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“A right unexercised is a right lost.”
This is the message many open carriers—gun rights activists who holster their arms visibly—are attempting to get across.
Across the country these groups have been rallying. Last August in Phoenix, Arizona approximately a dozen protesters openly carrying firearms stood outside a convention center where President Barack Obama was speaking. On April 19, a crowd of open-carrying activists marched as close to Washington D.C. as they could get to exercise their right to carry.
In recent months there has also been an increase of open-carrying rallies throughout the Bay Area. In January open carriers met at a Starbucks in Antioch to discuss their Second Amendment rights. In Febuary a group of open carriers organized a beach cleanup event on the city’s Baker Beach to educate the public about gun rights and regulations.
These demonstrations put on by open carriers are not only ineffective, but are also intimidating and pose a danger to the public.
California law allows for citizens to bear arms openly without permit as long as they are unloaded, holstered and fully visible. But they may not openly carry in areas where federal or state law restricts firearms, such as schools, California state parks or government offices. Those who open carry are allowed to carry ammunition, but it must be kept separate from the gun.
Most open-carry groups visibly display their guns in the name of safety. They feel that if more law-abiding citizens were to carry guns openly, a reduction crime would soon follow. But this ignores several factors that make open carrying even more dangerous.
One of the most disturbing aspects of open-carrying is the fact that bystanders do not know whether an open-carrier has harmful intentions. This further endangers the public to the sudden impulses of open carriers; especially those who are short tempered or intoxicated. Last month in San Bruno, California, open-carrier Christian Gonzales was arrested not because he had a gun, but because he was intoxicated. If police had not arrested Gonzales, his intoxication could have resulted in harm or possibly harm to others. Public safety is further endangered when open-carriers who are not experienced with loading, aiming or shooting a gun decide to take action.
Guns are intimidating. Young children and concerned parents should not be exposed to groups of people carrying guns and meeting up at family friendly places such as the zoo or at the local coffee shop. These families should have the right to enjoy public establishments without worrying about the alarming presence of a gun.
Open carrying deals with the risk of accidental discharge¬¬¬, an accident that could have deadly consequences. On April 9, a man was arrested for accidentally discharging a holstered firearm in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2002, the National Vital Statistics Report reported that 776 people died from the accidental discharge of firearms.
In January, California Pizza Kitchen and Pete’s Coffee and Tea chains approved policies banning open carrying at their locations. The policies are appropriate because if open-carriers are going to exercise their rights, the venues they target should use theirs as well: the right to refuse service to anybody. Because such policies help keep both patrons and employees safe they should be applauded and welcomed by the public. Starbucks, on the other hand, has stated that they will allow open carriers to congregate at their coffee shops. According to an official statement Starbucks released in March, “Were we to adopt a policy different from local laws allowing open carry, we would be forced to require our partners to ask law abiding customers to leave our stores, putting our partners in an unfair and potentially unsafe position.” But if a customer is “law-abiding,” how could asking him or her to leave put an employee in a “potentially unsafe position”? Starbuck’s policies put employees and customers in “unsafe positions” by allowing open-carriers at their establishments.
Open carrying does not help preserve the right to carry arms; it may in fact hurt it. Because carrying firearms raises concerns and intimidates so many, California lawmaker Lori Saldaña has introduced legislation that will outlaw the open-carrying movement. If passed, new regulations would make it a misdemeanor to carry openly in California. On April 20 the bill passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee and was sent to the Appropriations Committee. This bill should be supported, as it ensures the public peace of mind, and simply because it will make for better communities.
Illustration by Karen Chin
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