I will try to keep this brief and to the point. I called the Attorney General's office today(NCC branch) to get a run down of the open carry legality in Delaware since I live here and it is of interest to me. So the person who answered put me on hold and redirected me to someone else. I wish I had written down the gentleman's name who I spoke with because the conversation sure was bizarre and I have to wonder if I was even speaking to someone that is a lawyer or believes in the rule of law. I started by asking 'is open carry of a firearm in Delaware legal and where is it not legal'. He basically replied that it is not illegal but Newark, Elsmere other towns have local laws against it. And at schools it is illegal. He then quickly proceeded to ask why I would want to open carry when I could just get a CCW permit? I told him that it seems like a very time and money consuming process. In my head I thought it was kind of like a poll tax. He told me that although it is legal to do I 'can expect to be thrown on the ground and searched by police while out and about with my family' and 'I can expect to maybe be prosecuted for carrying a deadly weapon and then I would see how I faired in the court system'. He ended the conversation by saying it was 'up to me depending on how much I can afford.' I guess my question is... what this gentleman told me true? Or am I just being threatened with assault and a civil rights violation by the AG's office because although the law says one thing the AG's office really hates it and wants to discourage people from legal activity that they don't agree with? One has to also wonder what I would be searched for if the firearm was exposed? I am interested in hearing peoples experience of this tossed to the ground by police type of thing as well as peoples understanding of the law. Thanks
I open carry all the time and I have yet to be thrown on the ground by an officer of the law.
(Did I just jinx myself by saying that?)