[SkinTaco]

What were you hoping the readers of your comment would gain from your comment?

Apologies if this comes off abrasively. This is a genuine question that thought to myself when I read your comment. I can't think of a better way to phrase it.

[qiskit]

Edification. Nobody says "wear a gun". It doesn't sound right. Was assuming the commenter was a non-native english speaker and was helping him out.

[benatkin]

I'm a native english speaker and I think you're mistaken. Both are correct. "Wear a gun" is less common but carries an important distinction.

I like this usage right here:

> A gun holster is an accessory which is designed to allow someone to wear a gun on his or her body.

https://www.wise-geek.com/what-is-a-gun-holster.htm

[js2]

I’m a native U.S. English speaker and I didn’t think twice about “wear a gun”. People absolutely say that. It’s not even pedantically incorrect:

2 (b) to carry on the person; wear a sword

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wear

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Wearing+a+gun%22&tbm=bks

[qiskit]

> I’m a native U.S. English speaker and I didn’t think twice about “wear a gun”.

Maybe it's regional. I've never heard it said that way before. "Are you wearing a gun"? "Concealed wearing laws"? Doesn't sound right, but I guess people do use it.

Don't cops ask "Do you have a gun on you" or "Are you carrying?". I think most of us would find it weird if a cop asked us "Are you wearing a gun?".

[dragonwriter]

”Wearing” a gun pretty specifically is used for having it in, or at least with, a holster (I’ve seen it used a lot, and always with that meaning; it is pretty much the combination of wearing the holster and carrying the gun that goes in it; I’ve mostly seen it used of people who do that regularly as part of a job or lifestyle, either speaking about them in general or discussing whether they were or were not doing so at a particular time.) “Carrying” is more general and more often of interest.

> Don't cops ask "Do you have a gun on you" or "Are you carrying?"

In person, I’be most frequently observed the former (fortunately, not much experience), but on TV both cops and crooks tend to use “carrying” with an implied direct object a lot.

> I think most of us would find it weird if a cop asked us "Are you wearing a gun?".

Sure, because that's not what a cop is likely concerned about.

[dragonwriter]

> Nobody says "wear a gun". It doesn't sound right.

Native speaker, I have heard other native speakers say (or seen them write) “wear a gun” quite a bit. “Carry” seems to be more currently common, but far from exclusive.

[_jal]

"Carry a gun" ngram frequency:

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=carry+a+gun&ye...

"Wear a gun":

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=wear+a+gun&yea...

Shorter: "Carry" is about twice as popular as "wear".

[ithkuil]

Learning a nuance of the English language that non-native speakers may lack (and be curious to learn)?