[dp0622]

Did the Earps really not allow guns in the town limits?

[Rashputin]

When you look into that, yes, except every bar, whorehouse, and casino, had several armed employees very visible to the crowd, usually on a floor above the crowd with rifles as well as a handgun.

I remember reading that in some old magazine while still in High School and getting interested enough to dig into it at the library. Technically, they were deputies but they only had authority within the place of business that hired them. IIRC, the Earps had to approve of who the business hired.