By Diane Lee
Staff Writer
The South Bay Open Carry Movement, after a heated debate with Hometown Fair officials, attended this year’s Hometown fair to exercise its Second Amendment rights.
The South Bay Open Carry movement, founded by Hermosa Beach resident Harley Green, hoped to raise awareness of its right to carry guns for protection.
The Hometown Fair Committee asked the group not to bring any weapons to the fair, and gave Green of a map that detailed gun-free zones of the fairgrounds.
This map indicated that almost two thirds of the Hometown Fair was inaccessible to open-carriers due to a church building nearby that is considered a facility of American Martyrs School, thus violating the Gun-Free School Act that states no weapons are allowed within 1,000 feet of an educational building.
“It’s very clear that the police department was manipulating the Gun-Free School Zone Act to keep us from being at the fair,” Green said.
Green responded by declaring that the group would sue fair officials for limiting its rights, as it believed the board was not legal in extending the boundaries of the gun free zone.
The fair board then lifted the bans on weapons to avoid a costly legal battle and allowed the organization to attend the fair.
“They have been very difficult to work with and things were just getting so distracted that we decided to ask people not to bring weapons, but we are not going to have them arrested if they do,” Hometown Fair Board President Maggie Movius said.
Green held a meeting with several police officers in August to inform the Manhattan Beach Police Department of the group’s intention to enter the fair with weapons and their rights to do so.
“When you have an uneducated police force about open carrying, conflict arises.” Green said. “So before we do events, I meet with the police departments to explain what we are doing, so it’s all clear, we’re on the same page. If they have any concerns, they let me know then, and I can address them with my group.”
The officers told Green that he needed to ask the Hometown Fair board for permission to carry unloaded weapons. Green then had another meeting with the fair board in September.
“We have an excellent relationship with the city and the police, and our fair is safe. [The fair] has a 38-year history of safety, and we neither thought necessary nor welcomed their presence at our fair,” Movius said.
Although fair officials were worried about the outcome, most police were content with the ending results, as no arrests were made or violent actions taken.
“The day seemed to go fine. There were no arrests, and I’m not aware of any conflicts. They were respectful and they were able to demonstrate their rights to open carry,” MBPD Officer Stephanie Martin said. “I also had many people come up and ask me about the open carrying folks.”
Green said that he was pleased with the way the weekend turned out and that he will definitely come back next year. He also said many citizens at the fair came up to ask him questions about their organization and motives.
He explained that some were rude and disrespectful to him, while others were curious and asked about the movement.
“You need to put aside your prejudice and emotional feelings against it and do a little bit of personal research first.” Green said. “Look at the statistics of what happened when cities adopted gun-control policies. Crime rates rocketed. Research the Second Amendment and see what it says. Read the Constitution.”
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