Free Republic

I appreciate that there is a link to a Gun Watch article in the New York Times.  It is in the opinionator piece linked to here and below.   The link to Gun Watch is at the phrase this Michigan lawsuit:  According to open carry advocates, their presence in public space represents more than just an expression of their Second Amendment rights, it’s a statement, an “educational,” communicative act  — in short, an exercise of their First Amendment freedom of speech. (See this, from the group Ohio Carry, and this Michigan lawsuit.)  Could the New York Times be dragged into...

On April 29th, hundreds of Second Amendment supporters attended the Second Amendment rally at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan.   The rally has grown over the years and is now a major annual event at the Capitol.   These rallies are becoming more and more common around the nation.  There were numerous articles written about the Michigan event this year. MLive published an article complaining about the open carry practices of the rally members at the Capitol.  The writer, Mark Lawrence, is identified as: Mark Lawrence works for the Michigan Legislature and is a member of the National Rifle...

Photo: Alma E. Hernandez, For The San Antonio Express News Henry Vichique, shown with his pregnant wife, above, is the 19 year old man who was tased by police for carrying a WWII Russian rifle in a San Antonio residential neighborhood while walking home.  From the Houston Chronicle: San Antonio police arrested him March 30 while he was walking home with a loaded Russian World War II-vintage rifle slung across his shoulder. The event occurred after dark.   Police at the scene told Henry that people had reported that he had been pointing the rifle at others.   Henry replied that...

Today, the Tennessee Senate passed SB2424, a Vermont* style, permit-less open-carry bill. This bill would further restore the basic human right to self-defense in Tennessee. The question is, will the House follow suit? The companion bill, HB2409, if passed, would give Governor Haslam the opportunity to make good on the promise he made in a Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) meeting on October 18, 2010, on Vermont Style Carry.Here is a transcription of part of that meeting:TFA member, If the legislature were to pass a Vermont style carry, and bring it to you, would you sign it? Candidate (Knoxville Mayor) Haslam,...

Open Carry Event in Texas, where open carry of modern handguns is not legal in most cases In July of 2013, an open carrier in Wisconsin narrowly avoided being "SWATted" by police.  He was well known in the area and had friends on the local police force.   They contacted him after he was accused of flashing a gun at the clerk of a convenience store. In the same incident, another innocent citizen was stopped by police at gunpoint and ordered out of their car because of bad information supplied by the clerk. Here is updated information: The open...

Photo Credit Star-Telegram Rodger Mallison The open carry movement in Texas is becoming mainstream.  Texas is one of a few states where openly carrying a holstered, modern handgun is barred by law from most public places.  This anomaly in the law occurred because Texas was on the losing side of the Civil War, or War Between the States, if you prefer.  There is a convoluted history to explain it, but before the war, the Texas Constitution guaranteed an absolute right to carry arms, even for slaves.  After the war, the change through two Constitutional conventions resulted in losing the...

Safety Breifing Before Eureka Springs Constitutional Carry/Act 746 walk Open Carry Walkers in Eureka Springs As has become the norm in Arkansas, the open carry/constitutional carry/ celebrate Act 746 walk in Eureka springs did not cause any drama or trauma. Dozens of people participated in the event on 29 March.  In spite of concerns, and some hostility expressed during a city council meeting prior to the event, there did not appear to be any significant opposition to the walk.   No one protested the open carriers.   One of the event participants actively looked for signs in businesses banning guns or...

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators gave final approval Saturday to a bill that would nullify city and county gun restrictions and ensure that it's legal across the state to openly carry firearms, a measure the National Rifle Association sees as a model for stripping local officials of their gun-regulating power. The House approved the legislation, 102-19, a day after the Senate passed it, 37-2. The measure goes next to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. He hasn't said whether he'll sign it, but he's a strong supporter of gun rights and has signed other measures backed by the NRA and the...

Safety Breifing Before Eureka Springs Constitutional Carry/Act 746 walk Open Carry Walkers in Eureka Springs As has become the norm in Arkansas, the open carry/constitutional carry/ celebrate Act 746 walk in Eureka springs did not cause any drama or trauma. Dozens of people participated in the event on 29 March.  In spite of concerns, and some hostility expressed during a city council meeting prior to the event, there did not appear to be any significant opposition to the walk.   No one protested the open carriers.   One of the event participants actively looked for signs in businesses banning guns or...

San Antonio, TX --(Ammoland.com)- On March 31, 2014, a member of Open Carry Texas was exercising his right to self defense while on a walk near his home in San Antonio. San Antonio Police Department officers from the West Substation responded to what they claim was an individual waving his rifle around and pointing it at people. Nothing could be further from the truth. After approaching and recognizing that Henry Vichique wasn’t a threat and that the call was a hoax, officers still attempted to disarm a law-abiding citizen walking home from a friend’s house. As officers were about to...

In a brilliant bit of second amendment promotion, members of Wisconsin Carry went door to door in a bad part of Milwaukee, offering free training required to obtain the Wisconsin concealed carry license.  The south side of town does not have a good reputation, and it has a high crime rate.   Milwaukee has 10 percent of Wisconsin residents and 60 percent of Wisconsin murders. Wisconsin Carry has been giving free classes so that people can obtain the Wisconsin permit since 2009.   The Wisconsin shall issue law went into effect in November of 2011.  Wisconsin exceeded 200,000 permit holders in...

BREAKING: Master Sergeant Christopher Grisham has been found guilty of interfering with police duties, a class B misdemeanor. Grisham could face a possible $2,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail for the offense. The retrial of Fort Hood soldier C.J. Grisham began Monday after a jury was unable to come to a verdict in the case last month. Monday, the jury heard two witnesses testify including the Temple police officer who arrested Grisham as well as the woman who made the call to police. Temple police officer Steve Ermis took the stand to give his account of what...

The Eureka Springs, Arkansas city council had a special meeting on how to deal with a planned open carry/celebrate Act 746 walk in the city.  Some of the discussion is disturbing, as a council member openly seems to suggest ways in which to conspire to chill the exercise of the second amendment.  The video is 42:40 long on YouTube.   The most chilling comments are these, beginning about 22:30: "What I think I have, I think I have heard you say, that, our only recourse of action is then, is what you are going to do with the signs, which...

Alabama SB 354  passed the senate on Wednesday by the wide margin of 20 - 7. The bill includes vehicles as an extension of the home for purposes of carrying firearms, recognizing the right to bear arms extends to a person's vehicle, where a great deal of time is spent in modern society.  This is especially helpful to the growing number of people who live in recreational vehicles and travel about the country. The bill makes clear that open carry of firearms is not disorderly conduct.  In the section dealing with definitions of disorderly conduct, the bill reads: "The...

Constitutional/open/Celebrate Act 746 Walk in Russelville, Arkansas Two separate open carry/ constitutional carry, or celebrate Act 746 walks, took place in Arkansas last Saturday, 15 March.   One of the walks was in Russelville, the second was in Mountain Home.   Both walks were peaceful and relatively uneventful, as has come to be the norm.  No one was arrested and a good time was had.  From Arkansascarry.com: The Russellvile open carry celebration walk on March 15th, 2014 was another huge success. The Russellville police department was very easy to work with and Fat Daddy's BBQ did an excellent job feeding all of...

1 of 12 Ryley Franklin, 13, carries a Texas state flag during Saturday's rally. Come and Take It Beaumont held a march down Dowlen Road on Saturday. The participants carried long arms as well as Texas and United States flags from Sertinos Cafe to Lowes. Photo taken Saturday, 3/15/14 Jake Daniels/@JakeD_in_SETX Photo: Jake Daniels The threat of rain dampened attendance at the most recent Come and Take it Beaumont rally and march, but not the ardor of those present.About a dozen people, including three children, toted long guns as they walked a short distance up and down Dowlen Road...

Open Carry in Arizona A man in Germantown was accosted by police for exercising his rights on Saturday.   William Polster was carrying a holstered pistol and a shotgun on a sling on his back.   He says that he carries the firearms to educate the public about their rights and for personal protection. Police claim that some people called them and were upset.  This is certainly possible, but in other cases, such as with the Culver 5 in Madison, and with open carrier in Michigan, calls turned out to be mostly asking the police whether open carry was legal or...

There has been an ongoing debate in the Utah legislature about the open carry of firearms.   Some people have been arrested for openly carrying holstered firearms.  Open carry is legal in Utah.  The charge has been, as it was in Wisconsin five years ago, "Disorderly Conduct". Disorderly conduct tends to be a catchall phrase that is used to crack down on conduct that is not illegal, but that the police disapprove of.  Being arrested can be a significant punishment.   The Wisconsin AG eventually ruled that openly carrying a firearm is *not* disorderly conduct by itself.   Police departments paid out...

Pistol and holster rig Author was wearing.  Clothes were as described in story I was out running this morning with my usual rig when I am exercising: a Glock 17 in a Fobus paddle holster.  After experimenting with a number of combinations, this is the one I usually use.  In the last 15 years I have worn out two of the holsters and am working on the third. I was headed south on the right hand sidewalk alongside a moderately busy four lane boulevard.  I was wearing a mostly white t-shirt with a nondescript design on it, and light...

Florida is one of five states that generally ban the open carry of firearms.  As with all such states, exemptions to the general ban are included in the law.  Florida second amendment supporters are pushing for a restoration of open carry rights in the state.  They have organized a number of open carry events under the exception for open carry to, from, and during fishing in the State.  Spacecoast321 at opencarry.org relates what happened when he attempted to join one of these events a few days ago (March 2014): Well after a lengthy hiatus I was finally able to...