Open Carry Incident at Target World

[jkroner659]

I just had my first open carry incident, at a very large gun store no less, I will try to keep this short and to the point. First off, let me say I don't open carry often due to uneducated people of authority, frankly I don't have the money to fight in court, at this point in my life so I try to avoid this by carrying concealed 97% of the time. I usually only open carry to my barber shop and to the range on occasion.

Anyway, I made plans to take my uncle shooting today, he wants to buy a gun for home protection(he had a late night intruder outside of his house recently). This is the 2nd time I took him shooting and he wants to narrow down a gun since he will probably only own 1 gun for the rest of his life(most likely imo). I was to meet him at Target World in Chalfont, PA(Montgomery County/Bucks County border). I decided to open carry today which is semi unusual for me. I decided to open carry my Beretta PX4 Storm because today was not cold enough for a jacket, and I wanted to tuck in my shirt. On the way to Target World I stopped at a gas station to pick up a pack of gum, there were no issues there, the guy did not mention anything to me, and away I went to Target World. Me and my uncle walked in, he rented a Sig 226 DA/SA(very nice gun btw, I enjoyed shooting it) 9mm.

We shot for about an hour and before we left we went upstairs to their showroom so he could look at some Sig 226 prices. As we are bending down looking at some Sigs, a employee who was behind the desk said to me "Are you a police officer?". I said "No". He then said "Unless your a cop you cannot open carry, it's illegal". At this point I was not looking for a heated discussion because I did not want to get kicked out since my uncle was busy looking at some guns to purchase. I told him "Your wrong, but I will conceal it anyway". I then walked over to look at some Beretta's, and I overheard a guy(who happens to have been an attorney who teaches instructors who teach NRA classes and shooting classes). He was talking to a different employee behind the counter. They were discussing some laws. I jumped in and said "Let me ask you guys something". "Is open carry legal in PA?" Both looked at me strangely like they never heard of such a thing. I told the employee that "Another employee just told me I had to conceal my open gun because I am not a police officer". To my dismay both argued that open carry was illegal and then went on telling me how concealed carry has it's advantages. I told them both that I am not asking for the advantages/disadvantages(which I already know), "I asked you guys if it was illegal". The one employee then said "you better have a badge and handcuffs if your going to open carry". I was absolutely shocked. Here I am in a gun store, a very prominent gunstore in my area, probably the largest, and I was being told to conceal my weapon because "it's the law".

After a little discussion with the 2 uniformed people, a customer walked by and said "He's right, open carry is legal in PA" and walked off, I suspect he is a member of PAFOA but I did not get a chance to talk to him/thank him. So then both of the guys said to me if you walk around with a open gun, you will be charged with "disturbing the peace" and have to pay a fine, I then said "There is no "disturbing the peace" statue in PA(I remembered that Steve(police officer here, sorry I can't think of his full screen name) said on here that there is no disturbing the peace statue here in PA. So anyway before I walked away, I decided I would not be able to educate these guys as much as some of you can. So before I walked away, I said to both of them "This is a gun store, you guys are supposed to be all about gun rights". Again they both something like "it's the way it is, you have to carry concealed". I then walked out in disbelief, I figured if there was anywhere I would be safe at open carrying, it would be at a gun range/store, especially one that on their website has a PAFOA link. If you ask me, this whole forum now has a duty to inform Target World on open carry, especially since they have a link to this site on their website, and they are openly telling people OC is illegal and not to do it in their store. I beleive they only told me not too since they thought it was illegal. I would be happy if Target World got some calls asking to speak with a manager/owner about open carry and inform them that their employee's are telling people who open carry there to conceal it because that's the law.

In closing I am shocked that an attorney(who has a LTCF) who teaches certified instructors did not know the law. And if he did know the law he was hiding it, because he knows police officers do not want people open carrying. I am also shocked that at a large gun store(like I said it's the largest gun store in my area) who supports PAFOA.org on their website and has a direct link to here, told me to cover my weapon up because it's the law. Maybe it's the libertarian in me, but when I see our own gun store guys here in PA telling people OC is illegal unless your a cop, I get upset, we gun owners should all be together on major gun issues when it comes to the law. I won't bow down just because police officers don't want open carry, they are in law enforcement, not opinion enforcement, they need to understand that. I would also like flyers to be sent to Lansdale police department, Upper Gwynedd police dept., New Britain Police dept, and Montgomery Township police dept. I think it's only right. This area in my mind has become very anti gun, and there are alot of anti gunners in my area, but to get this crap at a large local gun store shocked me, I am still shocked. I would like your guy's help informing Target World, and all the police dept/'s I mentioned above.

I was never a so called "Open carry guy" but I want all rights maintained, not diminished, and like I said, today I wanted to tuck my shirt in and not wear a jacket because of the weather, and I have every right to open carry a few times a year when I want to, but not according to my uniformed gun store. After being on the defensive about open carry, I understand why some of you are so gun ho about it, these people think they know the law but they are just talking out of their asses and will not listen to the truth, they do not care if they are right or wrong it seems, I am asking for your help informing my area police dept's and Target World. IMHO, Target World should not have a direct link to us on their website if they don't stand for the same gun rights this website has tried so hard to protect. Thanks for reading, I know this was a long story but I would like help informing the places above, especially Target World, they are a major gun store and do not care enough to know gun laws...and that attorney who teaches certified firearm instructors on the law absolutely blew my mind. Below is the link to Target Worlds website, where you can clearly see a PAFOA link.

www.targetworldinc.com