TexasCHLforum.com

frazzled wrote:Personally I'm for OC with the ability of local jurisidictions to prohibit, otherwise limited only by the same requirements of purchasing a firearm in Texas.

I'm a huge advocate of OC, but I'd rather not have OC, than let the camel of local restriction get its nose into the tent. Gun owners can't afford to allow any cracks in the armor of strong statewide preemption, and I don't think TSRA would ever agree to anything like that.

Look at alcohol sales in the DFW metroplex: it's a crazy patchwork of wet, dry, by-the-drink, and package sales only. Local municipality lines run willy-nilly with hardly any notice. In 30 minutes you can pass through a half dozen or more "local jurisdictions". Do you want the same kind of craziness applied to carrying a gun?

bizarrenormality wrote:

marksiwel wrote:Does anyone know why Open Carry was banned in Texas?
Is it like most Gun Laws and have to do with some weird vaugley racist concerns?

If you look at the history, there was nothing vague about it.

And it was especially telling that it was imposed by a Reconstruction government unhappy that Texas didn't bar "those people" from carrying guns.

marksiwel wrote:Does anyone know why Open Carry was banned in Texas?

Open carry wasn't banned; carry (of a handgun) was banned, open or concealed, for over a century.

The traditional exemptions to the ban on carry have never distinguished between open and concealed, and that's a good thing. Unfortunately, when Texas made it legal to carry a handgun starting in 1995 (with a license), the law specified concealed carry. I've heard that was politically necessary to gain passage, and perhaps it was, but it's unfortunate.

Still, the point to keep in mind that it was illegal to carry a handgun in Texas for over a century, and there has been a lot of progress in the last 15 years. There is more progress to be made, and I hope that no one will rest on the laurel of "I've got mine, let's not risk that by asking for more". That's the attitude of the Fudds who would gladly sell out handguns and semi-auto rifles just so long as they can keep their hunting guns.