Open carry in NYC? On the subway. Really?

My younger brother is something of a gun aficionado. He owns a couple of pistols, keeps them under lock and key, heads to the range every so often for target practice. He is of the opinion (when discussing open carry), "If I can see the gun, I know he's one of the good guys."

At one time I belonged to a gun club and used to head over on my lunch hour to practice shooting, rifles. 

Now the thing is: if the crazies and the evil-doers of the world would stop killing innocent people I'd be all for open carry. I'm of the belief that American citizens on their own soil should be able to own guns (rifles, sidearms, assault weapons, etc). The problem is not with guns or gun manufacturers. The problem with gun control is that people lack self-control and have a real lack of respect for human life. If someone wants to commit suicide, that's up to the individual. Go ahead, take yourself out. Do it in the privacy of your own home. Leave a note. Have a good d*ddam reason

But using a gun to inflict harm on (or kill innocent) people is not okay.

And all of this has something to do with the following:

I used to work with a woman who lived in Far Rockaway. According to her a lot of the other passengers on the A train were armed. She felt safe.

Today, while I was riding the A train a really large, white man, somewhere in his 30s; clean shaved with a buzz cut, bulging biceps, etc was riding the train. He was all chivolrous, offering his seat to the lady with the stroller. He got up and grabbed his bag from under the seat and I was like, "Whoa. Is that a pistol?" As he kept fidgeting, I kept looking. It was clear that he was in fact carrying. He kept tugging the bottom of his t-shirt over the holster.  Some sort of small-ish (Glockish size) pistol. And I wanted to ask him. "Since when is there open carry in NYC?" But he was one of those humorless, gorilla types who you just can't strike up a conversation with, unless you're a cute broad in distress, and then he'd be very interested in you.

I looked at his shoes, considered his personal hygiene routine, and I think he's ex-armed forces. (Marines?) He's got the hero complex for sure.

Now the question is: does he have a permit? (Probably, he was super-square). More important: is it open carry if you keep concealing with your t-shirt? Or is it concealed? And is there such a thing as partially concealed.

Back to my brother's hypothesis. I'm not convinced the dude on the train this afternoon was a white hat. I think he's a hired goon. I'm guessing he gets paid for paramilitary security or celebrity security.

Maybe when I'm a multi-millionaire I'll be in the market for a body guard. Which means I'll have to hire this guy. Gah.