As of today, open carry is legal without a permit in Mississippi. The only other state I'm aware of that allows this is Arizona. For those of you who live in Arizona, how has it worked out? I'm in favor of guns as much as anyone, but I'm not sure if this is a good idea.
Open carry has been legal in Oklahoma for the last several months. I don't recall hearing of any particular incidents one way or the other that were affected by it.
Legal in Wyoming (concealed carry without a permit too).
I see a few open carries around town (grocery store etc.), no big deal.
I'm with you, CB.
Not opposed to guns, but it seems like the March of Civilization just tripped over a root and fell on its face.
🙁
Don
not a problem-
like
Has always been legal in NC. I occasionally see it.
As far as I know, its always been legal to open carry in Georgia without a permit. Of course, you can't go in Government buildings, etc. I know a few that open carry every day. Never heard of any problems.
open carry without permit is legal in GA, and I see it almost daily in SW GA...
Well said Don.
Open carry without a permit is legal in West Virginia as well. I see it often in certain areas and I occasionally carry open, depending on what I feel like carrying that day. I've only had one issue. I was working in another part of the state and I had stopped at a Walmart to buy a ac/dc converter for the truck. I went into the bathroom and about 30 seconds later a woman came running in and grabbed her son (who looked to be about 12) and was screaming, "who carries a gun in Walmart?". Every once in a while, someone will ask a question, just being curious. It's usually not the people who legally carry openly you have to worry about; it's the people who illegally obtain and conceal their weapons who cause problems.
Anytime a change in gun laws happens that would relax regulations, the media screams about going back to the wild west. It just doesn't happen that way.
Open carry is legal nearly everywhere public.... Is it not?
> As of today, open carry is legal without a permit in Mississippi. The only other state I'm aware of that allows this is Arizona. For those of you who live in Arizona, how has it worked out? I'm in favor of guns as much as anyone, but I'm not sure if this is a good idea.
"Open carry has never been ruled out as a right under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by any court." Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_carry_in_the_United_States
One can open carry in just about every public place in the country unless it has been ruled to be specifically against public safety such as court houses (in the state of oregon at least.) This is per the 2nd and is most likely covered, or buried in your state laws.
Loaded Open carry is another matter and a totally separate level. Many city's and states per the link, can restrict that firearms may not be carried loaded and many state supreme courts have justified this. Oregon being one state to reaffirm this just recently. The exception to this applies to those have a concealed weapons permit under state law and a handful of other specific exceptions.
Personally, Open carry is not my cup of tea, but I'm a citizen that also carries a concealed weapons permit.
I think we should go "back to the wild west". There would be fewer crimes because a crook generally won't risk his own life when he knows they might shoot back.;-)
Legal in Alaska and no permit required for a concealed carry. I rarely carry except for when in bear country. My only concern is in a tense moment, of which I had one yesterday in the field, if a weapon were drawn or just flashed for intimidation, things can get out of hand real quick. Had a openly packing landowner with a loose screw or two tell me someone will get shot if we touch any of his trees, which of course, were in the section line easement I was staking for clearing.
I've lived in AZ about 10 yrs. At first I was taken aback a few times. Once at the grocery store, where this young man (kinda tatted out) was pushing his baby in the cart, while his 3 yr old tagged along. He was carrying some kind of holstered semi-auto . I was just thinking WTF.
Now I don't think anything of it. See it all over, from shops, gas stations, restaurants, some bars, even the county building. It even includes sheathed knives that approach machete size. The people range from younger to old timers. Never heard of a problem. I carry my Tauras 410 when in open desert (snakes), some iffy areas (druggies & dogs), or lion country.
I find it kind of odd that people can carry in a bar, unless the bar posts at the door and the bar - "No Weapons Allowed".
Last year AZ passed a CCW law. You can carry concealed without a permit, but there are lots of rules you better obey. Such as zero tolerance for alcohol, no schools, churches, posted areas, no outstanding warrants, etc. All sensible stuff, in a sense. I believe MI passed a similar law last year as well.
I've read the news stories about this study, but did not take the time yet to read the actual study published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.
The summary of the study is that more guns do not necessarily mean more violent crimes. I am curious now if it covers the method which the citizens are allowed to carry across the world.
Personally I think it is a better public policy to allow concealed carry without a permit. The more wide spread that happens, the larger affect it will have on people that do not own or carry. Basically keep the scum guessing if they will be successful in their attempt to victimize someone or simply dead. Seems like a pretty strong deterrent to me?
Tennessee allows open carry with a Handgun Carry Permit but law enforcement is happier if you keep it concealed.
I can tell you if I open carry in Illinois, I'll be wearing handcuffs in a short time. They just passed carry laws for Illinois and they were forced to do so by a court order. They have until the beginning of next year to implement the law, and I'm sure they will drag there feet when the time comes. I personally wouldn't be comfortable carrying open in public unless it was a very rural area.
In Virginia you can open carry into a bar as long as you are not drinking. The second you order a drink you have committed a felony. Can not be in possession of alcohol and a firearm at the same time.
In Calif. it WAS legal to open carry if the gun was unloaded (a lot of good that would do).
A group of people associating themselves with opencarry.org made it a habit of open carrying military style rifles as well as handguns down busy metro streets. You can imagine how that turns out.
This directly caused state laws to be passed prohibiting all forms of open carry in public for hand guns AS WELL as rifles. Everything has to be transported in locked containers, with ammo stored in a separate location. Carrying your rifle into the gunsmith shop in the typical padded gun case is illegal.
They have royally screwed it up for everyone.
So currently in California, you have zero 2nd amendment rights in public. I say that because concealed permits are issued at the discretion of the local sheriff. You have to prove a need for a permit and many counties simply will not issue ANY permits. So essentially you only have the right to bear arms for personal protection in your home and private property. Not to mention the cost to maintain that permit. How a constitutional right can be issued in the form of a permit boggles my mind.
"A citizen may not be required to offer a "a good and substantial reason" why he should be permitted to exercise his rights, the rights existence is all the reason he needs." - U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg - 2012
