While McComb citizens remain divided on Mississippi’s recent open-carry gun law issue, many on both sides agree that House Bill 2 has created unnecessary confusion.
Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd on Friday placed a permanent injunction on the bill that was signed into law by Gov. Phil Bryant earlier this year. Kidd’s ruling was an extension of a temporary injunction that he enforced on June 28.
Despite the injunction, McComb business owners and public officials have wasted no time taking a stand on the issue by placing signs on buildings showing either their support or opposition of House Bill 2.
Even if House Bill 2 never becomes law, however, the citizens of Mississippi will still have the right to walk down a street with an unconcealed firearm
Maurice Williams, owner of Shooter’s Discount in Summit, said many people don’t realize that the right to open-carry a gun has been in the state constitution for decades.
While he supports House Bill 2, Williams said it has created some confusion as to what rights the people of Mississippi already have.
He also said business owners who are putting up “no firearms allowed” signs may be opening themselves up to certain civil liabilities that many have not thought about yet.
“I’d like to know if businesses can be held liable if something happens while I’m in a store and I was denied my right to protect myself because I had to leave my gun in my car,” Williams said.
Williams’ statement may not be as farfetched as it sounds.
Earlier this year, Colorado legislators proposed a bill that would hold businesses liable for situations exactly like the one Williams described.
The heart of the Colorado bill states that a private business is liable for damages in any civil action if the business holds itself open to the public and prohibits the carrying of firearms, whether concealed or open, when carrying a weapon is permitted under law.
Aside from issues of civil liability, Williams believes McComb businesses that prohibit guns on their premises will also lose customers, he said.
“I think it’s going to cost them business,” he said. “I’m going to support businesses that support Second Amendment rights. A lot of gun owners say the same thing.”
Others say the bill could lead to confusing situations where citizens might pull out guns during confrontations that would otherwise normally be settled by alerting authorities.
“I guess my biggest fear is overreaction on some part,” Pike County Sheriff Mark Shepherd said. “I worry about the people not experienced with weapons. A good citizen who carries a weapon down the street and who has some knowledge about weapons — that’s not who I’m worried about.”
While Shepherd said he supports the Second Amendment, he acknowledged that he does not actually know the true intent of House Bill 2.
“I couldn’t tell you how I would vote if I was a legislator unless I knew the true intent of the law,” he said, “and that goes for any issue — not just guns.”
The true intent of the bill seems to be what many are confused about, including Judge Kidd, who declared it unconstitutionally vague on Friday.
For Williams, however, the issue is a simple one.
“Anybody who wants to carry a gun is already carrying one either illegally or legally, he said. “The only people he’s disarming (are) the law-abiding citizens.”
