TexasCHLforum.com

"In Texas, it was not only legal. It was commonplace."

Interesting - it "is" legal, not "was," and whether or not it's commonplace is debatable.

"This is the first time - but a very concrete time - that I think a law can hurt citizens, police and not protect them."

But he was talking about the unimpeded Second Amendment as applied to long guns. This is something I don't know. Is there a law that grants the right in Texas to carry a rifle, or is there rather no law that says you can't? I know there's an old statute that says it's generally unlawful to carry a pistol but citizens may carry rifles in non-threatening ways. Seems like that addresses the manner of carry much more than the baseline right to carry a long gun.

Also, am I completely off-base or are there racial overtones to the call for banning rifles in public? Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford Act in California in response to a New Black Panther armed march on their state capital. The Dallas Mayor's call to restrict long guns is in specific response to a Black Lives Matter protest.

What's really interesting is the example he used, the non-existent practice of carrying a shotgun to a Mavericks game, an event where law-abiding, licensed citizens are already forbidden to bring their handguns. Which, I guess, is oddly appropriate. Shotguns at Mavericks games are not a problem, or at least weren't until he flapped his gums about them, and law-abiding, licensed citizens are already forbidden their handguns at the games - and they never have, and never would be a problem at sporting events.

I would far, far rather see society at large bearing the arms that will forever be available to criminals than to see society evolve laws to accommodate reckless behavior by declawing those who obey the law. Criminals will ignore such laws. Only law abiding citizens will lose their guns.