What are Law Enforcement Officials saying about Open Carry?



“I have to admit, initially I was a bit nervous about … the open carry law, but to my surprise, we have not had one single incident as it relates to open-carry.” Vicksburg, MS Police Chief Walter Armstrong, September 16, 2014

“OpenCarry.org is a national gun rights networking hub.” The Atlantic, May 10, 2011

“There’s even an organization whose raison d’etre is promotion of open carry . . . OpenCarry.org. These are the shock troops of the gun lobby. And, they are not going away.” Ceasefire NJ Director Brian Miller, NJ.com, August 20, 2009

“I don’t think legalizing open carry changes much because it’s not . . . concealed carry . . . and frankly given the choice of the two, open carry is probably less dangerous because we know what we’re dealing with.” Overland Park, KS Police Chief John Douglass, September 24, 2012

“In fact, a surprising number of states even allow open carry of handguns without a license. Contrary to the concerns of some opponents of open carry, such measures have not led to wild-West shootouts or other serious consequences.” Tulsa World Editorial Board, February 25, 2012

“Gang members aren’t known to open carry.” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Phelps, San Bernadino Sun, September 6, 2010

“We don’t suggest that people panic, because there hasn’t been a problem with open-carry demonstrations in other cities.” Palo Alto, CA police Lt. Sandra Brown, Mercury News, March 5, 2010

“The anti-gun rights lobby’s furor over the presence of guns near the president . . . is an attempt to somehow reverse the normalization of guns.” Professor Brandon Denning, Cumberland School of Law (Birmingham, AL), Christian Science Monitor, August 8, 2009