Man says he had right to carry gun to rally



By Bill Vidonic, Times Staff

Published: Saturday, August 30, 2008 11:31 PM EDT
INDUSTRY — An Industry man insisted Saturday there’s nothing in the law that prevented him from wearing a loaded handgun to Friday’s presidential election rally in Beaver.

“I have it for protection, to protect my wife and my children,” said John A. Noble, 50. “I never gave it a thought. I wasn’t doing anything illegal,”

Noble, a horse and cattle fence builder, said he was simply standing with others at the rally, a Bible in one hand, and an apple in the other.

But it was the Glock 19 handgun holstered at his side that drew the attention of local and federal law enforcement. State police said just wearing the gun disrupted the event.

Noble said he had a handful of fliers that he wanted to pass out, spelling out gun rights.

Those fliers list Noble’s basic argument, citing a Pennsylvania statute that says a person may “openly carry a handgun in plain sight with no license.” Exceptions include in vehicles, in Philadelphia, and convicted felons.

To carry a concealed handgun, a person must have a state license to carry firearms.

Noble said he didn’t have a ticket to the rally, and he was standing with his wife, Janet, in McIntosh Park. While that area was fenced in, spectators did not have to pass through metal detectors to get into that area, as they did in Irvine Park.

In a news release, state police Trooper Shawn L. Schexnaildre wrote that Noble “breached the secured perimeter of a presidential candidate political rally with a handgun fully loaded, operational, holstered and exposed.”

Bystanders alerted police, and deputy sheriffs, Beaver police, state police and Secret Service agents took him into custody.

“(Noble’s) actions created a clear public alarm and caused a significant breakdown in the security measures at the rally” with officers abandoning their posts “to ensure his quick and safe apprehension and disarming.”

Friday, deputies and state police said that Noble never tried to draw his weapon and did not threaten anyone with it. Noble’s arrest took place more than an hour before Obama and Biden arrived in Beaver.

Noble never did hear Obama, as he was in state police custody until his release, and his firearm, which Noble said he has a permit for, was confiscated.

When questioned as to the wisdom of wearing a firearm to a rally with metal detectors, Secret Service agents, and dozens of local law enforcement, Noble replied, “His (Obama’s) rights do not trump mine.” He added he’s worn the gun in public for several years without incident.

Noble says he has an attorney, but said he’ll wait and see what charges he might face before deciding what course of action he’d take.

In the news release, Schexnaildre described the nature of the incident as disorderly conduct, and wrote that Noble faces misdemeanor grade charges that will be filed by state police; no federal charges have been filed.

Noble said his only previous criminal offense was “a speeding ticket while driving a church bus.”

“If it was that serious of an offense (Friday), I would be in jail,” Noble said.

Bill Vidonic can be reached online at bvidonic@timesonline.com.