Gun Fight: The debate over open carry

Colorado is one of 31 states that allow open carry. Without a permit in the Centennial state, gun owners can display their firearms on their hip or over their shoulders as long as they're adhering to rules placed at businesses.

However, there is an increasing trend in the United States of brick and mortar stores banning them on their property.

Walking the streets of downtown Colorado Springs, you may notice signs like this:

Shops, bars, and restaurants are all asking their patrons not to open carry in their store. Richard Skorman, the owner of Poor Richard's, is one of those who has this sign.

"It's not an appropriate place to have an open-carry gun because there are so many kids in our business," Skorman said.

However, mom and pop shops aren't the only stores saying no to open carry. Walmart, Kroger, and Target are now banning open carry in all of their stores.

Some gun supporters we spoke with believe this goes against their Second Amendment rights, saying they should not be limited on where they can carry.

David Kopel, an adjunct professor of constitutional law, says the second amendment has nothing to do with open carry.

“You might say it goes against the spirit of the Second Amendment," Kopel said. "But the Second Amendment and the Constitution, in general, are mainly limitations on government.”

It's simple: since stores are on private property, they can set the conditions for their customers.

“Because Walmart and Kroger have the same rights we do, to say, 'if you want to come onto my property, you can have a concealed gun, but I don’t want you to wear it openly,'” explained Kopel.

Walmart made the decision to ban open carry after 22 people were killed by an armed man in August at one of their stores in El Paso, Texas. Walmart's CEO released a statement explaining the company's decision, saying in part:

“We hope that everyone will understand the circumstances that led to this new policy and will respect the concerns of their fellow shoppers and our associates.”

It's an effort made to make customers feel safer.

Trent Steidley, an expert in criminology and sociology at the University of Denver, says Walmart's decision is a smart one.

“They are genuinely worried about public safety and they think this is a policy that’s useful for protecting their customers,” Steidley said.

Steidley also says it was a smart public relations move.

“If it is the case that Walmart or Kroger are thinking of this as an effort to make their places look more peaceful or more appealing to people, it is a very rational business interest,” Steidley said.

However, Walmart says they have also had other issues with open carry in their stores. The company's CEO says there have been several instances of people open carrying in their stores to make more of a political statement, rather than to protect themselves.

“There are certainly people who carry a gun, they don’t have a political dog in the fight, they just want to protect themselves," said Steidley. "But I think there are people trying to make a political statement.” 

An instance of this happened just shortly after the ban in Texas -- another state that allows open carry. A man was arrested and charged with making a terrorist threat after he walked into a Walmart carrying a rifle. An employee pulled the fire alarm and the store was swarmed by police. Officers say the man wanted to see what would happen.

Then, another incident happened in the open carry state of Kentucky. Video captured a man carrying a handgun. Again, police were called out after a customer called 911. He wasn't charged by police but he was permanently banned from the store.

These incidents were reported to authorities out of fear after just seeing a firearm. That's one of the biggest reasons why Skorman doesn't allow open carry in his Colorado Springs shops.

"It's really about the comfort of our customers," Skorman says. "If customers want this to happen, that's what we do."

While it seems people have turned against open carry, concealed carry is actually expanding in the U.S., according to Steidley. He says now more than ever states are allowing concealed carry -- whether it's with a permit or not.