Only in America: Gunman waits outside town hall meeting for Obama - and police say it's OK

But instead of being wrestled to the ground by police and taken away to prison, William Kostnic is left untouched - because it is legally OK to carry a weapon in New Hampshire so long as it is not concealed.

Kostnic was waiting for the U.S. president before a town hall meeting in the town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire yesterday. He stood in the grounds of a nearby church, which was private property, and police had no objections to his presence, MSNBC reported.

Even American commentators were taken aback at the sight.

'Just to be clear,' a baffled MSBC anchor said to the reporter on the scene.

'You're saying a guy has a gun in the open - where we already know there are concerns about every president's safety, but certainly this president... and the guy's just being allowed to stay there? Is that right?'

The reporter replied that the chief of police had told him that 'the law allows this man to be here'. 

The gun was registered to Kostnic, he said, was not concealed, and the man was standing on private property.

The reporter did rush to add that authorities were 'well aware' of Kostnic's presence.