Tell me if I am wrong...

Lived in MS for a year and a half - great place! As far as I can tell:
1. open carry is illegal.
2. concealed carry re state AG is "in a holster"
3.MS pistol license allows open carry if "in a holster"
Help me out here.

OC is not illegal. You won't find any law that expressly prohibits the practice. 97-37-1 describes listed weapons as concealed in whole or in part. If interpreted literally, then the statute is unconstitutional. Unconcealed weapons are constitutionally protected. (see Article 3, Section 12 of MS Constitution)

You say open carry is legal? Not if it is in a holster, according the the MS AG. If a pistol is in a holster, it is considered concealed.

Miss. Code §§ 97-37-1 & § 45-9-101 operate together to ban carriage of a handgun "concealed in whole or in part" unless the carrier is inside a motor vehicle or possesses a License to Carry a Concealed Pistol or Revolver. As the Mississippi courts have said that a handgun in a holster is concealed in part, a License to Carry a Concealed Pistol or Revolver is required to openly carry a handgun in a holster in Mississippi.

From 45-9-101:

Further, nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the open and unconcealed carrying of any deadly weapon as described in Section 97-37-1, Mississippi Code of 1972.

This just won't get cleared up until our laws are made clear and training is implemented/communicated to LEO's and citizens.

we have argued this ad nauseum on here - OC is neither legal nor illegal

The law is really nebulous....Depending on where you go, with OC,you will run into some serious hassles...ie you won't last 5 - 10 min without a LEO stop in Clinton

Just get your firearms permit and keep your gun concealed

John Pfaff wrote:You say open carry is legal? Not if it is in a holster, according the the MS AG. If a pistol is in a holster, it is considered concealed.

Miss. Code §§ 97-37-1 & § 45-9-101 operate together to ban carriage of a handgun "concealed in whole or in part" unless the carrier is inside a motor vehicle or possesses a License to Carry a Concealed Pistol or Revolver. As the Mississippi courts have said that a handgun in a holster is concealed in part, a License to Carry a Concealed Pistol or Revolver is required to openly carry a handgun in a holster in Mississippi.

I know that a holstered handgun is partially concealed. But the constitution makes no mention of partially concealed weapons so open carry must be legal. The solution is to get 97-37-1 changed so it doesn't conflict with Article 3 Section 12 of the MS Constitution.