Among those who own guns and consider the Second Amendment just as vital today as it was in 1776 -- I count myself a member of both those groups -- there is a small segment of people who are passionate about open carry laws. Groups of said individuals have taken to congregating at various stores and eateries armed to the teeth in order to remind society that there's nothing stopping them from ordering a breakfast burrito with an AR-15 slung 'round their neck.

The issue percolated recently when the National Rifle Association sent a bulletin discouraging such protests, only to quickly walk-back their position when a portion of members raised their hackles. Such is life for an issue-specific organization that lives and dies with the tide of membership dues.

Whether we should still have open carry laws on the books in the Year of our Lord 2014 is undoubtedly an interesting question. On one hand, what good is a gun if it's illegal to hold it? On the other, this isn't Tombstone and the sight of a carbine on a passerby is cause for panic in most people, more often than not.

But even if your great granddad is Wyatt Earp and your gun collection is large enough to arm Lichtenstein, gathering the local militia together and invading your neighborhood Taco Bell is a very obtuse way to try and make a point.

The analogy I'll use here -- with the goal of ensuring I don't get too cozy with any particular political faction -- is gay rights.

Like gun rights, gay rights is a subject of tremendous importance to those with skin in the game. Both groups are opposed vehemently by people who feel very strongly that they're wrong. And like the NRA, the LGBT community has been very active in promoting its agenda, often through gratuitous public displays.

But the fatal flaw in the strategy of the gay community in the 1990s -- typified by the slogan "We're here, we're queer, get used to it" -- was the aggressive tenor of the debate. Rubbing homosexuality in the faces of those who think it's wrong didn't convert anybody's way of thinking; to the contrary, it mobilized the religious right and created a generation of political enemies. Even today, gay pride parades don't further the cause of gay marriage, they inspire people to fight against it.

It's the same haughty mistake now being repeated by this sliver of gun owners who insist on making a scene of their right to open carry. A soccer mom who's on the fence when it comes to guns isn't going to be inspired by a group of rifle-wielding shoppers in Walmart; she's going to be terrified. By walking right up to the edge of the law and sticking out their proverbial tongues, these fringy activists are engendering a great deal of spite, not to mention providing their opponents with mountains of political capital.

Those of us who very much love our guns and very much value our right to own and use them should be outraged at the behavior of the bad-actors in our own camp. The NRA was right to criticize the open carry zealots, and it's a shame they caved.

America gets reminded of the value of the Second Amendment every time a homeowner defends himself from a robbery, every time a Saturday Night Special prevents a rape, and every time a concealed carrier neutralizes a would-be killer. But all that good will is worth nothing more than a spent casing when people flaunt gun laws just to prove they can.

So enough of the "We're here, with gear" protests. Just strap-up, shut-up, and go about your business with a quiet reverence for the awesome freedoms which we were blessedly endowed.

NATE STRAUCH IS A REPORTER AND COLUMNIST WITH THE SHERMAN-DENISON HERALD DEMOCRAT.

Commentary on 06/17/2014