Ferguson Open-carry Activists

Photo By David Carson

About a dozen open-carry gun rights activists gather in Ferguson - About a dozen supporters of gun rights gathered in Ferguson Monday for what organizers hoped would be a racially integrated open-carry march to demonstrate that Second Amendment rights are for everybody.

Most of those who met at a pavilion at South Florissant Road and Suburban Avenue, then set off to march about three blocks to police headquarters, are white. But Paul Berry, an African-American gun owner from Bridgeton who is considering a running as a Republican for the congressional seat now held by Democrat William Lacy Clay, attended and spoke about the importance of gun rights.

Organizer Sam Andrews, of Eureka, said he wasn't surprised with the low turnout of African-Americans.

"The police have so intimidated the black people that they don't even believe they have rights," Andrews said. "That's the problem. That's why we're here. So either way, we make the point."

Many of the marchers carried long guns, though a few were armed only with umbrellas for Monday morning's gathering.

Andrews, who owns a gun shop, was a local spokesman for Oath Keepers, whose members have appeared before in Ferguson with their rifles. Several of them showed up armed during protests in August, on the anniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer.

Andrews, who is white, said several black residents had told him they’d probably be shot if they tried to carry weapons openly in public.

“We intend to show that this right is not just for white people,” Andrews said last week of the march's goal.