Open-carry rally scheduled Saturday at Home Depot in North Richland Hills

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/ ^ | 5-30-14 | Stephanie Embree

[smokingfrog]

Open Carry Tarrant County is planning a rally Saturday in North Richland Hills, billed as the “greatest” the county has ever seen.

Starting at 11:30 a.m. supporters will fill the back of the parking lot at the Home Depot on Precinct Line Road to listen to speakers, have an open-carry education session and hold a raffle. Prizes include revolvers, an AR 15 rifle, over 1,500 rounds of ammunition and Rangers tickets, according to the group’s Facebook page.

Rally organizer Kory Watkins, 30, wants to make it clear that Saturday’s event is not a protest.

“Protesters are angry; and we are not angry people. If you come up to us, you will see we are smiling and friendly,” he said. “We are demonstrating, demonstrating our rights and demonstrating how the law lets you carry a long gun, but you can’t open carry a pistol.”

The rally comes days after a testy Memorial Day exchange between an open-carry group and a Marine veteran in Fort Worth (see the video below) and a week after Chipotle and other restaurants made headlines by prohibiting guns following an incident in Dallas’ West End.

Watkins said his group has been meeting at the Home Depot for almost a year, and unlike other businesses and cities like Arlington who have clashed with the group, the home improvement giant has “stayed neutral.”

[DLfromthedesert]

That marine had PTSD
Thank

[smokingfrog]

Possibly. I’m not really sure how that confrontation began, but it looked to me like both sides were acting like jerks.

[KingLudd]

Home Depot was the first place I ever saw someone carrying openly, and it wasn’t that many years ago. It occurred to me that although he was perfectly right to do so, he didn’t have the element of surprise, which can be an incredible advantage.

[MaxMax]

You never know how fast a man can unholster a weapon, or how accurately he can fire it. Feeling lucky?