http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63GiXzpfGhA
Remember the anti-war reporters of the 60's? They now have non-disclosure agreements that reporters will have to sign before they are even allowed to set foot in Iraq. Then, they have all their footage censored and all their belongings searched and sniffed by dogs before they're allowed to remit people, material, or video back to the US from Iraq. They've learned their lesson from the 60's.
Protest is not working as quickly as in the 60's, but it will work. More of us just need to call in sick to work to protest. We need to call our friends and family and persuade them to come along to protest. I invite you to do this before it is too late.
It would've been inappropriate for the guy with the AK to carry if it was an anti-tax rally, but the tea party is not an anti-tax rally. The Tea Party is against big government taking away our rights. This includes taxation without representation as well as your 2nd Amendment rights. So, it is appropriate considering what the protest is all about. And, if that guy gets brutalized by cops, then it would actually work FOR us, not against us.
We are marginalized if one lone guy shows up with an AK47. However, what if ALL tea partiers did that? What if 1 MILLION people showed up in Austin did that? Then, we would be MAINSTREAM and our voices will HAVE TO BE HEARD. Quit being so chicken and cheap! It's OK to be chicken. Just be sure to get the info of the dude next to you holding a rifle and offer to bail him out and give him a couple of c notes for lawyer's fees if he gets arrested. Then, start videotaping! It's ok to be cheap, just don't be chicken, too! Grab a long gun and start marching. If any of our forum members get arrested doing LAWFUL protesting and a family member who could not afford to bail him out, post here then I will help bail him/her out. LAWFUL means long gun, not handgun. If you shoulder carried it with a sling and your hand was NOT on the weapon, then I WILL help bail you out! I may be chicken, but I'm certainly not cheap. Just like "Remember the Alamo!" was a battle cry, I'm saying, "Remember Obamacare!" as our peaceful protest cry. Finally, thanks for helping to keep the protest area clean by picking up the garbage after yourselves. I bet those hippies didn't do THAT in the 60's huh? We conservatives are a better bunch. Let's keep up the political pressure! Let's continue writing our legislators and organizing tea parties!
denwego wrote:Pursuant to Local Government Code, §229.001, a municipality normally could not regulate the carrying of firearms to proclude them being loaded versus unloaded, etc.; legal under state law means legal everywhere. However! Subsection (b6) grants municipalities the ability to regulate or prohibit the carrying of firearms, other than concealed handguns carried under the authority of a CHL, at a very small list of places... and a "political rally" is one of those places. No doubt that was intended to keep the KKK and similar organizations from being armed as they met in public, but the Tea Party would certainly qualify nonetheless.
It doesn't prohibit it outright, just grants municipalities the power to regulate it if they so choose. Austin might have enacted a temporary order to prevent the carrying of loaded long arms just for this rally, but there's no permanent ordinance on the books for Austin in general. Citations for the win:
Code: Select all
229.001. Firearms; Explosives. (a) A municipality may not adopt regulations relating to the transfer, private ownership, keep- ing, transportation, licensing, or registration of firearms, ammunition, or firearm supplies. (b) Subsection (a) does not affect the author- ity a municipality has under another law to: (1) require residents or public employees to be armed for personal or national defense, law enforcement, or another lawful purpose; (2) regulate the discharge of firearms within the limits of the municipality; (3) regulate the use of property, the location of a business, or uses at a business under the municipality's fire code, zoning ordinance, or land-use regulations as long as the code, ordi- nance, or regulations are not used to circumvent the intent of Subsection (a) or Subdivision (5) of this subsection; (4) regulate the use of firearms in the case of an insurrection, riot, or natural disaster if the municipality finds the regulations necessary to protect public health and safety; (5) regulate the storage or transportation of explosives to protect public health and safety, except that 25 pounds or less of black powder for each private residence and 50 pounds or less of black powder for each retail dealer are not subject to regulation; or (6) regulate the carrying of a firearm by a per- son other than a person licensed to carry a con- cealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, at a: (A) public park; (B) public meeting of a municipality, county, or other governmental body; (C) political rally, parade, or official political meeting; or (D) nonfirearms-related school, college, or professional athletic event. (c) The exception provided by Subsection (b) (6) does not apply if the firearm is in or is carried to or from an area designated for use in a lawful hunting, fishing, or other sporting event and the firearm is of the type commonly used in the activity. (d) The exception provided by subsection (b)(4) does not authorize the seizure or confiscation of any firearm or ammunition from an individual who is lawfully carrying or possessing the firearm or ammunition.