N830MH

What happened on this Sunday? Did She something wrong? She can't bring a gun in the public areas. They were escorted the families out of airport. She wait for her husband who arrived at Sky Harbor around 4:30pm.

You can't bring a gun at airport. Don't do it! You will be arrested or face some jail time.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region...-at-sky-harbor

Luckily, there is no arrested has made.

edweird

Arizona is one of a couple states that allow for open carry, legally.

Luck wasn't the reason there were no arrests, no law was broken.

TheOneTheOnly

Well, to the police's credit, they were escorted out AFTER their business was complete, they weren't removed. Frankly, I don't care how much the police watch someone, but the second they step in and start interfering, is the second they've gone too far.

TheRoadie

We used to able to open carry in CA also, but alas....not anymore.

But the second order effect is that if a bad guy *did* appear, you have now jumped to the top of his target queue, to take out first. Or maybe the guy was thinking one step ahead, knowing the police would congregate around him, and then *they* would jump to the top of the target queue and keep him safe or deter the bad guy from even starting a firefight.

But deranged nutjobs have even tried to hold up gun stores in the past, so there's no counting on rationality to stay safe. Must be the naturally minuscule level of deranged nutjobs that really keeps us safe.

chollie

Couple thoughts on this.

I know it's legal to open carry in AZ, but I honestly never gave much thought to age. I wonder if there is an age limit. Plenty of kids are introduced to firearms from a very early age, but I've never seen or heard of one carrying in an urban setting.

That said, I wonder if the police would have handled this any differently if the dad hadn't been accompanied by a boy who was also carrying. Sounds like the dad knew exactly what was legal, plenty of witnesses, possibly even cameras (although that doesn't always deter an aggressive, even illegal, police reaction). It definitely had the potential to get very ugly if the police started trying to provoke something for no reason. I wonder if the police checked in with higher-ups and were told to avoid confrontation at all costs.

desmando

I bring a gun to the airport everytime I go. And in most states it is perfectly legal to carry a loaded firearm in the public areas of an airport.

N830MH

I understand that, but you can't bring a gun at security checkpoint. You could be arrested or face some jail time. You have placed them into checked bag. You don't want to get into trouble from TSA & LEO. You can't show a gun in the public areas or if you want to leave a gun in the car.

ND Sol

Yes, you can "show a gun in the public areas" at PHX. Yes, you can "bring a gun at airport" and yes you can "bring a gun in the public areas". No, if you follow the law, you shouldn't "be arrested or face some jail time". And it was not a woman, it was her husband and son that were carrying landside at PHX.

Caradoc

Why? Open carry is perfectly legal in AZ, despite what the hoplophobes would have us believe.

gsoltso

North Carolina is an open carry state as well, but if someone were to wear a western rig on their hip in downtown Greensboro, I can almost guarantee that unconstitutional harrassment would ensue. It is becoming the norm for those that are scared of people with firearms to be able to exert pressure on those that legally carry firearms. If there is no law preventing the individual from carrying openly in the public side of the airport, then what the heck was the story? By definition, this is a non-story - "A man walked into PHX this afternoon and followed all local laws and was monitored by police to ensure that nothing untoward happened"... Sheesh, must have been a slow day in Phoenix.

Savvy Traveler

Absolutely correct. Here in Oregon the Port of Portland once tried to shut down concealed handgun license (CHL) holders from carrying in the public area of the airport, and the state legislature slapped them down.

Note that gun laws vary significantly between states. Don't try this in California or New York, for instance.

chollie

Seems to me that it was the LEs who made it into a 'story'.

Why was it necessary for 6 cops to question him, stand 10 feet away and monitor him until his wife arrived, and then escort him out of the terminal? He was doing nothing illegal by carrying and no one suggested he was behaving in a strange or threatening manner.

It was a show of force, designed to intimidate him and impress the onlookers. All it proves to me is how easy it would be for someone engaged in perfectly legal activity to divert the attention of 6 cops for an extended period of time while something else that is illegal and possibly dangerous is actually taking place. That's the real story here.

Seriously. If this is an appropriate response, what would the cops do if half a dozen unrelated pax ever showed up at baggage claim at the same time while carrying?

gsoltso

That is a fairly shrewd observation. It should have been a no problem situation. There may have been some calls into the local LEOs that instigated this, but it should have been an observe and report only (IMHO). If the law allows open carry, then there is no reason to interact past a "hello" or "how are you", maybe a casual conversation in a friendly fashion - even then, it should only be in passing, not a targeted situation. In the absence of malice or threatening behavior, there is no requirement for interaction past observation (and even that is not required unless there is an indication of threatening behavior).

Caradoc

Interesting commentary, moreso given the typical reaction of the TSA to a *camera*, not a gun.

gsoltso

I have never confronted anyone with a camera in our checkpoints, quite the contrary, I have even talked to folks asking questions on camera before. The rules are quite clear on photography, and anyone that acts/speaks/writes anything to the contrary is wrong. I have also spoken out in many public forums indicating that the posted rules are quite clear and anyone for TSA that goes against those rules is wrong.

Back to the thread - I don't understand the problem with carrying firearms (especially openly) in public. It has long been an accepted practice in many locations and not that terribly long ago almost anywhere in this country. This should have been a non-story, and I am uncertain as to how it became a story (the root reason, not the way it actually came to press). If the law is as clear as the one I have seen for this location, then what was the problem, what created this being a big deal?