“I’m going to protect my children anyway I can,” Matthew Halleck tells kaaltv.com. Like millions of American parents, that means carrying a concealed weapon as he schleps his daughter to and from school. Unfortunately, Mr. Halleck missed the advice given by TTAG readers to citizens exercising their natural, civil and Constitutional right to keep and bear arms: concealed means concealed. When a homeowner across from Harriet Bishop Elementary school in Rochester, Minnesota glimpsed Halleck’s gat poking out of his pants, she decided to “out” Halleck with the sign above . . .
“Since we don’t have a way to stop him, we felt it was important to notify the neighborhood and the parents that there is an armed man in their presence,” said Kimberly Edson, a Rochester resident who put the sign up. “The first couple days of school he had it very visible, we saw it and were quite concerned,” she said.
Kimberly called the police the day the picture was taken, but they said Matthew has a legal right to carry off school property. Matthew also contacted authorities concerning the sign, and while they briefly took the sign down, it was eventually determined that Kimberly was also breaking no laws. “He has a 2nd Amendment right to carry the gun, I have my 1st Amendment right to say that I don’t like it,” said Edson.
Agreed. Halleck told KAAL-TV that he’s going to sue Edson for libel, but a quick consultation with a lawyer should disabuse him of that notion. It’s only libel if it’s not true.
Here’s another true fact: Minnesota allows open carry for permit holders. Now that Mr. Halleck’s been outed, I suggest he come out of the closet completely and wear his gun on his hip (with a retention holster). I’ll say it again: open carry is the best way to combat virulent indeed aggressive anti-gun prejudice.
As soon as Texas allows open carry, that’s the way I’m going to roll. Like Halleck, I’m gonna do it for the children. Not just to protect them from immediate harm, but also to protect their firearms freedom from those who would erode and eliminate their gun rights. [h/t BA]