How Open Carry is Changing Police Responses to Certain 911 Calls

I was taught that if you see someone breaking the law, you call 911. I was raised by a cop, after all, and he taught me from an early age that the police need people to report crimes so they can respond to them.

Then, as I got older, I learned that just because something isn’t criminal at the time you see it, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give the cops a heads-up. Someone skulking around a neighbor’s house, for example.

In Florida, though, the new reality of open carry being lawful means that some law enforcement agencies are letting people know that things are changing for some 911 calls.

What would you do if someone walked past your home with a rifle on their back? In Florida, that question isn’t hypothetical anymore.

A sweeping court ruling made open carry the law of the land — forcing both families and deputies to think twice before reacting.

Reactions in local neighborhoods are divided.

“Walking around with guns, where you can see them openly, is a little bit threatening to people in general,” said Kim Alexander, a grandmother visiting her family in Stuart.

Stuart resident Julianna Cohen told CBS12 News she would call 911. “Today, you have a second thought — what if? So you call to be safe.”

Deputies Told: Pause, Don’t Pounce

Sheriffs admit those 911 calls are inevitable. Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek says his deputies are retraining not to rush in, but to slow down and assess.

Dispatchers are instructed to ask detailed questions: How is the person acting? Are they near a school? Do they seem suspicious?

“For the most part, if we get a call of somebody open carrying, we’re going to do nothing because they’re doing nothing wrong,” Budensiek said. “But if they’re acting suspicious, getting close to a school, or doing something concerning, we’ll investigate.”

He calls it a balancing act between respecting gun rights and protecting public safety — especially when children and families are nearby.

Honestly, Budensiek is laying out how it should be.

People openly carrying firearms are, in general, not the people you need to worry about. The only reason Alexander up there thinks it’s a little bit threatening is because the media told her it was threatening.

If you look into it, though, most people who open carry aren’t criminals. They don’t engage in any criminal activity. The bad guys prefer to have their guns concealed because they don’t want anyone to know they’re armed. Most of them can’t lawfully own a gun, and they can’t risk a cop who knows that seeing them, so they hide it. They also hide them to be less threatening to their potential victims.

But there are exceptions, and that is what people need to be on the lookout for. If people are acting wonky or are approaching a place they probably shouldn’t be, then calling the police and letting them look into it is smart.

There is probably nothing going on, but having law enforcement ask them what the deal is, making sure they’re not looking at the next Parkland killer, is fine. If there’s nothing to be concerned about, they can let the person go on their merry way. If there is, well…

I’m still bothered that anyone sees another exercising their rights as threatening in and of itself. That’s something we need to work on.

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