The guy with the guns? It's OK, he's just fishing

Gil Smart | Treasure Coast Newspapers

Show Caption Hide Caption Open firearm carry fishing tournament to be held in Fort Pierce Michael Taylor, 38, is organizing an open carry fishing tournament on Memorial Day in Fort Pierce. He talks Thursday, April 19, 2018, about his feelings on the 2nd Amendment and the right to carry a firearm. WILL GREENLEE/TCPALM

Here's the thing: Michael Taylor knows his rights.

He knows that if he wants to sling his semi-automatic M&P15-22 over his shoulder and strap on his Glock 23 while fishing, he can do that.

You don't like it? Tough, because it's all right there in Florida Statute 790.25 (3)(h), which says anyone "engaged in fishing, camping, or lawful hunting or going to or returning from a fishing, camping, or lawful hunting expedition" can openly carry a firearm.

So when Taylor, of Port St. Lucie, showed up on Stuart's Riverwalk Sunday with his rifle, his Glock — and his fishing pole — he was perfectly within his rights.

That didn't prevent some folks on hand to watch The Relapse Band at Rock'n Riverwalk from freaking out just a little.

MORE: Fishing tournament embraces Second Amendment in Fort Pierce

MORE: Florida municipalities sue state for right to regulate guns

"We got multiple calls," said Stuart Police spokesman Sgt. Brian Bossio. Police responded, but all they could do was check if Taylor had the appropriate fishing licenses.

City manager and former Police Chief David Dyess said it's the second time Taylor and his guns have shown up in Stuart.

"He parks way down by the stage and walks to the fishing pier when there is a parking spot right at the pier," said Dyess.

Right. For, as noted, it's legal to open carry if you're "going to or returning from" a fishing trip.

Even when the goal isn't so much to catch a fish, but make a point.

I talked to Taylor on the phone Monday. He seemed like a nice guy, not at all the homicidal maniac many on the Riverwalk might have assumed Sunday.

The recent push both statewide and nationwide to enact stricter gun laws turned him into an activist. Indeed, he didn't even own a gun until about a year or so ago. Since then he's bought five, including a .22 that looks like an AR-15, a gift for his teenage son.

He's also a member of Florida Carry, a non-profit pro-Second Amendment group which sometimes files lawsuits to protect and expand gun rights.

"I believe nobody has the right to take away my God-given right as per the Constitution," said Taylor, 38.

"That's why I go out there."

In May, Taylor organized a Memorial Day open carry fishing tournament along the South Jetty in Fort Pierce.

"There weren't any incidents," said Fort Pierce Police spokeswoman Audria Moore-Wells. "We did have a special detail to cover the event, but our officers were there primarily to educate the public."

Police handed out fliers explaining the law. "There could have been people wondering about what was going on," said Moore-Wells. "We wanted to make sure the public (knew) that it was OK for the (activists) to do what they were doing."

Not all cops are so agreeable.

On his YouTube channel, Taylor — who often wears a GoPro camera to record interactions with law enforcement — posted a video of a June incident in Miami Beach. Four cops with guns drawn advanced on Taylor and a few buddies, forcing them to throw up their hands and (temporarily) surrender their guns.

A month later Florida Carry announced it would sue Miami Beach, saying it had notified Police Chief Daniel Oates in a letter beforehand that members would be openly carrying their guns while fishing off the pier.

Oates said he never got the letter, and told the Miami Herald that "Given the current climate, if six people show up to a pier in South Beach carrying guns, our citizens expect us to respond promptly and address any potential danger."

Taylor said he and some friends will return to Miami Beach this weekend with their weapons and their fishing poles.

"It's about education, not just for the police but for the public," said Taylor. "it's my choice to carry my firearms how I feel I should carry them.

"It's about protecting myself and protecting my family."

I asked Taylor if he thought the ostentatious display might do more to hurt his cause than help it.

Because while I'm generally pretty sympathetic to Second Amendment issues, the perpetual battle over guns isn't just about rights, it's about public perception. That is: Those who desire more gun control portray Second Amendment activists as crazy extremists.

Maybe it's not the best idea to reinforce the stereotype.

Taylor doesn't see it that way.

"People have this idea guns are such a problem, but guns are a tool," he said.

"It's like a hammer; you have to have an operator behind a hammer to pound a nail, and you have to have an operator behind a gun to hurt somebody.

"And as a law-abiding citizen, I'm not going to hurt anybody."

Problem is, the public doesn't know that.

"I was a cop for 28 years," said Stuart manager Dyess. "I would be alarmed too if I saw him walking down the boardwalk with an AR(-15) and a fishing pole."

Gil Smart is a TCPalm columnist and a member of the Editorial Board. His columns reflect his opinion. Readers may reach him at gil.smart@tcpalm.com, by phone at 772-223-4741 or via Twitter at @TCPalmGilSmart.