The San Mateo County Sheriff’s office has released a statement warning against the burgeoning Open Carry movement in the Bay Area, as gun owners exercise constitutional and lawful rights in California to carry unloaded weapons in plain sight. Several demonstrations of Open Carry have occurred, most recently in Livermore, January 2, 2010.
The next Bay Area Open Carry Meetup will take place in Walnut Creek at the California Pizza Kitchen on February 6, from 11am – 1pm. For more information visit California Open Carry, or the Bay Area Open Carry page at Facebook.
See the statement from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office below. It warns of the potential dangers of carrying weapons while citing current law, and police procedures for inspection of weapons. The Sheriff stressed the problem faced by law enforcement responders to reports of people with guns; that those citizens must be approached with caution simply as matter of public safety whether or not it is a responsible citizen or a criminal.
San Mateo County Warns Against Open Carry
Coverage of Open Carry Demo in Livermore Jan 2
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
The bad guys don’t generally walk around with them on a belt holster for the whole world to see.
And the good guys leave the guns in the holsters (unless the bad guys do something bad)
Think about it: why don’t people freak out at the cops openly carrying guns? There are good cops and bad cops, and you can’t tell the good ones from the bad or nutty ones…
“A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity.” — Sigmund Freud
But baseless accusations of insecurity aside, where do you live Joe? I don’t know about you, but the area I live in is getting worse. Plus, with all the CA budget shenanigans, the police are more understaffed and underfunded than ever.
We would much rather get a concealed carry permit, but for some reason, the same police who are unable to protect us are unwilling to let us protect ourselves. So we do the only legal thing we can do: unloaded open carry.
It’s pathetic to see so many grown men who are so insecure that they need to carry a gun around. Considering that violent crime is way down from a decade ago, and the probability of any of us being involved in a violent situation is extemely low, it appears this is more in the realm of low self esteem and general need to be noticed. Pathetic.
The verbal bullets are flying on this subject already. Put them away gentleman!
Of course, I’m referring to your unloaded guns.
chris daly cit –
unless you are seeking lead ventilation, i would highly discourage you from drawing your weapon on an officer….and people with attitudes likes yours are the reason the open carry movement is frowned upon by most citizens….
To Daly Cit, great, that’s all we need, another armed asshole with attitude. Grow up. You go lookin for trouble, you’ll find it.
CCR, I understand that some people may feel uncomfortable, or find it disturbing to be around, or in the presence of firearms and that’s fine, but I do not see how a firearm, or openly carrying a firearm in a holster would disturb the peace. Maybe you can explain that for me?
If the firearm is being used in a threatening, or irresponsible manner, of course, I could see how that would disturb the peace. This is not the case, however when an individual is carrying a firearm on their person, openly in a holster.
It is possible for some people to have a negative knee-jerk type reaction when coming in contact with another individual possessing a firearm, however I believe that the quote below from Thomas Jefferson applies…
“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniencies attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.”
The San Mateo County Sheriff, and all other law enforcement agencies should instruct their Dispatch personnel to ask relevant questions of the reporting party when receiving a 911 call about a man with a gun, so that way law enforcement officers know what kind of situation they are responding to on the street. This would be the commonsense way to help determine if they’re dealing with a good guy or a bad guy.
For example:
Dispatch asks the Reporting Party – Is the person in possession of the firearm making any threatening actions?
What exactly is the person doing?
Does the person appear to be intoxicated?
Is the person brandishing the firearm?
If the reporting party states that the man with the firearm is sitting on a bench giving an interview with the news media (as in my situation), Dispatch personnel, after sending the info to officers, should help to educate the reporting party by informing them that individuals can legally open carry a firearm in a holster while in public and the officers on the street should respond accordingly to the situation.
With nationalized healthcare we could get fined or refused coverage for owning guns and their health impact on the community.
I will defend myself. Go ahead pull your pistol you pigs, I have a right to defend myself!
Any cop shoots at me, I will defend myself. I take this comment as a threat. The police also have to obey the laws. And that means not harrassing people. If they pull their weapon, I will pull mine!
Come on Walter! Can’t you understand how openly carrying a gun could disturb the peace even if it’s legal? You can’t tell the good guys from the bad or nutty guys.
San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks is against open carry in California, but all for hookers in Vegas!
See here: http://bit.ly/7ByAzr