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Me, calm, centered, and benevolent? Not likely. But I've never tried to kill anyone. Not even maim them a little. To deny me (or anyone else) the right to carry a weapon on the grounds that if I have it, I might kill someone with it, is to assume I'm incapable of controlling or unwilling to control any murderous impulses I might have.
Cops are supposed to enforce the law, as you point out. Letting them decide who gets to carry a weapon and who does not goes beyond enforcing the law into becoming a law unto themselves.
PA law did (and may still) allow open carry. The problem is that cops and judges conspired to interpret that law so that if any part of the gun was hidden (e.g. by a holster), that counted as concealed carry.
There are a couple of sound crime-prevention arguments behind concealed carry versus open carry. One is deterrence -- open carry protects only the carrier. Concealed carry provides a degree of protection for anyone who might be carrying. The other is retention. I know of absolutely no instance where a person carrying concealed has had his or her weapon taken by a criminal. There are many cases where a person carrying openly (including cops) has had his or her weapon taken.
However, the main problem with open carry is what you might expect -- it makes anti-gun people nervous.
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