open carry states

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Don't Be Surprised If You See Folks Packing Heat at Publix

Supermarket chain allows open carry in its Florida stores after recent appeals court ruling

(Newser) - Publix shoppers may soon spot more than just bargains in the aisles. The supermarket giant has announced it will allow customers to openly carry firearms inside its Florida stores, following a recent appeals court ruling that overturned the state's ban on open carry, reports CBS News . The policy shift...

In Texas, No Open-Carry License? No Problem

Law enforcement, others warn of safety concerns as new law goes into effect

(Newser) - As of Tuesday, Texans needed to complete training, a written exam, a proficiency test, and obtain a license to openly carry a handgun in public. As of Wednesday, they needn't do any of that. Texans aged 21 and older who are not prohibited from possessing a handgun can carry...

Armed Activists Take Black Lawmaker to Work

Rep. Sarah Anthony says she 'was pleased to receive the type of support'

(Newser) - Talk about an escort: Armed black activists walked a black lawmaker to work Wednesday in Michigan, the Guardian reports. Rep. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) was accompanied by six people—some of them armed, one Hispanic—on her trip to the state Capitol building. "Being a black and brown female Democrat...

Kroger: No More Open Carry in Our Stores
Kroger Makes a
Big Change on Guns
Sep 4, 2019 10:24 AM CDT

Kroger Makes a Big Change on Guns

Grocery chain doesn't want customers openly carrying in its stores anymore

(Newser) - On the same day Walmart made its big change regarding guns , Kroger made its own move: The grocery store chain no longer wants to be a place where "open carry" is OK. "Kroger is respectfully asking that customers no longer openly carry firearms into our stores, other than...

Starting Friday, Texans Can Carry Their Swords in the Open

But not everywhere, per new 'location-restricted' law on long blades

(Newser) - A new open-carry law goes into effect in Texas on Friday—but it has nothing to do with firearms. The San Angelo Standard-Times reports on the throwing knives, spears, daggers, swords, and other blades longer than 5.5 inches that will now be permitted in many places, thanks to a...

Shooter's Neighbor Called 911, Was Told Open Carry Is Legal

'That guy I just called you about, he just shot somebody'

(Newser) - Before Noah Harpham opened fire Saturday in Colorado Springs— killing three people seemingly at random—his neighbor called 911 to report him wandering around outside with a rifle, the Denver Post reports. "He did have a distraught look on his face," that neighbor, Naomi Bettis, tells the Post....

Judge: Elementary School Can't Ban Armed Dad

Ruling is a big win for Michigan Open Carry

(Newser) - If Michigan man Kenneth Herman wants to wear a pistol on his hip when he picks his daughter up from elementary school, the school has no right to keep him out, a judge ruled this week. The judge sided with Herman and the Michigan Open Carry group, ruling that since...

Texas Poised to Allow Open Carry of Handguns

Party-line vote heads for governor, who says he'll sign it

(Newser) - Texas lawmakers on Friday approved carrying handguns openly on the streets of the nation's second most-populous state, sending the bill to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who immediately promised to sign it and reverse a ban dating to the post-Civil War era. Gun owners would still have to get a...

Chatty Smoker Steals Gun From Open-Carry Guy

Oregon man robbed of his new Walter pistol, police say

(Newser) - A man openly touting his brand-new handgun in Oregon—an open-carry state—had the weapon stolen from him at gunpoint at about 2:30am Saturday, the Oregonian reports via Mediaite . Police say William Coleman, 21, was hanging with his cousin on a street in Gresham when a young man walked...

Chipotle to Customers: Leave Your Guns at Home

Open-carry group spurs change in policy

(Newser) - Chipotle customers, even in open-carry states, are now going to have to eat their burritos unarmed. The chain decided to ban guns after a group of people from an open-carry demonstration turned up in a Texas branch toting weapons including military-style assault rifles, the Los Angeles Times reports. The group...

Starbucks: You Can Bring Your Guns, But Please Don't

CEO 'respectfully requests' customers stop promoting stores as pro-gun

(Newser) - With another mass shooting about to inevitably shove gun control back into the national conversation , Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is begging you: Please, leave Starbucks out of it. "I am writing today with a respectful request that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores," Schultz writes in...

Gun Foes Plan 'Skip Starbucks' Day

Coffee shop allows openly carried weapons

(Newser) - A group of gun control activists are urging supporters to forgo their Starbucks fix on Saturday, in protest of a company policy allowing customers to carry loaded guns inside the chain's coffee shops. "Skip Starbucks Saturday" comes less than two weeks after gun rights advocates held "Starbucks...

Gun Rights Debate Shifts to California

Bill on governor's desk would make it illegal to openly carry firearms

(Newser) - The gun-control debate faces a California test: A bill on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk would make it illegal for residents to openly carry a gun. If Brown signs it, California would be the first state since 1987 to ban the practice, notes the Los Angeles Times . Brown is a...

Downside to Pistol-Packing: Man Shoots Own Penis

Gun tucked into his waistband accidentally discharges

(Newser) - Here's one more argument for stricter gun control: A pistol-packer can shoot his own penis. A Phoenix shopper found that out the extremely painful way when he tucked his girlfriend's pink pistol into his waistband and it accidentally discharged in a grocery store parking lot—sending a bullet...

Militia Groups Hold Armed Protest on Potomac

Obama signed law that allowed it

(Newser) - A number of militia groups intend to rally on the banks of the Potomac River today, and they'll be packing heat. It'll be the first armed rally ever held in a national park, which ironically is only possible because of a law signed by Barack Obama. But that doesn't hold...

Daily Show Links Pistol-Packers to Gays

'Displays of public protection' rile 'hate groups'

(Newser) - In a particularly deft political comic routine, the Daily Show compares the gun-lovers of the "open carry" movement to those they're not likely to embrace—gays fighting for their rights. "We want gun lovers to come out of the closet," says pistol-packing John Pierce, playing right into...

Starbucks Caught in Gun-Control Crosshairs

And it desperately wants out

(Newser) - Starbucks doesn’t want to be part of the gun control debate, but lately it seems to be something of a bullseye. After the coffee chain refused to ban guns in its stores, both Brady Campaign protesters and those packing heat have been demonstrating at Seattle-area Starbucks, the Post-Intelligencer reports....

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