I guess when your life has been consumed by writing travel books, your awareness of everything non-travel diminishes. Mr. Frommer’s statements are just plain silly and uninformed.

From the Fox article: Travel Icon Says He’ll Avoid Arizona Because of Gun Laws.

PHOENIX — Travel icon Arthur Frommer says he won’t be spending his tourism dollars at the Grand Canyon, or anywhere else in Arizona, because the state’s laws allow people he described as “thugs” and “extremists” to openly carry firearms.

The author of budget-travel guides said on his blog Wednesday that he was “shocked beyond measure” by reports that protesters openly carried guns and rifles outside a Phoenix building where President Barack Obama spoke on Monday.

Frommer says he won’t personally travel in a state where civilians carry loaded weapons as a means of political protest.

It’s going to be hard to be a travel expert when you don’t allow yourself to visit any of these places:

Open carry states:

Alaska
Montana
Idaho
Wyoming
Nevada
Arizona
New Mexico
South Dakota
Vermont
Kentucky
Virginia

Open carry–with restrictions (eg. permit requirements):

Utah
North Dakota
Minnesota
Iowa
Tennessee
Mississippi
Georgia
Indiana
Maryland
New Jersey
Rhode Island
Connecticut
Massachusetts

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