imported post
Having sat in on a court proceeding involving an open-carry issue, the questioning went something like this (paraphrasing to the best of my recollection)
Q: Did you see that the defendant had a holsterd firearm (gun, sidearm, can't remember)?
A: "Yes"
Q: Was it open and clearly visible?
A: "Yes"
And that was about it.
I have personal confidence that as long as I have my sidearm in a holster, outside of my clothing, and no shirt, jacket, poncho, shawl, etc partially or fully covers any part of the gun or holster (belt clip, paddle etc aside) and its clear that there is a gun in the holster, I'm in the clear.
This is just my opinion. But I rely on it with complete confidence. I would not rely on, with complete confidence having a gun tucked in my waistband with only the grip exposed and the remainder of the gun not just covered, but covered with something other than a holster that makes it obvious its a gun.
To err on the side of caution, I would not carry a holster with a full flap that doesn't demonstrate there is a firearm in the holster.
Even though holsters vary, the fact that it is a holster demonstrates "openess" and the fact that upon notice ofthe obvious holster,a millisecond more observation would include seeing enough of the firearm protruding from the holster to indicate there is indeed a gun in the holster. I'm confident that clearly fits under "open carry"
I'm not as confident that an "inside the pants" holster demonstrates the same openess because even with part of the gun exposed, with a significant part of the gun AND holster covered, its not so obvious.
Not legal advice, just my personal considerations as I open carry.
