Sign me up, Charles. I'll watch for what a motivated citizen can do.
For freedom!
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Return to “OCT Pro-Gun or Pro-Gun Control?”
- Wed Apr 22, 2015 10:42 am
- Forum: 2015 Legislative Session
- Topic: OCT Pro-Gun or Pro-Gun Control?
- Replies: 85
- Views: 12922
- Wed Apr 22, 2015 7:42 am
- Forum: 2015 Legislative Session
- Topic: OCT Pro-Gun or Pro-Gun Control?
- Replies: 85
- Views: 12922
Re: OCT Pro-Gun or Pro-Gun Control?
I think the best argument for licensed open carry - for now - over full civil rights is because we have a history of repressive gun laws that have taken guns out of a normal role in society. They are something of raised eyebrows and questions in our state. Probably less so in Arizona, where the citizens have been much less repressed.
We need licensed open carry not to lead our leaders to enlightenment, but to lead our citizens. As we re-infuse defensive handguns back into Texas life, as licensed concealed carry has done for decades, we strengthen ourselves in many ways. A gun in the hand of a law abiding citizen has positive psychological implications. A gun in my law-abiding hand is a matter of pride, of self-worth, and a symbol that says I have a life worth protecting, and loved ones and fellow citizens who depend on me to ride, shoot straight, and speak the truth.
If we instill every citizen with the individual drive to stand up and be counted on the basis of self-worth and individual value to society, we just might end the defensive need for handguns. We will always need them as an affirmation of things we dare not lose.
In the meantime, we need to engage just plain folks to repair our seriously degraded society. The only legitimate first step is to trust them. If we bring our state back to the only kind of polite society that's moral and right - an armed, polite society - then we can cure many problems within the framework of government without the terrible costs of anarchy and insurrection.
Of course, insurrection is a matter of perspective, and I'm rather fond of the gumption shown in the late 1700's when citizens took up arms against their lawfully instituted leaders and drove them back to Old Blighty.
But our times are not driven by engaged, voting citizens. This step at this time, licensed open carry in a strict shall-issue context, is the right thing to do. Clean living citizens can jump through a hoop or two and carry firearms in most places as their consciences guide them.
The next step is outreach, and firearms should be the medium, not the message. Fill your holster, sir or madam, and be a Citizen and all it implies. Stand with your neighbor and deny the dark environment crime and tyranny crave. There is no central repository of decency, and right over wrong doesn't flow from on high - it comes from YOU.
We need licensed open carry not to lead our leaders to enlightenment, but to lead our citizens. As we re-infuse defensive handguns back into Texas life, as licensed concealed carry has done for decades, we strengthen ourselves in many ways. A gun in the hand of a law abiding citizen has positive psychological implications. A gun in my law-abiding hand is a matter of pride, of self-worth, and a symbol that says I have a life worth protecting, and loved ones and fellow citizens who depend on me to ride, shoot straight, and speak the truth.
If we instill every citizen with the individual drive to stand up and be counted on the basis of self-worth and individual value to society, we just might end the defensive need for handguns. We will always need them as an affirmation of things we dare not lose.
In the meantime, we need to engage just plain folks to repair our seriously degraded society. The only legitimate first step is to trust them. If we bring our state back to the only kind of polite society that's moral and right - an armed, polite society - then we can cure many problems within the framework of government without the terrible costs of anarchy and insurrection.
Of course, insurrection is a matter of perspective, and I'm rather fond of the gumption shown in the late 1700's when citizens took up arms against their lawfully instituted leaders and drove them back to Old Blighty.
But our times are not driven by engaged, voting citizens. This step at this time, licensed open carry in a strict shall-issue context, is the right thing to do. Clean living citizens can jump through a hoop or two and carry firearms in most places as their consciences guide them.
The next step is outreach, and firearms should be the medium, not the message. Fill your holster, sir or madam, and be a Citizen and all it implies. Stand with your neighbor and deny the dark environment crime and tyranny crave. There is no central repository of decency, and right over wrong doesn't flow from on high - it comes from YOU.