mdak06
Regular Member
I'd like to suggest a color change for the basic the open carry map on this site (I assumed it goes in this forum, since I didn't see any others that seemed appropriate).
Right now, the map has five colors:
gold -- Gold Star Open Carry
orange -- Open Carry Friendly
green -- Licensed Open Carry
red -- Non Permissive Open Carry
grey -- Rural Open Carry
The main problem that I have is with the list of "Licensed Open Carry" states. These are states that require a license to fully open carry (in at least some cases by not drawing a distinction between open carry and concealed carry). However, some of these states are "shall issue" states (e.g. Utah and Oklahoma) and some of them are "may issue" (e.g. Maryland and New Jersey). Given that in some states, getting a permit is very easy, and in others, it's virtually impossible, I would not label these states with the same color. Saying that Utah and New Jersey are the "same" for OC is misleading at best.
I would also reassign the green color so that it is used for the "Open Carry Friendly" states. As far as I can tell, the "friendly" states do not prohibit OC by default but have some restrictions (e.g. incomplete preemption, grandfathered laws, etc.). However, they do allow at least some loaded handgun open carry without a permit, which the "licensed" states do not - therefore I'd give them the green color first. I'd also reassign the orange color to be the licensed "may issue" states (as I see orange as "closer" to red ... IMO).
So in short, if I was making the map, I'd use this color scheme:
gold -- Gold Star Open Carry
green -- Open Carry Friendly
light blue -- Licensed Open Carry (shall issue)
orange -- Licensed Open Carry (may issue)
red -- Non Permissive Open Carry
grey -- Rural Open Carry
I'd also mark the map's caption as "Open Carry of a Loaded Handgun" (since Texas doesn't prohibit OC of long guns but does for handguns).
Right now, the map has five colors:
gold -- Gold Star Open Carry
orange -- Open Carry Friendly
green -- Licensed Open Carry
red -- Non Permissive Open Carry
grey -- Rural Open Carry
The main problem that I have is with the list of "Licensed Open Carry" states. These are states that require a license to fully open carry (in at least some cases by not drawing a distinction between open carry and concealed carry). However, some of these states are "shall issue" states (e.g. Utah and Oklahoma) and some of them are "may issue" (e.g. Maryland and New Jersey). Given that in some states, getting a permit is very easy, and in others, it's virtually impossible, I would not label these states with the same color. Saying that Utah and New Jersey are the "same" for OC is misleading at best.
I would also reassign the green color so that it is used for the "Open Carry Friendly" states. As far as I can tell, the "friendly" states do not prohibit OC by default but have some restrictions (e.g. incomplete preemption, grandfathered laws, etc.). However, they do allow at least some loaded handgun open carry without a permit, which the "licensed" states do not - therefore I'd give them the green color first. I'd also reassign the orange color to be the licensed "may issue" states (as I see orange as "closer" to red ... IMO).
So in short, if I was making the map, I'd use this color scheme:
gold -- Gold Star Open Carry
green -- Open Carry Friendly
light blue -- Licensed Open Carry (shall issue)
orange -- Licensed Open Carry (may issue)
red -- Non Permissive Open Carry
grey -- Rural Open Carry
I'd also mark the map's caption as "Open Carry of a Loaded Handgun" (since Texas doesn't prohibit OC of long guns but does for handguns).