Herein lies the problem - we cave in on issues in order to not “offend” others. The focus should be on the fact that people who have CCW’s are typically not the ones who go out on rampages and begin shooting people or things up. IMHO we should be clearly making the case that law abiding citizens are not the problem when it comes to legal gun ownership and open carry. Every time we tuck tail and run from the issue we get beat. You are saying that unless we tuck tail and run from the issue we will get beat. Catch 22? How do you advocate for open carry or CCW laws if you cannot demonstrate how/why these laws are needed and useful.
As for the comparing/contrasting this issue with abortion - rubbish. People who are that easily offended by the sight of the aftermath of an abortion would not have been supportive of PRO-LIFE legislation anyway. I find it interesting that 1) you decided to use the abortion issue to compare with open carry/conceal carry, and 2) that you decided to frame it as anti-abortion. Gives me pause for thought on which side of the fence you sit upon.
It's not a question of caving. It's a question of not scareing the hell out of them before you try to convince them.
It's just a question of being smart, that's all.