Fairbanks, Alaska – A woman wants a face-to-face apology from two Alaska State Troopers who detained her for 20 minutes after they spotted her walking with a gun in her hand.
Beth Allard is a certified firearms instructor and the daughter of Joe Nava, a prominent local gun-safety and gun-rights advocate. She was carrying a snub-nosed .38-special revolver while walking on a dirt road near her mother’s house.
Allard said she kept the pistol pointed down with her finger away from the trigger, a method she frequently uses while jogging.
Full Story – HERE
Call me crazy, but I don’t think jogging with a loaded gun in your hand is necessary unless you are about to engage a target. I know someone is going to bring up the topic of bears or wolves, but really…. if that is the reason, she should be carrying something more than a .38 special.
Holsters are so cheap, she could pick up any number of styles that would still render the gun accessible to her within milliseconds.
If I saw someone jogging with a gun in their hand I’d assume that they were either chasing someone, or being chased by someone.
Comments
21 responses to “Alaska Woman Upset With State Troopers Response To Her Open Carrying”
It is hard to imagine a situation where the undisputed facts (i.e., that she had a gun in her hand and was jogging) do not constitute a practical definition of brandishing. I can only think she wasn’t charged because Alaskan law defines brandishing such that her actions were legal. If so, it’s probably a flawed law and ought to be changed. I hate to invite any new gun restriction, but if I saw her coming toward me like that, it would be a very bad situation for both of us!
Not something I would do. Completely unnecessary for it to be out of a holster.
Whether someone thinks jogging with pistol-in-hand is necessary is irrelevant. The fact is she *wanted* to do this, for reasons that are her own, and she has a natural right to do so.
Yep, and she could have ran with it pointed up at her face too, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. There are rights, and there there is stupidity exercising those rights.
Thank you. I thought I was one Officer.com for a moment. It seems that a majority of the folks there believe that a right is vulnerable to opinion.
For example:
Person 1 believes that concealed carry is OK, but not on public college campus.
Person 2 believes that concealed carry is OK, but open carry is not.
Person 3 believes that open carry is OK only.
Each person believes what they say for a certain reason, and it may be logical, but at what point do we say “Hey, this is a right, there isn’t room for discussion on the matter.”
I support even the most asinine forms of exercising rights. I don’t like them, but I support them.
Protesting soldiers funerals, running with scissors and knives, burning crosses etc.. are all legal too. I agree they are protected under the constitution, but I still don’t think they are a “good” idea. I’m one of those guys that could really care less what anyone does as long as it doesn’t hurt me or my family though.
Said woman in the article can jog with a gun all she wants, but like some of the other posters here said… if she were jogging towards me, or towards the police I’d say it would be reasonable to expect some sort of reaction. As far as getting an apology from the police, I’d wager that will never happen. They are always going to use “public safety concern” as the reason for confronting her.
This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I don’t know why you would think that if someone sees you jogging quickly with a gun in hand, whether your finger is on the trigger or not, would not call the police. Plus if you are jogging and using your arms for momentum, it is going to look even stranger if you are making a point to keep your right hand pointed towards the ground. As Dom said, if I was open carrying and saw someone coming towards me at a fast pace with a gun, I don’t think I would wait to see why, my gun would be out in a heartbeat.
yea I just tried that around my apartment and it looks pretty funny, not to mention its hard to keep the gun pointed towards the floor.
The one problem with carrying while jogging is that I have yet to find a suitable holster/gun combo that doesn’t bounce all over the damn place while I’m running. Even a Kel-Tec micro blaster jumps around a lot when you’re moving with a purpose, so I can understand the desire to just carry it in your hand.
That being said, I wouldn’t do that because I might trip and fall, or I might have a run in with the local PD. And here in Indiana, that is brandishing.
Yea that is my biggest concern too, tripping and falling when it’s in my hand. I don’t have any experience running with a pistol smaller than my G26… and in my opinion it is way to heavy and has too much momentum. I couldn’t imagine something like a Ruger LCP to be too hard to run with in a good ankle holster.. but again I don’t have any experience with one of those in that type of situation.
Just because you can do something doesnt make it smart to do so. Whether or not she was legally able to carry in public, in her hand, doesnt make it any more moronic to do it. Regardless of trigger discipline, jogging, walking, trotting, or standing in public with a loaded firearm in your hand is asking for attention, and potential trouble. I guess she got both
Now hold on here. If she wants to carry a handgun while she jogs, how should she do it? In a holster? Would it be correct of me to assume that you’re not a runner, Mike?
It says that she was walking with it pointed down (although it also says she runs that way, perhaps a misunderstanding by the person quoting her?). I can’t help but think back to when I was overseas in the Army. I don’t know what it’s like now, but at the time, you didn’t go anywhere, on even the largest bases in Afghanistan, without a weapon. This meant that when you went jogging, you went with a weapon. I frequently went jogging with a sidearm, not carried by the grip, but with my hand over the slide and trigger guard, pistol grip facing forward.
Let’s not forget that she was on a dirt road in Alaska, not the Long Island Expressway.
I don’t run on a regular basis. I have ran with my G26 though (in a ankle holster, and in a IWB) and it was NOT ideal. Way too heavy! Your method of jogging with a pistol in Afghanistan sounds like it would work, and I agree you wouldn’t want to be without it.
I really have nothing to suggest to that lady in the article, other than to maybe try some holsters (and maybe even a lighter gun) out just to see if she can make it work. Otherwise, the sad truth is that the cops will probably keep responding to calls about her and wasting their time and hers as long as she keeps jogging in the same manner, even if she is well within the law.
I’d think jogging with a weapon in hand is asking for trouble, but if I were the ranger, I’d get my weapon at the ready, stop her, ask what the heck is going on, and then just tell her to keep it in a holster because jogging with one IS just asking to be questioned [maybe not detained, although probably], kinda bizarre you know…
Well, as a Libertarian and a strict Constructionist, the wording of the 2nd Amendment is pretty clear on this one (the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.) so yes, legally, she was within her rights to do what she was doing.
That said, if she came running up on me in that way, I likely would have pulled my non-concealed, holster carried pistol and we would have had a tense situation for a minute or so. And I feel pretty confident that if someone shot her while running with her pistol in hand that way, they would not be found guilty of “instigating” the incident.
I have done plenty of running and hiking with my pistols over the years, and I can tell you they make holsters that work just fine. They are called belly band holsters and while they are a pain for RE-holstering, carry is comfortable and drawing the pistol is smooth and ergonomic. They keep the gun from flopping around (well in truth they keep the gun tight up against your belly, and if your belly is flopping around, then so is the gun, but if you arent a size 50 waist, you should be fine).
+1 on whoever said being within your rights doesn’t make it the smart thing to do. My state allows open carry, but the brandishment law is so vague I never would, but with my CCW I have tons of options for ankle, inside waist, outside waist, paddle, pocket, belly band, shoulder, chest and back holsters. I’m sure I could even sport some sort of groin holster, but lets not go there….
Well put Sean!
+1 from me too. :)
In light of my first comment, I think/feel that someone should by her a holster.
I have a box of holsters I’ve tried over the years that I didn’t like that I would be happy to donate from, but I carry pistols, not revolvers like her 38 special and I don’t want to give away the belly band I use while hiking. ;)
I also think she should upgrade to at least a .357 if what she is worried about is Alaskan wildlife.
Laws are different in different States for a reason. This IS Alaska, and I imagine that her location she is walking towards or jogging around might not be very safe. With that said, respect the law.
Everything is tougher in Alaska! ™
First off, she was jogging… There is a very big difference between chasing somebody (or running from somebody)- this would be a sprint- and running/jogging for exercise!
Second, I don’t know how many of you have ever tried to run/jog (not sprint) with a gun, but there are not a whole lot of options that work well. Carrying while walking can be challenging enough… consider clothing worn while running.
-Athletic shorts, not a lot of support there to hang a holster!
-Tee shirt… that won’t do much to help.
Only other options are a shoulder system… (Okay, so there is one option that might work)
My final thought is that in order to keep this shoulder rig from bouncing all over the place, you’d have to snug it down pretty good. Snug it down to what, your athletic shorts again? If you can tighten it down, then it would likely impede your breathing… something in short supply while exercising anyway…
Not saying it wouldn’t scare me at first… but Alaska is another culture too…