Open Carry Common at Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix, 2019

Gun Watch ^ | 29 September, 2019 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Open carry of holstered pistols was commonly seen at the Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) in Phoenix, Arizona, 21-23 September, 2019.

The GRPC had an overflow crowd of over a thousand activists from around the nation.

Many were standing in the back of the conference room, trying to find seats.

It was the largest GRPC ever.

There were numerous examples of holstered pistols in evidence. Open carry has become common and accepted in Arizona, as a result of Second Amendment activists in the state.

In the 1990s, the open carry of holstered pistols was under attack in Arizona.

During the 1990's an Arizona judge ruled a person with a holstered pistol on a belt, if the holster was on the opposite side from a police officer, was carrying "concealed". Arizona did not have a concealed carry permit law at the time.

In another case, a jude in Tucson, ruled open carrying a holstered pistol, into a public park, was not part of the right to keep and bear arms, was not covered under the Arizona Constitution, and was not a violation of the state preemption law, because a person could choose not to enter the park. The Second Amendment defender was Ken Rineer.

The judge, Cindy Jorgenson, was elevated to a federal judgeship by former Senators McCain and Kyle. The appeals court judge who upheld the decision, John Pelander, was promoted to the Arizona Supreme Court.

The Second Amendment activists in Arizona changed all that. They pushed Constitutional Carry through the legislature.

They placed limits on the ability of local governments to create "gun free zones".

They enforced the ability to exercise their rights.  Link to Rick DeStephens recounting of the Sacaton Rest Stop activism. (scroll down the page to read AZRickD's account)

Activists open wore holstered firearms in the legislative chambers. They were respectful, and careful not to threaten anyone with their body language.


Arizona is considered the top Second Amendment friendly state in the United States. Others are very close.

Some revolvers were present.  They were a distinct minority.

The open carry of firearms has always been a right in Arizona, even though anti-rights judges tried to limit it with judicial fiat.

In comparison, California, next door, has no right to keep and bear arms in its state Constitution.

The California concealed carry permit law was designed to prevent minorities from carrying firearms.

In 1967, California passed the Mulford Act, to keep people from carrying loaded guns openly.  At the time, the Supreme Court had ruled the Second Amendment did not apply to the states.

The first Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) I attended at the Sheraton Crescent did not have as many open carriers.

It became clear they did not ask anyone open carrying to leave. There were no gun ban signs on the doors. The GRPC rotates to Arizona every few years. This year, the 34th GRPC, was the fourth GRPC for Phoenix. More and more people have attended each succeeding time. More people have been openly carrying.

This is a national phenomena. Stories about Second Amendment supporters who won't exercise their rights during their own conferences have dried up.

There are only five states where open carry is illegal. There are 15 states that require a permit  in order to exercise your Second Amendment rights.

No permit is required for open carry in 30 states. 

Constitutional Carry, where no permit is required to carry holstered, loaded pistols in most public places, openly or concealed, is the law in 16 states.

That makes more than 50 states, because all Constitutional Carry states are, by definition, also open carry without permit states.

Several speakers at the GRPC told attendees they were at the safest place on the planet.

More people would have been carrying openly, but the air conditioning was on high.

Many people were wearing jackets to stay warm.  The jackets also concealed their personal defensive firearms.


©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

[marktwain]

This was the fourth Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix in the last 34 years. I believe I have been to all four. Open carry has increased at each succeeding one.

[Bitman]

And I will bet that there wasn’t a gang banger within 50 miles of the convention center.

[real saxophonist]

Look at all the Serpas!

[marktwain]

Popular holsters for a reason.

[real saxophonist]

I just hope they train with them, so they don’t ‘Tex Grebner’ themselves.

[Big Red Badger]

Retention Holsters,
Very nice.
I’m thinking ALS
by Safariland.

[real saxophonist]

Anything but a Serpa. Poor design, places the index finger in an unsafe position.

Yeah, popular. With people who carry but don't train.

[Magnum44]

Agreed. Many ranges won’t allow them and I won’t train people with Serpas. Sorry but you need to get a retention holster that doesn’t force you into bad trigger finger habits. Honestly I don’t know how Serpa continues to sell that product.

[Greenpees]

I love Arizona.

[Lurker]

“Look at all the Serpas!”

We use those for 3 guns. Just takes a bit of practice.

L

[Lurker]

“Honestly I don’t know how Serpa continues to sell that product.”

Maybe it’s because they work and work well. When properly used they index your finger right where it needs to be, along the slide. It’s called “muscle memory”.

Maybe you’ve heard of it.

L

[Magnum44]

Too often they memory muscle train the user to press the release before pulling the gun from the holster and transitioning to finger on trigger with said press before the gun is rotated to the target or safe direction.

[real saxophonist]

I know this is anecdotal, but just one example:

I trained with Andy Stanford, and he refused to train anyone who used a Serpa. He was training some police officers in Germany, and one, a female, 'Tex Grebnered' herself, drawing from a Serpa.

[Magnum44]

Your comment is not just anecdotal. There is a reason many ranges and training centers won’t allow Serpas in their training. Accidents have happened. Also, one has to remember that 90% of gun owners don’t train regularly or get proper defensive training to include holster skills. For a well trained and practiced individual, the Serpa may be fine, while for the untrained, it may be a liability. Personally, I don’t want the extra step in the process of releasing the gun from the holster. If the holster tension is set properly you don’t need the gun ‘locked’ in.

[Big Red Badger]

“Tex Grebner”,
What’s in
You’re Wallet?

[Lurker]

“Too often they memory muscle train the user to press the release before pulling the gun from the holster and transitioning to finger on trigger with said press before the gun is rotated to the target or safe direction.”

Then your training sucks. Fix it.

L

[real saxophonist]

Then your training sucks. Fix it.

See my #5 and #7.

[Lurker]

We carry and we train using Serpas. So do a whole lot of other folks at our club. Serpas are “unsafe” the same way Glocks are “unsafe”. They’re both unsafe for idiots who can’t keep their booger hooks off the bang switches.

Properly used, emphasis on properly, your finger will index right where it’s supposed to be with a Serpa. It’s designed in. It’s idiots who don’t train out the grasp reflex who have “accidents”.

To each their own.

L

[Magnum44]

Too often FR becomes a place for assholes to hurl insults rather than have discussion. Twice now sir you have ASSumed ignorance on my part rather than acknowledging that many professional organizations avoid the Serpa for its history of AD by more than a few persons who thought they knew what they were doing.

I have not directly attacked or insulted you but twice now you have referred to me as if I am negligent or ignorant in firearms training. The first time I let it go. The second time I reply, KMA.

[riverrunner]

Tex admitted it was his own fault not the holster or the firearm he was using.