Video: Police Chief Calls For Ban On Assault Rifle Open Carry

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) – With recent police ambush shootings, some north Mississippi law enforcement want politicians to rethink some open carry laws.

Oxford Police Chief Joey East says he supports the Second Amendment and some open carry laws.

As the President of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police, he published an open letter to state lawmakers calling on them to ban open carry laws for assault rifles.

East says politicians should consider and consult with law enforcement before passing such laws, because men and women wearing the badge can’t determine a good person from a bad person.

He says his officers are always looking out for the guns at large events and on city streets.

“For law enforcement this is a constant battle that we have to face. Someone walks up and has an assault rifle on the their back, it absolutely scares people, and then we go and try to communicate with them and they don’t have to talk to us. That’s their right, they have a right to carry that weapon. So for us, we just have to sit back and say hopefully nothing will happen,” said East.

East says he wants more common sense open carry laws.

In Mississippi, it is legal to open carry any legal gun.