AL:Rep Holmes of Alabama Seeks Repeal of Law that Clarifies Open Carry Rights

Poster by Oleg Volk

Armed citizens a "bad example" for kids?  Open carry promoting violence?  Open carry of weapons has been legal in Alabama for hundreds of years, but some police officers and judges have used the disorderly conduct statute to disarm those who they wished to discriminate against.  Given the history of black codes, and the Klan, this discrimination was practiced mostly against black people.

Openly carried guns tend to put a damper on criminal attacks.  That is one  of the reasons that police openly carry guns.  An openly carried gun loudly proclaims to observers:  "I am not a criminal!  I am a citizen, and I have rights!"  Convicted criminals are not allowed to possess guns, and openly carrying one is an invitation to arrest and incarceration for someone who is legally forbidden from possessing a gun.  From blog.al.com:

A Montgomery legislator is seeking to repeal Alabama’s new gun law saying that the law encourages violence by encouraging people to openly carry firearms. 

“We already have too much violence that is taking place particularly in the black community,” Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, said. 

"Somebody walking around with a .38 on their side like Roy Rogers, it doesn’t look right. It’s a bad example for the kids. We don't need to make it convenient for people to openly carry weapons like that," Holmes said. 

Holmes last week pre-filed a bill to repeal the sweeping NRA-backed gun legislation approved by lawmakers in the last session. However, Holmes’ bill faces steep odds of winning approval in the GOP-majority Alabama Legislature.

The story has drawn hundreds of comments, quite a number pointing out that Representative Holmes does not know what he is talking about.  There are the usual emotive outbursts claiming that guns are bad, the NRA is evil, along with the repeatedly disproven "blood in the streets" hyperbole.

Representative Holms may be the most honest with his claim that people carrying guns "doesn't look right" and is a "bad example for kids".  It is clear that Holmes, who has a concealed carry license, wants to be sure that only people that he approves of have guns, and that it is "bad" for children to have clear examples of responsible people who can protect themselves.

It is good that the Alabama legislature had the sense to stop the police abuse of the disorderly conduct statute.

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