Bryan Hull will soon strap his Smith & Wesson .357
Magnum revolver to his hip and meet his armed friends at Beverly's
Pancake House here. They have no interest in the cash register. They
just want a late-night breakfast.
A new law takes
effect on Thursday in Oklahoma - anyone licensed to carry a concealed
firearm can choose to carry a weapon out in the open, in a belt or
shoulder holster, loaded or unloaded. Five minutes after midnight
Thursday, Mr. Hull and his friends - supporters of the Oklahoma Open
Carry Association, a gun rights group - will mark the occasion by
wearing their unconcealed handguns while dining at Beverly's, a 24-hour
restaurant.
"It's just a peaceful assembly," said Mr.
Hull, 44, the association's co-director. "We're all licensed by the
state to carry. We've all been trained and vetted. Why wouldn't somebody
want to have that kind of a group do business with them in their
establishment?"
In a state with 142,000 men and women
licensed to carry concealed weapons, the scene at Beverly's will most
likely become commonplace as Oklahomans take advantage of the law by
displaying their handguns while they shop for groceries, eat at
restaurants and walk into banks.
Advocates for gun
rights said the ability to "open carry" would deter crime and eliminate
the risks of a wardrobe mishap, such as when someone carrying a
concealed weapon breaks the law by accidentally exposing the firearm.
But the new law is a symbolic as well as practical victory. Supporters
said there was no better advertisement for the Second Amendment than to
have thousands of responsible adults openly carrying their weapons in a
highly visible fashion.
"This enhances Oklahomans'
ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights," said the Republican
state senator who wrote Senate Bill 1733, Anthony Sykes. "I think the
evidence is clear that gun owners are some of the most responsible
people, and they've shown that in not just Oklahoma, where we've had
conceal carry for quite some time and there's never been an incident,
but in these other states as well."
More @ NYT
Why would you carry an unloaded gun?
ReplyDeleteGood question. That was the only option they had in CA before, but I think they rescinded it.
DeleteWhen people ask if my carry gun is loaded I usually respond by saying it wouldn't be of much use if it weren't.
ReplyDeletePrecisely, unless you have a 1911, then you could use it for a hammer.:)
DeleteAhhh..... so the 1911 is a duel purpose handgun! Shot em" , or beat em' into submission! :-)
ReplyDeleteI've discovered that typing wuth one eye closed, and the other half open does not lend itself well to correcting typos!
DeleteHeh! That's why my SF VN friend says he sticks with the 1911.:)
Deletesigh....never happen here in occupied Illinois, guess I gotta keep breaking the law......
ReplyDeleteI have a friend in Southern Illinois who should be moving South in the near future.
Delete