Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Mississippi Yawning: One Year Later, Dire Open Carry Predictions Prove False

Friday, August 22, 2014

It’s long been a predictable pattern. A state or locality relaxes its restrictions on carrying firearms and doesn’t devolve into the anarchy gun opponents predicted. The latest example comes from Mississippi, where last year a change in the law, and a Mississippi Supreme Court ruling, ensured that law-abiding residents could exercise their right to carry openly without a permit. According to a report in Mississippi’s Clarion-Ledger, after a year of lawful open carry, not much has changed.

In 2013, Mississippi enacted House Bill 2, which amended the state’s definition of a concealed firearm. Previously, a person could have been in violation of the law for carrying a gun in a manner in which any portion of the firearm was obstructed from view, such as when it was in a holster. Prior to HB 2’s enactment, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office had also opined that the state’s concealed carry permit only offered protection for the carrying of firearms if the firearm remained completely out of sight.

The 2013 law makes clear that with regard to the state’s prohibition on concealed carry:

"concealed" means hidden or obscured from common observation and shall not include… a loaded or unloaded pistol carried upon the person in a sheath, belt holster or shoulder holster that is wholly or partially visible, or carried upon the person in a scabbard or case for carrying the weapon that is wholly or partially visible.

Subsequently, gun control activists filed a motion to stop the law from going into effect, and succeeded in getting a Circuit Court judge to temporarily halt enactment of the law. The case made its way to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which dismissed the petition and unanimously backed the new law.

Anti-gun advocates argued “Allowing the open carrying of deadly weapons could cause the escalation of disagreements between citizens and could lead to increased incidents of violence with deadly weapons in the State of Mississippi.” The document also speculated, “When firearms are openly carried by untrained individuals, it is less likely that these individuals will properly retain control of their weapons. Therefore, others are able to easily disarm carriers in order to use the weapon against innocent bystanders.” 

Clarion-Ledger writer Geoff Pender notes just how wrong these predictions were. Pender’s piece cites the legislation’s author, Rep. Andy, Braxton as stating, “A year later, we don’t have the wild, wild West.” Director of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police Ken Winter, who Pender explains had reservations about the bill, is also quoted on the topic. Winters stated, “It's kind of been a non-issue.”

Mississippi joins a continually growing list of jurisdictions that have chosen to better respect the right to carry, and failed to suffer the negative consequences predicted by gun controllers. Each time anti-gun advocates are proven wrong, the efficacy of NRA’s position becomes clearer. Legislators and other public officials should place their trust in their constituents’ ability to exercise their rights responsibly, rather gun control advocates’ unfounded fear-mongering.

TRENDING NOW
Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

News  

Monday, September 16, 2024

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

During the September 10 presidential debate, President Donald Trump correctly highlighted Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s support for gun confiscation. A visibly defensive Harris claimed, “We're not taking anybody's guns away. So stop with the ...

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

News  

Monday, July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

Since President Joe Biden unceremoniously dropped out, or was forced out, of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has been effectively coronated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Florida: Vote "YES" on Amendment 2 - Protect the Right to Fish & Hunt

Monday, October 21, 2024

Florida: Vote "YES" on Amendment 2 - Protect the Right to Fish & Hunt

The upcoming 2024 General Election puts forth a proposal to Florida voters on the ballot to amend the State Constitution to affirm and protect Floridians' Right to Fish and Hunt. Amendment 2 states:

Kamala Harris’s 2020 Running Mate Calls Trump Supporters “Garbage”

News  

Monday, November 4, 2024

Kamala Harris’s 2020 Running Mate Calls Trump Supporters “Garbage”

America hasn’t heard much from Joe Biden recently. You remember … Joe Biden?

NRA Files Official Protest to Bears Ears Shooting Closure

News  

Monday, November 4, 2024

NRA Files Official Protest to Bears Ears Shooting Closure

On Friday, NRA-ILA and other sportsmen’s groups filed a formal protest against the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to close recreational shooting access to 1.3 million acres in the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

News  

Monday, July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

Since President Joe Biden unceremoniously dropped out, or was forced out, of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has been effectively coronated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Kamala’s Big Problem: She’s Already Shown Us Who She Is

News  

Monday, October 28, 2024

Kamala’s Big Problem: She’s Already Shown Us Who She Is

At a town hall event on October 21 in Royal Oak, Michigan, Democrat presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was asked how she would make “impactful and immediate progress around gun violence” if she was ...

The Choice is Clear: OPPOSE Kamala Harris and Her Extreme Anti-Gun Record

News  

Monday, November 4, 2024

The Choice is Clear: OPPOSE Kamala Harris and Her Extreme Anti-Gun Record

Kamala Harris has made it an easy choice for gun owners on November 5.

Kamala Harris’ Record on Gun Control and Second Amendment

News  

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Kamala Harris’ Record on Gun Control and Second Amendment

Vice President Kamala Harris has consistently campaigned for draconian gun control laws, which severely limit the rights of lawful gun owners.

NRA’s Political Victory Fund Endorses President Donald J. Trump

News  

Saturday, May 18, 2024

NRA’s Political Victory Fund Endorses President Donald J. Trump

Today, the National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is honored to announce its full endorsement of President Donald J. Trump for re-election to a second term as President of the United States of America. ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.