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PATHFINDER wrote:

Keith B wrote:

PATHFINDER wrote: In response to the OP - Yes, at least one bill that would repeal 46.035(a) will be introduced in 2013.

Can you provide some validation on this?

"Validation" ???

Texans are actively involved in preparing for the introduction of a bill to address Section 46.035(a) in some manner. Outright repeal would be warranted since that section of the Penal Code fails to define any offense against persons, appears to be a redundant echo of Section 42.01 (a,8) and actually serves to promote the practice of concealing deadly weapons which is the primary public safety concern expressed in Article 1, Section 23 of the Texas Constitution.

I'm sure that when the time is appropriate those Texans involved in this effort will get the word out. Stay tuned in.

Yeah, and still no validation as I thought. I really like the fact that you say that we should rally around the Open Carry movement and try to get on board, but you are secretive about who 'they' are so we won't know who to rally with.

PATHFINDER wrote: In response to the OP - Yes, at least one bill that would repeal 46.035(a) will be introduced in 2013.

Can you provide some validation on this?

PATHFINDER wrote:Hey Guys & gals - y'all keep on hiding those handguns under your golf shirts while folks in the rest of the states enjoy freedom. I am going to politely excuse myself from this "tizzy" before my head explodes .

Charles, you are abosolutely right , my good man. My arguments don't have a leg to stand on - in a Texas courtroom - YET.

What about the fact that your state bans open carry in Denver? And how about those states that allow an exception to the firearms preemption for open carry so municipalities can ban it at will? It isn't all roses for the other states either. There are restrictions in many. And several don't allow open carry either.

So, either live with it or try to go about getting it changed the right way, but don't come on the forum just for the sake of trying to rub everyone's nose in the fact you now live in a location you can open carry.

mamabearCali wrote: Here in VA we have bunches of transpalanted northeasterners that have the similar gun laws as CA. They learn that here in VA people are free to openly carry guns if they wish. Even the 911 dispatches are trained to train these yanks as they accostom themselves to VA life (a higher level of freedom). A MWAG call (from what I have been told by LEO friends) is usually handled at the point of 911 call ( is he doing anything that makes you think he will use his gun...etc.etc).

I am not trying to be argumentative or belligerant. Just trying to show that OC works fine, and if TX had it there would be few problems (especially if you gave a 90 minute training to the 911 operators on how to handle MWAG).

We're just going to have to agree to disagree (partially). The biggest difference is that VA always has had it and Texas never has. Trying to educate all of the people all at once will be a major undertaking. Add to that the large amount of those who are here that don't have a firm (or any) concept of the English language and it would be a LONG road until the majority understand it is an accepted thing. And, yes, over time (a LONG time), it would get there.

One other factor to consider; VA has no city population over 425,000, with a total population of the state a little over 7 million. The Dallas/Fort Worth metro area has right at 7 million alone. Dallas, Houston and San Antonio cities alone are over 1 million each in population, with about 20 million total in the state.

So, think about trying to turn that ship to get it going in the direction you want when it has been steered on the same course for 150+ years.

EDIT TO ADD: And I know you're not being belligerent; this is just good friendly discussion.

mamabearCali wrote:Example, I wear my NRA hat all the time. If I am going out and it is not a formal day I have my NRA hat on. I know it makes others uncomfortable, they have told me so, ...

Wearing an NRA hat in Texas doesn't make people nervous. It's when I wear my Al Quida hat that people get nervous, and that make ME nervous since I don't know who around me is carrying.

mamabearCali wrote:My neighbors eyes bugged out the first time they saw me OCing, today if I don't have my gun n my hip they ask me where it is. When the neighborhood kids saw what they thought was a creepy guy on the street they ran to my house to get help (it was nothing--a poor fellow with a broken down car on his way home from work). I asked my son why the other kids ran past their own houses and came to mine it was because I they knew I had a gun. I am not sure what they thought I was going to do with it, but I am glad they felt like I would protect them if I could.

These are people that know you. It will be totally different in Walmart with 100's of others that don't know you. And, while over time some people might get more accustomed to seeing it over time, there will always be those that won't know or will get frightened in the large cities.

mamabearCali wrote:I say all this,not to say TX must have open carry, but to say that it is not usually a problem here in VA. If it would jeopardize what y'all have gotten by the sweat of your brow then baby steps. I am just trying to tell yall that where it's legal it does work just fine with very little drama.

The big difference is the way folks were raised. Many around Missouri were raised with guns, hunting on public land, and open carry being allowed, so they were not as frightened by the sight of a gun in the smaller, more rural towns. Much like VA on the hunting and open carry. But, as you stated, they are still alarmed at first.

Texas, especially in the large metro areas, have many transplants from California, New York, etc. and have never even seen a gun, much less touched one. I just taught a lady who is 50 years old and a native Texan to shoot. Her Dad had lots of guns, but because there is little to no public land to hunt on, he never hunted or shot a lot, so she never got exposed to them, thus never had even fired a gun. She was very concerned about anyone with a gun until she married her current husband who owned a couple. Her previous husband was a native Texan also, but never owned a gun.

I grew up and lived in Missouri for 38 years. I even spent 4 years as a LEO. Missouri is an open carry state, but allows for municipalities to ban open carry by ordinance. Even in those towns were it is legal, you very rarely see it. And if you do, it is not wandering around Walmart or Target. You may see someone fueling their truck or out on their own property. What you will find it the smaller the town, the more likely you are to see it. Especially in rural farming towns, you may see one of the locals carrying in a café or quick stop, but it is not an issue there because everyone knows everyone else. If someone stops and is open carrying that is NOT a local, then the red flags will go up.

While a LEO back in the early 80's, i had two man with a gun calls on open carriers. One was at a quick stop, but the individual was gone before I arrived. The other was in a grocery store where a man was carrying a single action pistol in a cowboy rig. He was acting a little strange just wandering around the store. Store personnel had asked him to please take his pistol back to the vehicle as other shoppers were nervous about it. He said 'It's my pistol, you can't have it.' and kept wandering around. We received the call and I responded. When approached, he tried to walk away and ignore me, but I told him he either had to take his pistol out to the car or leave completely as the store did not want him carrying in there. The guy finally relented and just left. I made a point of following him out to his car and then followed at a distance to see where he went. He left town headed in the direction of the town where the registered owner of the car was from (I assume they were one in the same as I never got his ID.)

As a note, the owner of the store's son was the manager on duty that day. He was a big hunter and shooter, so he was not against someone carrying in the store, just concerned about the fact the guy was acting so strange. He (the manager) actually shot and killed two armed robbers about 2 years later as they were leaving the store. He spotted the robbers through the store window as he was walking up to the store, and ran back and got his mini-14 ranch rifle and shot them as they were trying to get into their car. Because of the laws in place at the time, there was a big question on whether he was justified on the shooting as they were fleeing, and it took over a year to get him acquitted. Don't know how much he ended up paying in legal fees.

But I digress, so bottom line, I would not be against open carry being legal in unincorporated parts of Texas (aka outside of the city limits), but anyone who thinks they are going to be able to strap on a gun and walk around Austin or Plano without causing a stir is delusional IMO.

Opencarry.org is way out of date on everything for Texas as far as I can tell. Their latest press release is almost 3 years old.

None that I am aware of. In past sessions the Open Carry extremists have not done the movement any favors. Their attempted strong arm tactics have alienated so many legislators that trying to find one to take the charge and introduce a bill may be tough.