This letter is in response to Pat Helvey and his opinion titled "Check your guns at tea party door." The gentleman who was carrying his firearm in the open at the rally was doing so legally. You can open carry in Montana. I could be standing next to you in a grocery store with my sidearm in the open. Would that make you afraid of me? Our Montana legislators can conceal and carry in the state Capitol. Has there ever been a shooting at the Capitol? Have you ever heard of a shooting at a shooting range? American citizens who conceal and carry and carry their weapons in the open are the most law-abiding citizens you could ever meet. The gentleman who was carrying his sidearm out in the open was doing so because it is his right as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Montana Constitution.

For you to fear an American citizen using his right to keep and bear arms is sad. You should be more afraid of your current government than the people who attend the Tea Party rallies. We do not get out of line, do not destroy property and leave the area cleaner than when we arrived. The rallies are our right to protest the government for redress of grievances. I praise the gentleman who was wearing his sidearm out in public making a speech on the Second Amendment and our right to keep and bear arms. This is our only line of defense against an ever increasing and overreaching government.

Kristi Allen-Gailushas

Secretary, Big Sky Tea Party Association

296 Franklin Mine Road