mind about committing a crime for any reason but I do believe that open carry can deter crime. Too bad that the law abiding are more afraid of guns than they are of criminals.

I was walking into the back of a drug store yesterday to work on some phone stuff. The lady back there was counting money..as we all went in I could not help but notice a BIG ole 1911 carried SOB (small of back) by her escort...

I commented...Nice gun...ya'll are smart folks

I think open carry can prove to be a valuable deterrent to criminals. Even the criminals that carry guns (in most cases) are not trained to use them efficiently. Not to mention, most are complete cowards.

This is the kind of stories that should be on the news.

righttoown wrote:This is the kind of stories that should be on the news.

But that would go against the plans of our glorious King Obama the Wise, Queen Hillary the Just and Lady Pelosi the True

Yeah, yeah, I know. Who gives a

This one and the stories of Armed citizens protecting themselves that I like to read in the NRA publications.