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Only concealed carry in state parks?

timb30016

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Apr 24, 2012
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13
Location
Covington, GA
I was looking at the State Park website for J.P. Coleman and it said that you must conceal carry in the state park. I thought Mississippi law made no distinction between open and concealed carry. Whats the real scoop? I'm headed there tomorrow and despise concealed carry, especially in the spring and summer.

Tim Brubaker
 
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DCKilla

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Mar 5, 2010
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Wet Side, WA
I was looking at the State Park website for J.P. Coleman and it said that you must conceal carry in the state park. I thought Mississippi law made no distinction between open and concealed carry. Whats the real scoop? I'm headed there tomorrow and despise concealed carry, especially in the spring and summer.

Tim Brubaker
Here's the "scoop". "...concealed in whole or in part..." is what 97-37-1 states. Everything is concealed to those idiots.
 

timb30016

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Apr 24, 2012
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Covington, GA
Here's the "scoop". "...concealed in whole or in part..." is what 97-37-1 states. Everything is concealed to those idiots.

If a holstered weapon is "concealed" in part, what, if anything, constitutes open carry? In other words, what is the state park rule forbidding? Carrying in your hand (which would also be concealed in part I guess)? Has anyone gotten any grief carrying in a holster in a state park? This is really going to stink if I have to worry about preemption in parks.

Thanks for your help,

Tim
 
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jdholmes

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Jan 27, 2011
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Henderson, Nevada
You should be able to open carry in all state and national parks...at least from reading around here that's my understanding.

That does not include visitor building and the like, however.
 
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timb30016

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Apr 24, 2012
Messages
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Location
Covington, GA
You should be able to open carry in all state and national parks...at least from reading around here that's my understanding.

That does not include visitor building and the like, however.

Yep, I've OC'd in plenty of National Parks without problem, but I'll be at this state park for a couple of days, and their rules expressly forbid open carry and allow only concealed carry. Is that a holdover from a bygone era, or are they enforcing that today?

Surely somebody has open carried in Mississippi State Parks before. We had some issues with DNR Rangers here in Georgia a year or so ago. It was mostly a training issue, but the lack of knowledge went way up their food chain. Part of the issue was the ranger demanding to see a Georgia Weapons Carry License - can't do that here.

Thanks,

Tim
 

georg jetson

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Sep 14, 2009
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Slidell, Louisiana
Yep, I've OC'd in plenty of National Parks without problem, but I'll be at this state park for a couple of days, and their rules expressly forbid open carry and allow only concealed carry. Is that a holdover from a bygone era, or are they enforcing that today?

Surely somebody has open carried in Mississippi State Parks before. We had some issues with DNR Rangers here in Georgia a year or so ago. It was mostly a training issue, but the lack of knowledge went way up their food chain. Part of the issue was the ranger demanding to see a Georgia Weapons Carry License - can't do that here.

Thanks,

Tim

CC / OC is very confusing in MS and it doesn't seem that anyone is willing to do anything about it. If you have a CC permit then you mitigate your risks. So, if you're carrying your sidearm in a holster and they say that is OCing then you don't need the permit. If they use the "concealed in part" bs then it's concealed and you have the permit. You may be told that the weapon MUST be completely concealed, well there is of course no requirement for this.
 

timb30016

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Apr 24, 2012
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Location
Covington, GA
Well they can't stop you from open carrying as no law can even regulate OC and there is no law against it anyway. The closest that can happen is they can try and say you are concealing, but there is no requirement to conceal really well or any texas style bs.

Well I asked the manager when checking in what the deal was about prohibiting open carry in the park. After asking me if I was LEO or had a permit, he said "Well we've got all these cowboys, and if they see you carrying, then they'll all think they can carry too. He wanted me to keep it concealed so I pulled my t-shirt over it (printing badly), and he was happy as a clam. I should have told him, that the fact was, they all COULD carry as long as they are not prohibited persons, but I'd already ruffled his feathers a bit by even questioning the validity of his reasoning. He was a nice enough fellow, but clearly not aware of the constitutional right to open carry in Mississippi without a permit. I OC'd in Iuka without incident at Picante's Mexican restaurant (exellent), and Piggly Wiggly (very nice and polite young men).

Thanks for everyone's advice on this. We open carry in south Mississippi (along the coast - Gulfport, Biloxi, Waveland, etc) and all over Picayune, whenever we visit familyl.

Tim Brubaker (7 years in Arkabutla, MS, and 3 in Poplarville, MS)
Covington, GA
 

MKEgal

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Jan 8, 2010
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in front of my computer, WI
manager said:
we've got all these cowboys, and if they see you carrying, then they'll all think they can carry too.
Heaven forbid people might get the notion in their heads to exercise a Constitutionally-protected right!
:mad:

timb30016 said:
I pulled my t-shirt over it (printing badly), and he was happy as a clam.
I'd be tempted to keep a sheer hankerchief to tuck over it for just such an occasion.
"There, it's covered."
 

timb30016

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Joined
Apr 24, 2012
Messages
13
Location
Covington, GA
Of course he was as happy as a clam, you gave in to his taboo. That's the worst time to give in when it is to some bureaucrat with no real power.

Well, the last thing I wanted to do was spoil a family vacation by telling him to pound sand. I assume he would've asked me to leave the park and trespassed me if I didn't comply. After one of our guys in Georgia was railroaded up in Olive Branch a few months ago, and having no friends in LE in Tishomingo County, I just concealed my LCP in the park, and OC'd the Ruger SR40 outside of the park.

Has anyone actually defied the state park rule on "concealed carry only"? I'd like to hear what the outcome of that was.

Tim
 

timb30016

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2012
Messages
13
Location
Covington, GA
Related to this, my son-in-law and I both OC'd while hiking the outcropping trail at Tishomingo State Park on Friday. Never ran into any staff, but we met plenty of other hikers while we were scouting the rock climbing possibilities (3/4 mile ridgeline with some interesting looking 25' - 30' climbs). Just need a permit from the office and must wear a helmet. We have two state parks here in Georgia with decent climbing, but the DNR will not allow it. Only exception is Tallulah Gorge, which is run by the DNR, but owned by Georgia Power. Unfortunately, it is multi-pitch trad climbing only and a bit too advanced for us. You guys are very lucky to have climbing officially sanctioned by the State Park system.
 

timb30016

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Joined
Apr 24, 2012
Messages
13
Location
Covington, GA
Well, the last thing I wanted to do was spoil a family vacation by telling him to pound sand. I assume he would've asked me to leave the park and trespassed me if I didn't comply. After one of our guys in Georgia was railroaded up in Olive Branch a few months ago, and having no friends in LE in Tishomingo County, I just concealed my LCP in the park, and OC'd the Ruger SR40 outside of the park.

Has anyone actually defied the state park rule on "concealed carry only"? I'd like to hear what the outcome of that was.

Tim

By that I mean, has anyone been told to conceal by park staff, and then told them to pound sand? If so, what was the outcome?
 

Daylen

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Aug 29, 2010
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America
check your private messages, under the notifications tab at the top of the page near the login spot.
 

timb30016

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Apr 24, 2012
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Covington, GA
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