If I feared my home could be invaded by what Mark McCloskey said was an “out-of-control mob,” I’d be inside, crouched under a window. The couple argued that the protesters were trespassing on their private lane, which was true but not an excuse for brandishing firearms. A St. Louis grand jury charged the McCloskeys with unlawful use of a weapon, a felony.
This goes beyond the usual debate over gun control. I believe that sane gun laws would allow ownership of weapons for sport or self-defense, with some exceptions, and assuming the owner is of sound mind and clean criminal record. This isn’t about that.
It’s about changing laws that let people menace bystanders with a deadly weapon. No two ways about it. A firearm conspicuously displayed on the street is a threat — including to law enforcement officers, who are sometimes the targets. Open-carry laws seem, frankly, insane.
– Froma Harrop in Why Do We Let People Brandish Guns In Public?