BB62
Accomplished Advocate
I am organizing an Open Carry/Firearm Education Walk in downtown St. Louis on October 25, 2014.
The walk will begin at the Citygarden/Gateway Mall and continue to the Gateway Arch, where pictures will no doubt be taken, then return to the Citygarden/Gateway Mall. Participants are invited to carry holstered sidearms and/or slung longarms. Lunch plans are in progress, and may well involve a box lunch.
I have contacted the City Counselor (head lawyer) for the City of St. Louis, and will post his response(s) and contact(s) when I receive them.
Under Section 23, Article 1, as amended by Amendment 5, such a walk should be considered in compliance with the law. Whether STL wants to view things that way, or fight it, I have no idea.
Some obvious questions are likely to be asked, so let me get a head start on answering them:
a) Why am I doing this? -The new law needs to be tested, I have family and friends in MO, and I'm going to be out that way then. You've got a great new tool, and it needs to be used sooner rather than later.
b) What do I know about open carry walks/open carry activism? - Ask the City of Cincinnati, Clear Channel, the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, the University of Cincinnati, the Ohio State University, and the Ohio Highway State Patrol @ the Ohio Statehouse.
c) What do I know about Missouri law? - Certainly not everything (and I could use your collective help in that respect), but enough to generally know that STL is either going to have to stand on their head to claim that such a walk is illegal and threaten participants with arrest (if they dare), or they'll capitulate.
d) Where are we going to eat? - I don't know. I could use knowledgeable help in that respect.
e) This is going to totally ruin things! Are you crazy?? - No, but I wouldn't have posted this if I didn't expect some blowback. Bring it on!
The walk will begin at the Citygarden/Gateway Mall and continue to the Gateway Arch, where pictures will no doubt be taken, then return to the Citygarden/Gateway Mall. Participants are invited to carry holstered sidearms and/or slung longarms. Lunch plans are in progress, and may well involve a box lunch.
I have contacted the City Counselor (head lawyer) for the City of St. Louis, and will post his response(s) and contact(s) when I receive them.
Under Section 23, Article 1, as amended by Amendment 5, such a walk should be considered in compliance with the law. Whether STL wants to view things that way, or fight it, I have no idea.
Some obvious questions are likely to be asked, so let me get a head start on answering them:
a) Why am I doing this? -The new law needs to be tested, I have family and friends in MO, and I'm going to be out that way then. You've got a great new tool, and it needs to be used sooner rather than later.
b) What do I know about open carry walks/open carry activism? - Ask the City of Cincinnati, Clear Channel, the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, the University of Cincinnati, the Ohio State University, and the Ohio Highway State Patrol @ the Ohio Statehouse.
c) What do I know about Missouri law? - Certainly not everything (and I could use your collective help in that respect), but enough to generally know that STL is either going to have to stand on their head to claim that such a walk is illegal and threaten participants with arrest (if they dare), or they'll capitulate.
d) Where are we going to eat? - I don't know. I could use knowledgeable help in that respect.
e) This is going to totally ruin things! Are you crazy?? - No, but I wouldn't have posted this if I didn't expect some blowback. Bring it on!
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