DALLAS -- Organizers predicted 1,000 music-fans-turned-protesters would participate in the first ever Open Carry Guitar Rally Friday.
On Independence Day, Kyle Reynolds didn't carry a rifle, but he spread a message through six-string guitar.
'I think that people seem to think that if you make any sort of a comment about gun control, you are immediately gunning for the Second Amendment and to dismantle the Constitution, and that's not true,' said Kyle Reynolds, one of the organizers of the Open Carry Guitar Rally.
Part protest, part parody, the first ever Open Carry Guitar Rally is the brainchild of Dallas musician Barry Kooda. Wearing a 'Don't Shred on Me' T-shirt, and of course, armed with guitars, they welcomed a big crowd to walk the streets of Trinity Grove, openly carrying musical instruments as they openly mocked open carry firearms protesters.
'By a bunch of guitar players coming together and joining in, we are hoping to show that the people that show that's ridiculous outnumber the handful of people who think that's a good idea,' Reynolds said.
Groups like Open Carry Texas and Open Carry Tarrant County say public show of weapons are their way to inform the public about gun legislation.
But they have drawn critics along the way. Most recently, Target reps released a statement asking customers to leave their weapons at home.
Reynolds said their Independence Day rally will prove that not everyone agrees a loaded weapon sends the best message.
A spokesperson for Open Carry Texas sent in this statement late Friday afternoon:
'Open Carry Texas supports the First Amendment just as vehemently as we support the Second Amendment. The exercise of one's rights to assemble as a free people is a fundamental aspect of what America, and Texas, is about. We wish the Open Carry Guitar Rally tremendous success.'
E-mail srobertson@wfaa.com
