Free Republic

Both people in the picture above are open carrying.A correspondent reports on open carry at a church in Northern Wisconsin.  There is a sign near the entrance that says that legal carry of guns is welcome. Here is the pro-carry sign.  It is a simple 8 1/2 by 11 sheet: Wisconsin is underrated as a pro-Second Amendment state. The state never outlawed open carry, even if the urban areas routinely violated Second Amendment rights of citizens before 2010. Wisconsin passed a strong amendment to the State Constitution in 1998, affirming the right to keep and bear arms for all...

The push to reform Florida gun laws to restore open carry rights has gained significant momentum in the last few weeks.  First, on October 5th, the licensed Open Carry bill,  HB-163, passed the Florida House Criminal Justice sub-committee, with an 8-4 vote.  Second, one day later, the Florida Supreme Court agreed to hear a constitutional challenge to the Florida Open Carry ban in the Norman v. State (Florida) (PDF) case.   The Florida Sheriff's Association, using rather heavy-handed tactics, came out against the open carry bill in the middle of October . Now the Florida Police Chiefs Association has said...

Link only: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/news/local/2015/12/07/homer-schools-locked-down-over-parent-carrying-gun/76947308/

Sheriff Joe Arpaio now rests near the top of those chief peace officers who vocally support defense of self and others, and exercise of Second Amendment rights.  Not only did he ask concealed carriers to protect themselves and each other, but open carriers as well.  From fox10Phoenix.com Surrounded by his posse, Sheriff Joe Arpaio asked armed citizens to help protect malls this holiday season. Arpaio says nearly 250,000 Arizonans carry concealed weapons and many more are carrying in the open. "I'm asking for that group to make sure that if some violent activity occurs that they take action to...

Civil disobedience with guns. (Please read entire post before commenting.) Preppers unite! Stand alone preppers will be easily neutralized by fascist or violent forces. For example, look at this prep list from CheaperThanDirt.com. Can you see what's missing?A: Strength in numbers. This strategy of remaining underground in your own country will be fatal. If you wait until they come before you organize, you're dead. The success of the Bundy Ranch standoff (the Federal Government backing off without one shot fired) is proof of concept - the power of a community armed and unwavering will succeed against overreaching powers. United We...

With the Texas open carry law set to go into effect January 1, 2016, there are now 45 states with open carry laws, and Florida is vying to be number 46. The open carry push is separate from but simultaneous with a campus carry push moving through the Florida legislature as well. Ironically, this is exactly how open carry and campus carry both succeeded in Texas; they moved through in separate bills but during the same legislative session. Texas became the 45th state to pass laws allowing the open carry of handguns in May, and Abbot signed open carry into...

I regularly open carry around town in Yuma, Arizona.   A couple of months ago, my Doctor recommended that I undergo a series of tests, mostly as a precaution.  My Doctor and I get along quite well.  She has never offered any complaint about my open carry in her office, and it has become something of a joke with the receptionist that I have to remove a considerable amount  of gear, including pistol, knife, phone, keys and other items before I weigh in.My first personal physician in Yuma never had a problem either; he is a competitive shooter and worked...

A small gun turn in event was held on 7 November, 2015 in Selma, Alabama.  These events have been characterized by the propaganda term "buy back", but as the organizers never owned the guns in the first place, they cannot be "bought back".  The events have become less popular in recent years as private buyers have arranged to offer more for the more valuable guns taken to these events.  That was the case in Selma.  Robert W. Kennedy, Jr. was a private buyer at the Selma event, and commented on it.   From selmatimesjournal.com: My name is Robert W....

The disarmists are claiming that the police did not respond to the shooter in Colorado Springs because the State has open carry rights, as do 45 states of the United States.  From R Bruce Magee, a commenter on kpbs.org: This past weekend. a man was seen wandering a Colorado Springs neighborhood brandishing a heavy weapon. Recognizing the man as a neighbor, a woman called 911. The dispatcher told her the police couldn’t do anything about the man due to the state’s Open Carry Law. Within a few minutes of that phone call, the man had shot and killed three...

I stopped to fuel up at a local gas station. The price was $1.93 a gallon.  I was open carrying my old Glock 17.   As I came out the door, the biker was standing beside this beautiful Indian motorcycle.  I said "Nice bike", and he replied, "What are you carrying?"Glock 17, I said, and he pulled open his vest to show me his S&W M&P.  He was an armed biker.   His vest proudly proclaimed that he was a Vietnam Vet.  I said that while I had been in service during Vietnam, my tour was in California, at...

Another case has surfaced where Detroit police officers are charged with falsely arresting a legally armed black man for carrying a concealed weapon.  The man was openly carrying.  In Detroit open carry is completely legal.   The charge is a five year felony in Michigan, so this is no laughing matter.Having worked with a number of police agencies in the early 1970’s and later, and having talked with people inside the police culture of the time in large urban areas, I can report that racism and discrimination against black people in the 70’s was rampant.  A lot has changed...

The disarmists are claiming that the police did not respond to the shooter in Colorado Springs because the State has open carry rights, as do 45 states of the United States. From R Bruce Magee, a commenter on kpbs.org: This past weekend. a man was seen wandering a Colorado Springs neighborhood brandishing a heavy weapon. Recognizing the man as a neighbor, a woman called 911. The dispatcher told her the police couldn't do anything about the man due to the state's Open Carry Law. Within a few minutes of that phone call, the man had shot and killed three innocent...

I was on Security detail at my church again.  They keep the temperature cool, so I was wearing a jacket.  One of the difficulties of open carry is that it becomes awkward when you are wearing clothes to keep warm.  So I was carrying casually concealed. Glocks are popular I did not mind the temperature.  I am acclimated to warmer temps; but it is easier to for me to put on a jacket than it is for someone who likes it a bit cooler to remove their skin. I noticed five open carriers, and at least one other concealed...

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Sheriff Frank Mckeithen of Bay County, Florida, has come out in favor of open carry and the Second Amendment, and against the way in which the Florida Sheriffs’ Association conducted a vote to lobby against the open carry bill.  The vote has been represented in the media as a “secret vote”.   The accepted definition of a secret ballot is one in which the identities of the voters are kept secret from the people who count the votes.  That way, reprisals against people who vote for or against a particular measure or person are prevented, and people have less to worry...

Florida CS/SB 300 has passed the Senate Criminal Justice committee, 3 to 2.  Florida is one of only five states where the open carry of modern handguns is routinely banned in public places.  Texas passed a licensed open carry bill on 13 June of 2015.  It will go into effect in January.  The gun law reform bill that passed the Florida Senate committee still has quite a ways to go.  It would reform several aspects of the current law that have been shown to have deleterious effects over the last few years.  Here is a summation of the bill. ...

GIVAT ZEEV, West Bank — The phones have been ringing nonstop at the Gun Hill shooting range, following a week of daily knife attacks by Palestinians and a clarion call by Israeli politicians requesting that permit holders should carry their pistols on their hips to help protect the citizenry against terrorists. “It’s a madhouse,” said Yair Yifrach, general manger of the training center and gun shop here at a Jewish settlement north of Jerusalem. Perhaps not the best choice of words for a shooting range. “But people are going a little crazy,” Yifrach said. Israelis are frightened by violent demonstrations...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)In three months, gun owners with a concealed handgun license will be able to openly carry in the state of Texas. Many North Texas gun ranges say they are doubling their education courses before the law goes into effect. At the Eagle Gun Range in Lewisville, they are just starting to see a small uptick in concealed handgun license classes. "It is a big change to openly carry. You don't want to make a mistake," said Eagle Gun Range president David Prince. Prince is adding classes so that people fully understand the new law. "We are putting on seminars at...

I arrived at the 2015 Gun Rights Policy Conference on Friday afternoon, 25 September, at about 1600 (4 p.m.).  I was openly carrying my old Glock 17, as I usually do.  It was an unseasonably warm late September day, with the temperature at 103.   There had been some Internet rumors about the Sheraton Crescent banning open carry; I had not seen anything in my contract with them or any sign on the door.  When I was there a few years ago at the Arizona Citizen Defense League annual meeting, the room had been full of open carriers. I had...

I have been a customer of the UPS Stores in Yuma for years.  I used their services to prepare targets and handouts for the concealed carry courses that I taught.  They have always been open carry friendly and have been very helpful.  A few days ago, I was having a few copies made.   I had purchased their pre-paid copy cards, and had enough left over to last me for quite a while.  Lupe Paz was behind the counter and asked me if I was carrying a Glock .40.  I said no, it was a 9 mm.  We had a...