Open Carry Texas Plans Protest at DPS Headquarters

[mojo84]

If they don't want the hook, don't take the bait. No need to arrest or hassle people that aren't breaking the law. If they break the law, bust them.

[WildBill]

If they don't want the hook, don't take the bait. No need to arrest or hassle people that aren't breaking the law. If they break the law, bust them.

Some people just like to fish and see what bites.

[cb1000rider]

Yea.. It's trouble.
You've got a group that is going fishing.
And you've got another group that might want to solve the immediate problem at hand.

Likely to get expensive...

[mojo84]

If they don't break the law then there is no problem. I don't agree with the tactic but I also don't see a need to hassle them if they don't break the law.

[WildBill]

If they don't break the law then there is no problem. I don't agree with the tactic but I also don't see a need to hassle them if they don't break the law.

In theory you are correct, but when tensions are high sometimes crowds can get out of hand; the police can react or over-react; the crowd can react or over-react, escalating into a confrontation. These situations can turn bad, very quickly. When it's all over sometimes you can't even figure out how, what and why it happened. But after it's all over we all know who is going to jail and who is going home.

Something we talk about regularly on the forum is to avoid getting into potentially bad situations. Avoiding this situation is easy - if I witness any of this protest it will be on TV.

[mojo84]

I understand what you are saying and you would be hard pressed to catch me at one of these rallies. I also understand there are some risks that go along with being a free society. If they aren't breaking a law, they should be left alone.

[WildBill]

I understand what you are saying and you would be hard pressed to catch me at one if these rallies. I also understand there are some risks that go along with being a free society. If they aren't breaking a law, they should be left alone.

100%

[anygunanywhere]

Seems to me that if you are going to plan a protest to garner support for something and get it enacted into law, wouldn't you want the protest aimed at the legislature and governor? Speaker of the House? OC protests aimed at DPS sounds like a really bad idea to me.

Anygunanywhere

[Cedar Park Dad]

Seems to me that if you are going to plan a protest to garner support for something and get it enacted into law, wouldn't you want the protest aimed at the legislature and governor? Speaker of the House? OC protests aimed at DPS sounds like a really bad idea to me.

Anygunanywhere

Agreed on all points.

[mojo84]

Seems to me that if you are going to plan a protest to garner support for something and get it enacted into law, wouldn't you want the protest aimed at the legislature and governor? Speaker of the House? OC protests aimed at DPS sounds like a really bad idea to me.

Anygunanywhere

Agreed on all points.

The challenge here is what they are doing is already legal albeit ill advised. They are just pushing for law enforcement to act according to the law.

[VMI77]

Geez, enough with stupid open carry protests like this. The DPS doesn't write the laws. Protesting at DPS can't possibly produce any positive outcome. The stupidity of this protest is so egregious that like some other posters on the forum have wondered, I have to wonder if this isn't actually sabotage.

[Jaguar]

Let me preface this with – I don’t condone this protest.

That said, I believe the OCT crowd is protesting at the DPS headquarters because of the arrest at the hands of the DPS of OC supporters on the grounds of the capital. They believe that arrest to be invalid and only a show of force against OC and wish to protest the very people that effected that arrest. Protesting the Legislature who rules they followed and are not in session would not accomplish anything and protesting the Governor who won’t be governor during the next Texas Legislative session won’t accomplish anything.

In their minds they are striking where it will do the most good – the people charged with upholding the law which they believe was violated by the arrest at the capitol. If they can get any light on the illegal arrest they can then protest at the capitol freely as intended without fear of arrest. Why should they bother with the legislature when what they were doing is legal?

As I have stated before, I am not a fan of this group and their tactics. I would like to see open carry, but I would rather see expansion of places I can carry such as HB 3218 and campus carry. It isn’t top priority for me, but again it is something I’d like to see passed. I can empathize where they are coming from, but I don’t condone their conduct.

[gigag04]

I understand what you are saying and you would be hard pressed to catch me at one of these rallies. I also understand there are some risks that go along with being a free society. If they aren't breaking a law, they should be left alone.

Here we agree.

[tommyg]

I'm against open carry it will aggravate the anti gun ners and make it worse for us.
Hand Guns need to be concealed long guns need to be in cases. Sorry to
feel this way we need to keep a low profile. We need to be responsible.

[jmra]

Based on this crowds behavior during their last protest, I can see how this whole thing could go south quickly. I don't know what they are doing as a group to police themselves but an armed crowd turning hostile in a confrontation with police is a recipe for disaster.
If I were leading this group my "props" would be exclusively wooden guns. What better way to symbolize a "lost right"?