A scene from the Rocky Grove Fireman’s Fair parade last week caught some onlookers by surprise and sparked comments along the route as a man threw candy from the back of a van while holding an AR-15 rifle in clear view of spectators.
The man, Dan Stephenson, of Knox, is a member of the Pennsylvania Gun Owners Association, an organization with a strong presence in many local parades.
The group routinely asks organizers of the various parades if it is OK that they openly display and carry their guns, said Jerry Woods, president of the Gun Owners Association.
Venango County Sheriff Eric Foy said that while the sight of someone carrying an assault-style rifle around can be jarring, anyone legally able to own a gun is legally allowed to open carry a firearm.
“It’s my constitutional right to carry. I had it pointing down and not engaged (during the Rocky Grove parade),” Stephenson told the newspaper.
Stephenson acknowledged the gun was loaded with a clip containing AR 5.56 caliber bullets, but he said there was no bullet in the weapon’s chamber.
“I wasn’t carrying it to scare anyone. I was just supporting the Second Amendment,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson spoke to the newspaper prior to last week’s Libertyfest parade in Franklin, which was held three days after the Rocky Grove parade. The Gun Owners Association had a unit in the Franklin parade but didn’t carry firearms there.
The Rocky Grove parade is a small parade with generally about two dozen units, mainly fire trucks and law enforcement vehicles. The Gun Owners Association was represented by vehicles and about a half-dozen walkers.
Woods said he talked with Sugarcreek Borough police Chief Robert Wenner and parade organizers to be sure it was OK for the group to carry at the parade.
“I was in a car ahead (of Stephenson) so I didn’t see what was going on,” Woods said. He added that group members obey laws and that his association seeks to educate the public about the Second Amendment, which protects citizens’ rights to keep and bear arms.
Wenner said he didn’t fear for anyone’s safety.
“What they’re doing is exercising their right to open carry,” he said. “A lot of people apply it to smaller guns, like revolvers, but you can carry a full-size rifle if you want,” Wenner added.
Mike Cook, one of the parade organizers, agreed with Wenner that no one’s safety was ever put in jeopardy by the group.
“If they would’ve been tossing them around or doing cartwheels or something, then I’d be concerned, but they were just simply carrying a gun,” Cook said.
Woods also stressed he wants to have a good relationship with communities and law enforcement.
Foy said anyone engaging in an open carry of a firearm shouldn’t “be offended if a police officer stops and talks to you.” He said the sight of a gun still makes many people nervous.
“Another citizen might report it,” Foy said, and at that point an officer would be obligated to look into the situation.
“I always tell people, Pennsylvania is a very gun friendly, gun happy commonwealth. Almost everyone has one,” Foy said.
Gun Owners Association members also participate in the annual Horsethief Days parade in Knox, where they open carry.
“They love us there,” Stephenson said about the Knox parade. He said people want to come up and get closer looks at the guns and he said he takes the time when he can to explain the gun and how to safely handle a gun.
(Staff photographer Richard Sayer contributed to the reporting in this story.)
