Free Republic

Imagine sitting down to dinner at a restaurant with your family when in walks a handful of men armed with assault rifles. Are you frightened, maybe angry? Or do they make you feel safe? That’s the question at the center of a bitter and increasingly public battle surrounding a group of gun-carrying activists in Texas, who brazenly flex their legal right to bear arms by carrying around assault rifles in public. The group calls themselves “Open Carry Texas.” Their enthusiasm for packing heat in public has led national chains like Chipotle, Chili’s and Jack in the Box to ask customers...

In Moscow, Idaho, a restaurant offers a discount to people who openly carry firearms. In the vast majority of states, openly carried firearms are legal.   The right to open carry has been used in a number of states to push for the passage of "shall issue" laws to allow people to legally carry firearms concealed.  Virginia, Ohio, and Wisconsin are states that readily come to mind.  Texans are currently  using the legal open carry of rifles, guaranteed in their State Constitution, to push for the legal open carry of handguns.  Arizonans used the right to open carry to remove...

<p>Liberal radio host Mike Malloy is reacting to broadened firearm carry rights in Georgia and open carry demonstrations around the county by promising to cause a public panic, perhaps resulting in the death of the person lawfully--and openly--carrying a firearm, if he sees such an individual.</p>

On street corners and in rallies, the Texas gun rights crowd aims to accustom the public to guns. DALLAS — “One of them said, ‘You’re going to wish you had a gun, boy, when I fill you full of holes.’ ” A 35-year-old former Marine, Henry was fresh from an encounter with an increasingly common phenomenon in North Texas: an Open Carry rally, where advocates gather in public places with semi-automatic rifles. Henry said he simply wanted to make a video of the Memorial Day demonstration by the small but well-armed crowd. Then tempers rose and some curses flew. He...

Are people who assert their Second Amendment rights by bringing rifles and shotguns into stores and restaurants "weird" and "scary?" At least one staff member at the National Rifle Association (NRA) thought so, and he expressed that view in an online commentary that the organization felt compelled to retract last week after it caused an uproar among gun-rights advocates. To some extent, the episode reflects divisions among Second Amendment activists, many of whom view the NRA, despite its reputation for adamantly resisting gun control, as insufficiently zealous. But the brouhaha also highlights a shift in American attitudes regarding the public...

William Polster on a Open Carry Walk On 17 May, I attended a gun turn in event in urban Milwaukee.  The neighborhood is known for its high crime rate.   One of the first things that I noticed was a person openly carrying a holstered handgun, who marched with those calling for an end to unjustified shootings. That was a special occasion, and one focused on guns.  A few days later, on Memorial day, I took a picture of a young man openly carrying at a busy McDonald's in Hayward, Wisconsin.   A commenter, "Secret Agent Man" on freerepublic.org, one...

A national gun safety organization has set its sights on Minneapolis-based Target to stop gun-rights demonstrations in their stores. The group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense launched a petition on Wednesday. They’re asking Target’s interim CEO John Mulligan to establish a policy to prohibit people from openly carrying guns in its stores. “Already we’ve had several different restaurants say that they will no longer allow some open carry…some guns all together in their establishments,” said Shannon Watts with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense. Last March, several people from the group Open Carry Texas were photographed walking down the...

On May 30th, in a 1400+ word essay, an unnamed NRA-ILA writer ignited a firestorm against Second Amendment supporters in the opposition media.  In a few badly chosen words near the end of the essay, the unnamed staffer gave the opposition priceless ammunition to smear open carriers.    This should be a lesson to everyone to choose their words carefully.   I do not know if editorial control was exercised.   It is clear that the word choices were emotionally loaded and welcomed by those who desire a disarmed population. In other words, the unnamed writer pulled a Zumbo. Here are the...

 In early May of this year, TMJ4, a Milwaukee television station, set off a flurry of interest in Oconomowoc and Wisconsin open carry laws.   A Wisconsin mother was in the park, took the above picture, posted it on Facebook, and asked if open carry was a legal practice.   TMJ4 talked to Oconomowoc officials who told them that a local ordinance made it illegal.  TMJ4 broadcast that information to hundreds of thousands of Milwaukee homes. Local Second Amendment supporters were outraged.  Nick Clark, President of Wisconsin Carry, contacted the television station and reporter, and informed them that they had received...

The National Rifle Association has issued a strongly-worded criticism of a fellow gun rights group, calling its practice of so-called "open carry" demonstrations "downright scary." The criticisms of Open Carry Texas were noted in an unsigned post published Friday on the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action page. Open Carry Texas members have become known for gathering in public places, mostly notably restaurants, carrying large, high-powered rifles. Most recently, Sonic, Chipotle, and Chili's joined Starbucks, Wendy's, Jack in the Box, and Applebee's in banning firearms from their premises after protests by Open Carry Texas. "Let’s not mince words," the post on...

The last couple of months have been rough for proponents of open-carry gun laws. No fewer than seven restaurant chains have taken a stand against firearms being brought to their businesses, after activists in Texas conducted provocative demonstrations in which they toted semi-automatic rifles into various eateries. Texas law allows rifles (though not handguns) to be carried on display in public, but some patrons and employees were unnerved and angered by the demonstrations, and a national group advocating for reforms, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, pressured the companies using social media campaigns. After Mother Jones published videos...

Open Carry Walk in Eureka Springs Montgomery County is a rural county just Southeast of the center of Georgia.  The population of the county is under 10,000 people, so I was a little surprised to come across this account of a deputy accosting a person openly carrying a holstered pistol at the local Walmart.  From opencarry.org, SFCRetired relates:  A fun evening at Wal Mart on Atlanta Highway. When I walked in the door, the young deputy sheriff crooked his finger at me in a "Come here" gesture. That got my blood pressure easing up immediately as I am most...

An open carry march in Texas This is an interesting announcement at Action10 news in Corpus Christi, Texas.  What makes it interesting is that their is no castigation of the open carriers, no attacks on them as "frightening", no characterization of their event as a danger to society.   In addition, the short item accurately describes the motives of the event organizers, as they have stated them.   Here is the article, from kztv10.com: CORPUS CHRISTI - A group of gun owners across the state will continue peaceful demonstrations asking for change in restrictive open carry laws. The goal is to...

On May 16th the Missouri legislature passed a bill containing a number of gun law reforms.   The reforms were all passed as part of a bill that does not contain any provision for nullification of federal gun laws.   LMTD at opencarry.org has this to say about the possibility of Democrat Governor Nixon signing the bill:  Since this is the same as last year less nullification and nullification was his objection he is in a rock and hard place, I am wondering if he won't just ignore and let it expire and move along. Seems a veto might be bad...

Open Carry Tarrant County is planning a rally Saturday in North Richland Hills, billed as the “greatest” the county has ever seen. Starting at 11:30 a.m. supporters will fill the back of the parking lot at the Home Depot on Precinct Line Road to listen to speakers, have an open-carry education session and hold a raffle. Prizes include revolvers, an AR 15 rifle, over 1,500 rounds of ammunition and Rangers tickets, according to the group’s Facebook page. Rally organizer Kory Watkins, 30, wants to make it clear that Saturday’s event is not a protest. “Protesters are angry; and we are...

Much of Memorial day weekend was spent in cleaning up my parents estate, now owned by my brother.   After hauling three pickup loads of priceless antiques, or barely valuable used property, depending on your viewpoint, to the Salvation Army; my able partner, driver, and recently married nephew deserved a break. We stopped by Micky D's for some needed refreshment.  As befits a Retired Uncle, I paid.   He is at least a fourth generation member of the American gun culture.    We know one greatgrandfather was in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, or War Between the States, whichever you...

On 23 July, 2013, Mark J. Hoffman of Somerset, Wisconsin, was arrested for legally openly carrying firearms. The charges were disorderly conduct (DC) and obstructing an officer.   Originally, Mark was told that he was under arrest for "being heavily armed".   Here is the  Gun Watch article.   The County attorney refused to press charges under Wisconsin statues. Mark Reported to Gun Watch that the charges were indeed dropped.  Then, out of the blue, three weeks later, he was issued two municipal citations from the Somerset Police Department.  Here are Mark's own words:  UPDATEThe St. Croix County DA did not...

  Mayor Barrett posing for pictures before the walk I arrived at the Milwaukee gun turn in (buy back) event a little after 9 am on Saturday, the 17th of May.   I estimate that more than a hundred had gathered and were listening to speeches.    I was looking to see if there were any people exercising their Second Amendment rights, so I paid attention to the man openly carrying a Glock 21  in a retention holster.  His name is William  Polster, and he had no problem with me taking pictures.  The Glock, openly carried against his dark grey clothing, did...

There is an interesting short paragraph in a wfaa.com/AP story from Arlington, Texas.   Arlington is next door to Fort Worth, where the widely reported story of Jack in the Box employees being so frightened of some open carriers that they locked themselves in the freezer.  From the Forbes version of the story, directly based on an email from the Fort Worth Police: In Fort Worth, Texas last week, employees took to the fast food outlet’s freezer, hiding among the frozen burger patties until squad cars arrived at the scene. “Officers spoke with Jack in the Box employees who reported...

The widely reported story that Jack in the Box employees locked themselves in the freezer because they feared open carry activists is almost certainly a hoax.  The event was reported to have happened at a Jack in the Box in the Dallas Fort Worth area. This video report by NBC5 reporter Ken Kalthoff shows Irwin Harris saying that they entered the restaurant and were served without any fuss.  He said they ordered, received their food, and left.   The police told NBC5 that the employees then went into the cooler for protection.   That seems a little odd... lock yourself in...