Is Open Carry Activism Threatening our CHL rights.

[nightmare]

Does anyone know of any Sherriff, LEO, or politician that supports the "in your face" OC strategy?

Sheriffs and other politicians have been speakers at all kinds of civil rights rallies, marches, and other "in your face" events.

[Keith B]

Does anyone know of any Sherriff, LEO, or politician that supports the "in your face" OC strategy?

Sheriffs and other politicians have been speakers at all kinds of civil rights rallies, marches, and other "in your face" events.

You didn't answer the question.

[nightmare]

Some have spoken at open carry events but I recognize they are politicians. Maybe it was just for the votes. There's no way for anybody except God to know their true motivations and sympathies.

[myntalfloss]

The efforts of these in your face "OCA" people is so obviously counter productive to our cause that I've come to the conclusion that they cant be that stupid or hard headed so they must be plants from the leftist gun grabbers. Reasonable conclusion? Maybe some investigation into the background of the individuals doing this should be done and if my assumption is correct they need to be called out on it.

I used to wonder if the Brady bunch was being funded by the NRA, as every time they raised a stink, gun sales and NRA memberships increased. Now, I'm beginning to think that these OC idiots are Brady Bunch plants designed to cause negative publicity for gun owners.

Maybe I'm just over-thinking this and they're just a bunch of idiots.

[jmra]

...they're just a bunch of idiots.

The world never seems to be short of them.

[G.A. Heath]

I am the host of the Open Carry Report Podcast. Being the host of a very small niche podcast means you run a one man show and that you do not have a staff or a producer like a radio show does. The reason I mention this is because I do all the work. I go and get the guests not a producer. I do all the research, I decide what gets covered and what doesn't, and so on. To that end I also get 100% of the feedback from listeners, guests, and people I have approached to be a guest.

In regards to the feedback I get the occasional "I hope your gun kills you and your family" line from the anti-gun crowed along with a lot of jokes that are below the belt from the same crowd. I also get the "Your not a real OC supporter because you have attended X number of OC marches and and and and...." from the die hard OC crowd and I get called an OC FUDD by the same people. These are the same exact people who were thrilled because I was covering a few OC marches in my area in a supposedly unbiased (I do have a pro-gun bias and I do not hide or deny it) manner. But where I really see the effect of In Your Face (IYF) Open Carry tactics is with interview requests. Nearly every person I send an interview request to and I get a response from has concerns about IYF OC tactics, and I get a response from almost all interview requests. I would say that 10% of the requests do not mention anything about IYF OC tactics, 60% are concerned they may be associated with IYF OC efforts by appearing on the podcast. 25% simply refuse to be associated with anything relating to OC due to IYF tactics and the remaining 5% simply want assurances that I am not going to try to associate them with any particular group and/or IYF OC tactics. The bad thing about all this is that it is getting worse.

I can only imagine what IYF efforts are doing on the political front based on what Charles and others say, but if it's anything like what I am seeing we are facing a much greater uphill battle now than we have before.

[myntalfloss]

If you're getting criticized by the NRA, you might want to re-think your tactics. Just saying.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/ho ... 523740.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jmra]

If you're getting criticized by the NRA, you might want to re-think your tactics. Just saying.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/ho ... 523740.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NRA open letter
http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/artic ... -role.aspx
The second example comes to us from the Lone Star State, which is second to none for its robust gun culture. We applaud Texans for that, but a small number have recently crossed the line from enthusiasm to downright foolishness.

Now we love AR-15s and AKs as much as anybody, and we know that these sorts of semiautomatic carbines are among the most popular, fastest selling firearms in America today. Texas, independent-minded and liberty-loving place that it is, doesn't ban the carrying of loaded long guns in public, nor does it require a permit for this activity. Yet some so-called firearm advocates seem determined to change this.

Recently, demonstrators have been showing up in various public places, including coffee shops and fast food restaurants, openly toting a variety of tactical long guns. Unlicensed open carry of handguns is legal in about half the U.S. states, and it is relatively common and uncontroversial in some places.

Yet while unlicensed open carry of long guns is also typically legal in most places, it is a rare sight to see someone sidle up next to you in line for lunch with a 7.62 rifle slung across his chest, much less a whole gaggle of folks descending on the same public venue with similar arms.

Let's not mince words, not only is it rare, it's downright weird and certainly not a practical way to go normally about your business while being prepared to defend yourself. To those who are not acquainted with the dubious practice of using public displays of firearms as a means to draw attention to oneself or one's cause, it can be downright scary. It makes folks who might normally be perfectly open-minded about firearms feel uncomfortable and question the motives of pro-gun advocates.

As a result of these hijinx, two popular fast food outlets have recently requested patrons to keep guns off the premises (more information can be found here and here). In other words, the freedom and goodwill these businesses had previously extended to gun owners has been curtailed because of the actions of an attention-hungry few who thought only of themselves and not of those who might be affected by their behavior. To state the obvious, that's counterproductive for the gun owning community.

More to the point, it's just not neighborly, which is out of character for the big-hearted residents of Texas. Using guns merely to draw attention to yourself in public not only defies common sense, it shows a lack of consideration and manners. That's not the Texas way. And that's certainly not the NRA way.

In summary, NRA certainly does not support bans on personalized guns or on carrying firearms in public, including in restaurants. We think people are intelligent enough to resolve these issues in a reasonable way for themselves. But when people act without thinking, or without consideration for others – especially when it comes to firearms – they set the stage for further restrictions on our rights. Firearm owners face enough challenges these days; we don't need to be victims of friendly fire.

[TexasGal]

The OC groups just do not want to face they are not "winning" any battle for gun rights for themselves or anyone else. They are doing harm.

[tommyg]

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/06/0 ... otle-beef/

The Gun Owners of America does not like what Texas open carry is doing. The GOA is less flexible than the NRA and
they are no compromise if they don't like it, it has to be a bad idea see the link above. They will get us more valid no gun signs
and make the rest of us look really bad. Keep your AR15 at home or put it in a case if you have to carry it around a little sense goes a long way.

[mojo84]

This is probably the better thread for this.

From NRA Facebook page.

NRA Chief Lobbyist Chris W. Cox addresses the recent article by NRA-ILA on open carry demonstrations in Texas. He says it shouldn't have happened and notes that, "Our job is not to criticize the lawful behavior of fellow gun owners, our job is to effectuate policy change." Cox also clarifies the NRA's position and states, "Unequivocally, we support open carry. We've been the leader of open carry efforts across this country." Later in the interview, Cox discusses the tragedy in California and upcoming elections. Watch the full interview with Cam here: http://bit.ly/1kAQz5M" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[tommyg]

I was looking at the enemy web site http://everytown.org/in-the-news/ it is part of the Bloomburg anti-gun campaign
they are using the radical open carry crowd's irresponsible actions against us big time. The damage appears
to be extensive. Whose side are these idiots on. I can see paying with 2 dollar bills and rewarding gun friendly places with
business but to carry AR 15 and other weapons into stores and restaurants is totally FOOLISH.
I 'm starting to think the open carry movement is infiltrated by our enemies

[UpTheIrons]

From reading the threads on here about open carry, it seems to me that most of us are for open carry and most probably won't go around carrying as such except in certain situations. From what I've gathered, we want it basically to relieve some of the worrying about accidentally exposing our concealment. Just a thought and I'm not sure if this has already been done, but maybe we should explain to our reps our reasoning for OC and that our intentions are not to go around "frightening" the public but to allow us a little more leeway with how we carry.

I'm sure that's what's been done in the past (done it myself) and what we'll do when we get a Call to Action next session, but our calm, reasoned responses will be drowned out by the frantic calls of those who are upset by the images of the OCT clowns parading around through Home Depot, Chipotle, and now Target.

[carlson1]

I don't want to hi-jack the thread, but I wonder how many of these "one day wonders" even have a CHL? I heard one man interviewed weeks ago that said, "this is the only way we can carry our firearms for protection." Obvious he has no CHL. It makes me wonder if they are even legally able to own a firearm.