Open Carry Gun event held over the weekend

Carlsbad- A group of North County residents set out with their unloaded guns Saturday morning, to educate the public about their 2nd Amendment rights. Most Californians’ don’t realize it is legal to carry an unloaded gun in public.

Ammunition can also be carried, but it must be in a position from which it cannot be readily fired. Most open carriers just carry a loaded magazine in a separate pouch on their belts.

The group of North County Patriots walked the Village Faire area of Carlsbad handing out informational flyers. “We made lots of new friends and no one called the police or freaked out,” says Jeff Schwilk who helped organize this “open carry” and also heads the San Diego Minutemen group which lobbies for secure borders and Constitutional rights.

The groups also notified local police as to their presence and were greeted by local businesses who welcomed the patronage as well as the educational aspect of the 2nd Amendment right to own and bear arms. This North County group is an offshoot of the San Diego Open Carry Group which was recently featured in the San Diego Reader. www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/jul/15/cover/

With continued support on this issue, the group plans to hold open carry events in North County in order to get the word out and promote safe and responsible gun ownership.

Some cities such as Oceanside have apparent illegal city ordinances prohibiting open carry. Oceanside’s ordinance violates citizens’ 2nd Amendment right to carry a firearm in self-defense and is being challenged in the courts.

Citizens are also prohibited from open carrying within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school.

For more stories; www.examiner.com/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner