At the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Salt Lake City, in 2025, a number of people were openly carrying sidearms. They were uniformly willing to have pictures taken of the sidearms being carried. The sequence of images is about the sequence in which they were encountered at the Conference. There were probably people who were open carrying who this correspondent did not encounter.
The predominant type of handgun was a variation of the popular 1911-style handguns. The handgun in the outside the waistband leather holster with a thumb break retention system was the first one encountered.
The 1911 style with CCDL on the grip is believed to be a representative of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League. Connecticut banned open carry in 2023. Some CCDL members at the Gun Rights Policy Conference were open carrying because they legally could do so in Utah. As is often the case, the main purpose of the open carry at GRPC was to make a political statement. Self-defense was a secondary purpose. There were few places where violent crime was less likely than at a Gun Rights Policy Conference in Salt Lake City.
As the attendees from Connecticut are not allowed to open carry in their home state, it is not surprising that their carry gear may be more appropriate for concealed carry. The 1911 type handgun in an inside-the-waistband holster is a good example.
A particularly rare example is the Freedom Arms mini-revolver in an original Freedom Arms belt buckle/holster. Freedom Arms no longer makes the mini-revolvers. They command high prices. The number of Freedom Arms original belt buckle/holster manufactured was never very high. They are difficult to find and command prices bolstered by their rarity. Most people do not see them as real firearms. In a sense, that makes them a form of “concealed in plain sight”.
The ubiquitous Glock semi-automatic pistol was represented by what appears to be a Glock 17 in an outside-the-waistband holster. It is unclear if the holster uses a paddle or belt loops.
The pistol below is unidentified. The slide appears to be a GLOCK. Polymer-framed pistols have become common, with many variations.
Several people mentioned the open carry of a standard-sized revolver in an outside-the-waistband belt rig with a thumb break retention system. The revolver appears to be a Smith & Wesson. I did not ask the owner to unholster the handgun. Removing a handgun from a holster in the crowded conditions of the Gun Rights Policy Conference would breach etiquette.
Considerably more people were carrying concealed at the GRPC in Salt Lake City than were carrying openly.
Great strides have been made in restoring rights protected by the Second Amendment. When concealed carry was banned for most people in most states, open carry was legal for most people in most states. Most people did not do so because propaganda against the carry of firearms created a stigma. It was common for those who did not want people to have the right to carry arms to call police and complain, thinking it had to be illegal to openly carry even when it was not.
This correspondent has had the opportunity to educate police on at least six occasions in three states while openly carrying holstered handguns. Open carry is strong, symbolic, protected political speech. It sends a message: The power of the state is limited. The Second Amendment means something. The people have the right to bear arms. Those who pushed back against infringement of Second Amendment rights by openly carrying firearms did so at some risk. Some were illegally arrested. Some had to endure long court cases to prevail. This correspondent believes one of the most effective purposes of open carry is education for political purposes. Open carry normalizes the carry of weapons.
Once Constitutional Carry is achieved in a state, the number of people openly carrying seems to fall off. The political purpose was achieved. This correspondent has often openly carried at Gun Rights Policy Conferences. This year was different. Utah has Constitutional Carry.
Brevard County in Florida to Allow Employees to Open Carry at Work
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Some people just move towards open carry because it is the natural thing to do. Politics and laws become side issues.
HLB
Actor Rob Reiner always dared “those monsters to parade one of those miserable things” around him. Vowing to squeal “man with a gun” and let responding ticket-pushers do the rest.
Nice seeing some leather here instead of the way-too-common kydex. While kydex may have its place, you aren’t going to find many of those being handed down to relatives like you would see leather ones…
Was there, carried concealed. Never understood benefit in being the first victim to receive a bullet behind the ear. Prefer to be the one delivering the bullet after bad guy starts shooting those open carriers. Kinda a Gomer….SURPRISE…SURPRISE…SURPRISE. If one is fighting fair, his tactics SUCK!!!
I can’t say how Utah defines concealed carry, but in California, a handgun tucked inside a waistband (with or without a holster) is concealed carry. Not that concealed carriers can tell the difference. To their feeble minds, a handgun concealed in a back pocket, covered with a shirt, with only a sliver visible, is “Open Carry.”