Posted by Denise
I don’t even know how to feel right now. When I saw the news that the Polk County Sheriff’s Office would no longer be enforcing the ban on open carry after the appeal court ruling, something in me sank. My first reaction wasn’t anger or even fear—it was this heavy sadness that I can’t quite shake. Maybe it’s because I keep thinking about what it means for our community, our children, and the way we choose to live together.
I’ve always believed that guns, no matter how you frame them, are tools of destruction before they’re anything else. Yes, people say they can be used for protection, but that doesn’t erase the fact that the very design of a gun is to harm. What hurts me most is that so many people treat guns casually, like accessories or even toys, when they hold the power to end life in a split second. We live in a world where people struggle to manage their tempers behind the wheel of a car—how much more dangerous does it become when you put a firearm openly on their hip?
It sickens me to think that some folks are celebrating this ruling like it’s a victory for freedom. To me, freedom has always been about living without fear, being able to walk to the grocery store without my stomach tightening when I see a stranger approach. But now, am I supposed to feel freer when anyone and everyone can strap a gun to their side in plain view? If I take my daughter to the park and see a man pacing with a pistol on his belt, do I have the right to know his intentions? No. All I’ll have is anxiety, an unease that won’t let me relax. How is that freedom?
I know some will argue it’s about constitutional rights, about honoring the Second Amendment. And I try to respect that perspective, I really do. But rights without responsibility are nothing but chaos dressed up in legal language. Too many people who own guns aren’t trained properly, aren’t careful, aren’t mindful of the weight of what they’re carrying. Some don’t even lock them away from children. So when I hear “responsible gun owner,” I can’t help but wonder: how many of those actually exist, and how do we protect ourselves from the ones who aren’t?
I grew up in a home without guns. My father used to say, “If you bring a gun into the house, you bring the spirit of violence with it.” That stuck with me. He wasn’t naïve—he served in the military and understood weapons more than most—but he chose not to live with them. For him, peace was a choice, not just a hope. And that’s what this ruling feels like we’ve lost: the choice to live in a community where guns aren’t part of our daily scenery.
Some people say open carry might deter crime, that the sight of a weapon could stop a criminal from acting out. But I wonder: doesn’t it also escalate tension? Doesn’t it invite confrontation instead of preventing it? What happens when two people openly carrying start arguing? Or when someone mistakes a gesture for a threat? Guns don’t de-escalate—they intensify. And no law can legislate human emotion in a heated moment.
I think about the children, too. What are we teaching them when they see adults proudly displaying guns in public spaces? That power is proven by what you can carry? That fear is a way to earn respect? I want my daughter to believe respect comes from kindness, wisdom, and compassion—not from the cold metal of a weapon.
Maybe I sound emotional. Maybe I am. But this isn’t about politics for me—it’s about people. It’s about the mom standing in line at Walmart, the teenager walking home from school, the elder trying to enjoy their morning coffee on the porch. We already live in a society weighed down by violence, anxiety, and mistrust. Adding more guns into the open only feeds that heaviness.
At the end of the day, I know the courts will keep ruling, and the sheriffs will follow those rulings. But in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our hearts, we each still have to decide what kind of world we want to create. For me, I still choose peace, even if the laws around me make that choice harder every day.
—Denise
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