XD9_MS
Regular Member
Open carry is protected by the Mississippi Constitution, Article 3, Section 12.
The status of OC was unclear to many in the past, due to fuzzy wording in the statutes regarding concealed carry (concealment "in whole or in part"). What the general populace refers to as "the open carry law" that passed last year, changed that phrase regarding concealment so it was clearer, and added a sentence or two elucidating that a holster/scabbard was not itself concealment. I am not aware of any statutes regarding the minimum age to OC in MS, but I am not all-knowing. 97-37-13 may apply, but it uses the word "concealed", and I haven't noodled over it enough to know for sure.
Concealed carry is regulated by the state legislature through several laws. From memory: 45-9-101, 97-37-1, 97-37-9; possibly more. The "License to carry stun gun, concealed pistol or revolver" is defined in 45-9-101, and the minimum age for obtaining the permit is 21.
Now, 97-37-9 outlines several defenses to a charge of CCW (97-37-1). For example, "...he was lawfully engaged in legitimate sports...". None of them define a minimum age, so theoretically it could work for someone <21. HOWEVER!, those are defenses against a charge, not exemptions, meaning you'd have to be arrested and charged before you could claim it, so please don't take this as any advice that it's a good idea.
OK, I really need to quit rambling and get back to work.
Thanks for the info! So there still some confusion, or this website has conflicting information on the homepage:
"""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."""
http://www.opencarry.org/?page_id=261