Free Republic

PITTSBURGH - Hundreds of people gathered Monday in downtown Pittsburgh for an open carry rally in response to proposed gun control measures introduced by the City Council last month. Part of Grant Street was blocked off, and precautions are in place as gun rights activists from around the region take part in the rally. Open Carry Pennsylvania encouraged gun owners and supporters to demonstrate at noon outside the City-County Building on Grant Street. The rally started with a minutelong moment of silence for the 11 people killed in the Tree of Life synagogue shooting.

-On 17 December 2018, at about 7 p.m. on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, a 21-year-old open carrier and his friend were hanging out when his weapon was grabbed by a homeless man.  At 7 p.m. it was well below freezing. Heavy coats, hats, and gloves were indicated. State Street runs from the University of Wisconsin to the State Capitol.  It is about nine blocks long and is usually crowded with pedestrians, many of which are students. There are numerous bars and restaurants, as well as the Student Union and Memorial Library, Library Mall, and the Wisconsin Historical Society...

In March of 2016, members of Michigan Open Carry (MOC) and Michigan Gun Owners (MGO) were manning a booth they had rented in the DeVos Place Convention Center. They were openly carrying holstered pistols, which has never been against the law in Michigan, except for a small number of restricted areas. While people with concealed carry permits may not carry a concealed firearm into a school, they may openly carry a holstered pistol in Michigan.  They can openly carry holstered pistols into the State Capitol.On Friday, May 26, 2017, Judge Joseph Rossi of the Kent County Circuit found for...

Tuesday’s decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals means that people in the western U.S. will now be able to openly carry a handgun in public. The decision only applies to districts under the 9th Circuit’s jurisdiction, but it will likely soon affect the rest of the country. It is a huge ruling that strikes down existing state prohibitions in Hawaii and California.

MORE WINNING!!! The normally activist 9th Circuit just issued a ruling that affirms the 2nd Amendment protections of the right of gun owners to carry guns in public, reversing a ruling by a Hawaii district court! Click the link in the tweet below to read the entire ruling: https://twitter.com/lawrencehurley/status/1021784847818403841/photo/1

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment protects the right to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense, rejecting a claim by Hawaii officials that the right only applies to guns kept at home. The ruling by a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, makes the San Francisco-based court the sixth U.S. circuit court to interpret the Second Amendment this way and could set the issue on a path toward the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not taken up a major gun rights case since 2010. The...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that openly carrying a firearm in public is constitutional. The ruling, issued by a three-judge panel, is a rebuttal to Hawaii’s claim that Second Amendment protections only applied to carrying a gun openly in one’s home. Reuters reports that the case was brought by George Young, after Hawaiian official “twice [denied] him a permit to carry a gun outside.” A District Court ruled that the denial did not infringe rights protected by the Second Amendment, but the Ninth Circuit panel disagreed.

I have been staying in Middleton, Wisconsin for a couple of months. After an injury a couple of years ago, and a serious case of pneumonia, I have changed exercise from running to brisk walking.  Wearing t-shirt and shorts limits the options for concealed carry. Most of my walking in the area started about 0500, but on Monday, July 9th, I had stayed up late, coming back from a play at American Player's Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin. I slept in. I didn't get out to exercise until after 0800. It was a mistake. Instead of a few cars...

On June 24, at about 10 a.m. citizens peacefully openly and legally carrying holstered pistols were detained by police for two hours. The police closed the pier where the Second Amendment activists were fishing. The legal open carriers were eventually released and allowed to continue their activities. However, police remained at the scene and actively discouraged other members of the public from making contact with the Second Amendment activists. From miamiherald.com: Police reopened the pier, but left a couple of officers there and stated, “We are encouraging visitors to use other portions of South Pointe Park.” The men cited...

At the NRA annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, in 2018, protests were held outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on Saturday, 5 May, 2018.  By the time I arrived at the protest site, the main group of gun control supporters had left. I was told they numbered about 200-250 people. Their numbers were dwarfed by the attendees at the NRA annual meeting. An estimate for meeting attendance was not available at the time of this writing. The last NRA annual meeting, in Atlanta, was 81,836. In 2016, in Louisville, it was 80,452. 87,154  has been reported for attendance at...

There was a long line of media waiting to register at the Press Office at the NRA annual meeting in Dallas for 2018. As I stood in line, watching the attendees walk by, there was a gentleman open carrying this five shot revolver in a cross draw rig. The thumb-break release, held in tight against the body, makes a casual snatch unlikely. In this type of carry, the left arm naturally guards the revolver. I have seen open carry at the last two NRA annual meetings. I snapped the picture shown and quickly dashed back to my place in...

A Texas dad playing with his children at a local playground got quite a surprise when the police showed up to question him, stating that his pro-gun shirt was “making other parents uncomfortable”. Troy Johnston and his two daughters, ages four and six, stopped at Castle Park on March 30, so the children could enjoy the park’s swings and maze, he told Blue Lives Matter. Several other parents approached Johnston while his daughters were playing, alerting him to the fact that a woman was very irate with the verbiage on his shirt and was threatening to call the police and...

Michigan law protects the right of people with carry permits to openly carry guns in schools. The law also preempts local government entities from creating local laws and regulations that violate the state laws. People with carry permits are more law abiding than police officers. They make schools more safe, not less safe. Some school officials are perfectly willing to have law enforcement officers openly carry in schools, but not parents with carry permits. From foxonline.com: “Obviously, we don’t believe that individuals should open carry in our school unless they are uniformed officers of law enforcement,” says Fletcher Spears...

Over the last couple of weeks, a dramatic saga has taken place between open carry advocates and Olmos Park police in Texas. The incident began on Monday, March 26 when CJ Grisham, the founder of Open Carry Texas (OCT), put in a call to Olmos Park Police Chief Rene Valenciano. Grisham questioned Valenciano's stance on open carry and whether or not open carry activists would have issues if a demonstration was held in the San Antonio suburb. On Tuesday, March 27, OCT held an open carry rally in Olmos Park, which resulted in the arrest of three OCT members, including...

The natural right to bear arms includes the right to carry them concealed as well as openly. Both types of carry were practiced at the time of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. Flintlock “muff pistols” were widely available before 1791. Daggers, dirks and other assorted blades were commonly carried concealed. Sword canes conceal the blade inside of the cane, and are considered concealed weapons. They were commonly available.  They became popular, in part, to avoid any social reproach against the carry of swords, anticipating the condemnation of open carry today. Historic examples of choices for concealed carry.The Second...

On the afternoon of 22 December, 2017, in the WalMart on Skibo Road, an open carrier had his firearm stolen from him. The precise circumstances remain unknown. No shots were fired. The thief  is reported to have ran away with the firearm. From fayobserver.com: About 3 p.m., Fayetteville police spokeswoman Asia Cannon said, inaccurate information based on radio scanner traffic began circulating about a shooting at the Walmart. Officers arrived and discovered that a man had grabbed a gun off another man who was open-carrying the weapon. The man who grabbed the gun then ran off.Image from wral.com Guns...

There’s a lot of debate that takes place around the idea of open carry. Many argue that open carry is tactically stupid as it makes it clear to any potential bad guy who to take out first during a robbery. Others counter with arguments about how open carry initiates conversations about the Second Amendment and our right to keep and bear arms. Both are good points, but for one open carrier in Fayetteville, NC, open carry isn’t such a grand thing these days. An incident involving a stolen gun caused a commotion at Walmart on Skibo Road on Thursday afternoon....

The Supreme Court declined to take up two Second Amendment cases on Monday, which challenged laws banning assault weapons and open-carry in Maryland and Florida. Both cases were denied review without comment from the justices, which left the lower court rulings in place. In the Florida challenge, the state Supreme Court upheld Florida’s ban on open carry finding the Second Amendment doesn’t guarantee a right to open carry.

According to concealedcarry.com, there are two states that ban concealed carry in churches, Nebraska and Louisiana. Nebraska allows a church to authorize an armed security team if the team members have carry permits and if written notice is given to church members.  Louisiana law is similar but requires an extra eight hours of training every year. Seven states and D.C. that require the permission of a church leader to conceal carry firearms in church, and 41 states where carry in churches is treated the same as any other private property.Of the 41 states that treat churches the same as...

At the Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) in Dallas, Texas, I noticed a significant amount of the open carry of sidearms. This would not have been legal as late as December of 2015. The open carry of a Bowie knife would have been illegal up until then end of August this year!In addition to the licensed open carry of handguns, edged weapons with blades of more than 5.5 inches can now be legally carried in most places. One participant carried an iconic Bowie knife at the GRPC. He graciously allowed me to take a picture. Knife Rights deserves much...