Reader comments
Packing heat, no apologies

God bless their kids. American kids are 16 times more likely to be murdered with a gun, 11 times more likely to commit suicide with a gun, and nine times more likely to die from a firearm accident than children in 25 other industrialized countries COMBINED. And for every child killed with a gun, four are wounded. (CDC stats) I'd wager that most of those guns were legally purchased... by a parent.
I don't want to be in the same room with anyone carrying a gun. If I see an openly carried gun in a public place, I will leave. Just because they have a permit doesn't mean they're not one of the crazies they're afraid of.
Besides, to always be on the alert for other people's wrong-doing has a "seek and ye shall find" air to it. And I don't want to be caught in the crossfire when the people with the weapons find each other.

Unbelievable. That's all I can say. What an embarrassment to the state. No wonder the rest of the country thinks Utah is so backward. It's interesting that each of the participants talks about protecting families as though threat of violence equals safety. I am generally for gun rights (I own two shotguns and a .45), but this I am afraid is a false sense of safety. I think most are in favor of concealed weapons or the castle doctrine of protecting your home, but this group takes it to an extreme. If these people feel threatened in Provo, imagine the lengths they will go to "defend" themselves in a bigger city. Their actions seem selfish and indefensibly egotistical. They put everyone else around them in danger, not to mention the effect on their children and the unnerving feeling I would have around any of them.

Growing up in the liberal bay area I was taught to fear guns. I admire these people. And while I don't own a gun and would probably be one of the last to carry one, these people serve a purpose.

The open carry should be practiced more but weapon handling should be tempered with training and gun familiarization. Children should also be trained and taught to handle and respect the gun. Their curiosity and not knowing what the gun can do is why so many children injure themselves handling them. Let them shoot a gun at targets so that the curiosity and danger is minimized. They need to learn about guns and how to respect them. Hiding them and critizing others owning guns only reinforces the curisoity of children and results in many tragedies. Children should be educated about guns and how to use them, not turn them in to an object of fear and disrespect. By educating them and their parents we could return to a society of safety and security on our streets and in our homes. An armed American is a safer America. We don't send our soldiers in to battle without a weapon and the American people are faced with armed criminals and gangs on the home front and must rely on an armed self defense. Bravery is not a lifestyle, its a selfless act of saving a friend.

Great story!! More citizens should take advantage of the right to protect themselves, their families, and those around them. You can't carry a police officer on our hip, so why not prepare yourselves and carry a gun. Keep up the good work, and keep it safe.

What a breath of fresh air. I'll bet these courageous people are never assaulted by the bad guys. If more responsible people openly carried weapons you would see a drop in violent crime.

Good for them, no nut is apt to try to rob or cause trouble when they see honest citizens well armed.
There are way too many muggings & assaults these days.

Hmmmmm..... ?an armed society is a polite society"? Where does THAT come from?

I love it when people have commonsense. Protect yourself with whatever means you have.

I have absolutely no problem with citizens openly carrying firearms. Having lived in Central Arizona it's a sight I've grown accustomed to. It's worth noting in places where firearms are carried openly petty crimes like purse snatching are virtually unheard of. My only objection to this conduct would be if an armed person attempted to intimidate me or anyone else from open exercising free speech. In 12 years of living in a well armed community I've never once witnessed this. One area worth addressing would be the use of deadly force by armed bystanders during incidents like the Trolley shootings. The law should be concise in its protection of bystanders who may find themselves in a situation like that. Citizen gun handlers should also be cautioned that they are not the police and their actions should never interfere with them. A bystander engaging an armed criminal could easily be mistaken for a shooter themselves, as was the case at Trolley. Under these circumstances citizens should be trained and prepared to be proned out at gunpoint by the police until their role in the incident is clearly assertained.

It's about time we all start to protect and deture crazies. Thank you for this story.

Sweet!!! You guys are great and an inspiration!! Rock on!!!

Give me a break. This ain't Dodge City and you ain't Bat Masterson. I don't want some trigger-happy, untrained Matt Dillon wannabe deciding to take me out if I argue with the clerk at the checkout stand at the grocery store.

Good for them. I've carried for many years although I conceal my weapon (legally) I have no problem with open carry. More people need to feel comfortable around guns and by open carrying your weapon you get people used to the fact that normal people carry weapons and not just the criminals. As a matter of fact crime is held at bay when they think that they might not make it out alive. As a civilian I've never had to draw my weapon or present it, although at one time I did flash it in order to save a young lady that was being dragged into a truck by her estranged boyfriend. The police can't be everywhere, at times we need to be ready to protect ourselves and others.

If one of these people decides to go Dirty Harry in public, and one of my loved ones is shot, I will sue them for everything they own including the gun - with no apologies. These guys have no clue on how to use a gun in public.

To paraphrase a quote from the Columbine time: If these people are this paranoid, they don't need the gun, they need counselling.

I wish I were gun savy enough to carry one. I support those who carry openly, and those who carry hidden guns. When there are enough of these people to make an impact, crime will decrease.

People that carry guns for that one time in their life they want to protect their family are the same as the guys with giant trucks that put a 18,000 pound winch on it for the one time in their life they'll actually need it. The difference, though, is the guy that uses the winch incorrectly will just take out his radiator with a broken cable, but the cluless guy or gal with the gun could take out a bunch of innocent people.

Would that young petite lady in the story with the infant in her arms be able to overpower a criminal that needs a weapon and tackles her because she's an easy target?

We're lucky in this state that we haven't had a serious incident with a Wyatt Earp wannabe killing someone. I dread the day a plain clothed police officer gets killed in the line of duty by one of these vigilantes.

Have any of you gun rights fanatics ever lived in a country that has total gun control? I have, and it's the safest place I've ever been. People still have guns there, but it's extremely rare and difficult to get them.

What was their motto? "A right unexercised is a right lost?" or something like that? (Not on my screen anymore, but you get the point.)

Feh. What alarmist nonsense.

So I choose to go out in public unarmed. That would in no way mean that I've lost the right to do so in the future. Get real, people.

Oh, and just for the record - I don't hate guns, nor gun owners. I don't hate the NRA, though some of their members are a little out there. I love the Second Amendment as much as I love the First.

But I hate foolish, non-fact-based, propaganda thrown out at the public in the hopes that some of it will stick with the people who think in 5-second soundbites.

Thanks for contributing even more to the dumbing-down of America, guys. Or more accurately, trying to capitalize on it.

Bob G., great point, I have 4 children ages from 8-7months and as part of our periodic safety night as a family we go over gun safety. My children know how to respect the weapons that I own and my 8 and 6 year olds have fired them and are quite good at it.
Children get into trouble with guns when they don't understand them and all they see is what is portrayed in the movies and video games.