What is the value of open carry?

Mark Hughes was spotted walking around the protest in Dallas Thursday night with a long rifle. When shots rang out, guess who witnesses immediately remembered? Mark Hughes. In this case, KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney says open carry might have had the opposite effect than its intentions.

Tom and John Curley discuss (edited for clarity):

Curley: Let me just sort of put this into perspective for you. Open carry handguns became legal in Texas so you could carry handguns. You could also carry long rifles. You can just walk around with these things. Fellow gun owners, why do you go to a protest with a rifle? This guy has on camouflage, the long rifle over his shoulder, and here he is walking around the march. He doesn’t expect a bunch of shooters to be shooting at police officers.

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Tom: A number of people took pictures of him (Mark Hughes). He’s  shown smiling and in the crowd of dozens of people. It’s a striking image when all of the sudden you realize there are snipers taking shots at people. You recall that guy with a rifle. The police release the man’s photo with the word ‘suspect’ under it. When he realized his face was plastered all over the place, he immediately flagged down a police officer and said ‘I’m the guy, here’s the gun, and I have nothing to do with this.’ He was eventually cleared.

“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it,” Mark told a Dallas news station. “We received a phone call that my face was on there as a suspect, and immediately I flagged down a police officer.”

Curley: I think it’s a symptom of the social media world. We’ve seen big breaking news happen and people begin tweeting things. You’re always very skeptical. Now apparently the Dallas Police Department feels it can take something and run with it – like a brush fire. This guy, who legally has the right to carry, now is a suspect.

Tom: Later, in the television coverage last night, I heard someone from Dallas police say he wasn’t a suspect but a person of interest. Already, that’s a mistake. They’ve already gone one step too far because he was already identified in a tweet as a suspect. Someone could have easily taken the law into their own hands.

Curley: Especially if you had other people open carrying in Dallas.

Tom: It seems like open carry is more trouble than it’s worth. What is the value? This guy is in the middle of a march and a shooting breaks out. The idea of open carry is he could have helped to shoot down the sniper.

Curley: The people in Texas voted to let a responsible person have a gun where everybody can see it.

Tom: But if that guy was walking through a mall with a long rifle, wouldn’t you be a little unnerved?

Curley: No, because apparently, I’m more unnerved by the guy who has the gun jammed down the back of his pants. That guy seems to be more dangerous because he legally shouldn’t have a gun. He has the gun and is working outside the law. The guy, the law-abiding citizen, is carrying it around…

Tom: If you’re in a mall shopping and someone enters with a rifle, the first thing I’d do is head to the exit. I wouldn’t trust him. I just don’t understand the value of open carry.

Curley: That’s you bringing your own personal bias to the stories. (laughing) Tom, we’re news men.

SK