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| Arrest in Austin September, 2013 |
About a year ago, Open Carry Texas held a demonstration at the Texas State Capitol at Austin. Several people were arrested. Charges were slow in coming. It appeared that they might be charged with the catch-all of "disorderly conduct". The open carriers repeatedly said that they were doing nothing illegal.
There is breaking news on opencarry.org. It has been reported that seven people who were arrested over a year ago, in conjunction with open carry, have had all charges against them dropped. Elections have consequences, and the new activists in the open carry movement have been... active. Stealthyeliminator at opencarry.org, from Texas, reports:
Very happy to report that, according to CJ of Open Carry Texas (OCT), Texas Law Shield (TLS) was able to get all charges of all those arrested at the Capitol dropped today. This should include several arrests for carrying BP replica revolvers, as well as an arrest for carrying a toy revolver. I'll post more details if they become available.Both Governor candidates in the recent election endorsed removing the legal restrictions on the open carry of handguns to some degree. Governor elect Greg Abbott has publicly declared that he will sign a constitutional carry bill if it comes to his desk, or a licensed open carry bill if the legislature gives him that option instead. He has said that this debate will be worked out in the legislature.
It is worth noting that he did not give, as a viable option, no change in the system.
Bills have been put forward for both constitutional carry, which would not require a permit, and licensed open carry, which would allow people who currently have a permit to carry openly if they choose to do so. Currently, 44 states have open carry of modern handguns to some degree. Over 30 of those do not require a license.
The Texas Republican party included a plank in their platform for this year's election calling for constitutional carry. The platform also included a resolution put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to restore the Texas Constitution's right to bear arms protection to what it was before it was mangled by the reconstruction government after the war between the states, or civil war, if you prefer.
Texas has a reputation among the states, as being very protective of the right to keep and bear arms. In reality, it is in the middle of the pack. Guns and Ammo magazine rated Texas as number 15 out of 50 in 2013, with Arizona rated at the number 1 spot. There is a good chance that the rating will go up in 2015.
©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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4 comments:
Of all states, I thought Texas would be open carry?
You want to open carry? Fine, but essentially you are “making a statement.” It’s more of a political act than anything else.
If it was just tactics and defense, why would anybody give up the invaluable element of surprise? An open gun invites bushwacking from behind, say, as you come out of the men’s room at the mall, after having been observed going down that dark hallway strapping iron.
To me, it’s not worth losing the element of surprise.
Now, if you are talking about a planned open carry rally, that is a different animal, and if you are into making public statements like that, fine. But it has NOTHING to do with the best tactical employment of an open or concealed weapon. NOTHING.
Matt, I agree with you from a tactical standpoint. However, I think there is some merit in getting people used to the sight of a gun in a holster. Desensitizing the public to the idea of people carrying guns is worth some effort. From a tactical standpoint, however, I think you're right that open carry should be limited to rallys and similar events. It serves the purpose of desensitizing the public, without giving up a tactical advantage.
There is tactical deterrence, which seems to be working well in Ferguson, and worked in the LA riots also.
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