Quote:Open-carry picnic full of pistols, burgers and talk
A picnic brought people together who like to openly carry their weapons.

By TERESA ANN BOECKEL
Daily Record/Sunday News

York, PA - Elizabeth Parson of Windsor Township bought a handgun for her husband, James, one Christmas because he hadn't owned a handgun in years.

He asked if she wanted to go to the range. She agreed.

Parson said she was scared to death the first few times, but the more her husband taught her and the more she learned about the weapon, the more comfortable she became.

"And I was also just a really good shot," she said. "Which was helpful, because if you're good at something, you want to do it."

Parson, who now owns a handgun herself, and her husband joined other gun enthusiasts wearing their weapons in plain view during an open-carry picnic Saturday at Glen Rock Park.

Pennsylvania law allows people carry a firearm in plain sight. The participants at the picnic had chatted through an online forum.

"It's a right we have and if we don't use it, it'll end up getting taken away," said James Jackson of Shrewsbury Township.

Some who openly carry a gun also have a permit to carry it concealed.

Supporters say they like openly carrying a gun for protection of loved ones, and it's a deterrent to people thinking of committing a crime.

Elizabeth and James Parson recalled the story of Suzanna Gratia Hupp, whose parents were gunned down in a 1991 massacre at a restaurant in Texas.

Hupp -- who had a permit to carry a concealed weapon -- had left her gun in the car that day because state law at the time prohibited her from taking it inside, James Parson said.

Perhaps if Hupp would have been carrying the gun, she would have been able to stop the massacre, Elizabeth Parson said. Hupp, a gun-rights advocate, later became a Texas House of Representative member.

"This is a right that we have, and I'm going to exercise that right," Elizabeth Parson said.

Opponents, such as Jeff Snyder of East Manchester Township, believe in the Second Amendment but do not agree with openly carrying a weapon.

Pennsylvania allows people to carry concealed weapons with a permit, he said.

"If a person openly carries, they're just asking for trouble," he said.

Openly carrying a weapon makes some people nervous, Snyder said. They don't know what the gun owner's motives are.

"The last thing I want is anyone to fear me," he said.

In addition, someone could try to steal the gun from the owner.

Matt Dubois of York Township, who openly carries a handgun, said it's a concern, but he tries to keep an awareness about him so he can anticipate problems.

"If someone's brazen enough to try and do that, they're going to try and harm me regardless of whether I'm carrying a gun or not," he said.

Dubois said he prefers to open carry because it's more comfortable, and it's easier to get to the weapon if he needs it.

He also thinks it's more of a polite way to carry it.

"Back in the day, the gentlemen wore it on the outside, and it was the scoundrels who concealed it," he said.

Online

To learn more about open-carry laws, visit http://www.PAOpenCarry.org.