Back in April, right at the beginning of all the stay-at-home ordered were being issued across the country, the Mayor of Jackson, MS, announced that he was suspending open carry in the city due to the Covid-19 emergency.
A few days later, the Mississippi Justice Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of state Rep. Dana Criswell, R-Olive Branch. Criswell is also an FFL and supports open carry.
Well, today, U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III ruled that cities cannot ban open carry even during a public health outbreak.
“The order, issued by U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, means city officials are prevented from issuing any ban on open carry in the state’s largest city, so long as it opposes state law.”
When we first reported on this story, I couldn’t understand how banning open carry in the city would have any positive effect on the “protection of life and property.” While I don’t open carry myself unless I am hunting, I do support the right to do so. And banning open carry during a crisis like this simply removes an option for citizens to protect themselves. And state Rep. Dana Criswell felt the same way and was quoted saying:
“I am very glad to know that this will never happen again in the future. Mississippians should be able to protect themselves no matter what city they are in,” said Criswell in a news release.
