open carry

noun

Definition of open carry

: the act or practice of carrying a firearm openly in public or the legal right to do so In Pennsylvania, open carry is generally allowed without a license, but Philadelphia does require a license.— Joshua Gillin The next frontier for gun-rights advocates is "open carry," epitomized last year by protests in which permitted gun owners carried firearms in plain view at Starbucks coffee shops.— Patrik Jonsson Three more states ban concealed carry but not open carry.— Hank Johnson and Mitch Seabaugh —often used before another noun open carry laws/legislation — compare concealed carry

Examples of open carry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Virginia is an open carry state; the police just stood on the sidelines. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "Aubtin Heydari was nearly killed at the Charlottesville rally last year. This is his story.," 10 Aug. 2018 Florida does not allow the open carry of weapons, but more than 1.9 million have permits to carry guns and weapons in public if they are concealed. — CBS News, "Report reveals Florida stopped doing gun permit checks for more than a year," 9 June 2018 Florida does not allow the open carry of weapons, but more than 1.9 million have permits to carry guns and weapons in public if they are concealed. — CBS News, "Report reveals Florida stopped doing gun permit checks for more than a year," 9 June 2018 New Jersey also generally bans the open carry of long guns. — Erin Mccarthy, Philly.com, "Abington man with AR-15 rifle ignites debate about open carry in the Philly burbs," 10 May 2018 California’s Mulford Act, which banned the open carry of loaded weapons in 1967, and the Gun Control Act of 1968, which banned the sale of certain kinds of small guns, were aimed at black gun owners. — Jane Coaston, Vox, "The controversy over Killer Mike’s NRATV interview, explained," 27 Mar. 2018 The cities of Olmos Park, Hollywood Park and Alamo Heights were targets this year of demonstrators who had a firearms focus and wanted to test local governments’ adherence to Texas’ open carry laws. — Bruce Selcraig, San Antonio Express-News, "Courting arrest for online clicks and the First Amendment," 9 July 2018 Florida does not allow the open carry of weapons, but more than 1.9 million have permits to carry guns and weapons in public if they are concealed. — CBS News, "Report reveals Florida stopped doing gun permit checks for more than a year," 9 June 2018 The gun ban has drawn the ire of gun-control advocates who question how the NRA can support open carry while banning guns as a safety measure at its own event. — John Bacon, USA TODAY, "NRA draws fire for banning guns at event featuring Vice President Mike Pence," 30 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'open carry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.