Open carry was originally banned by the carpetbagger government after the Civil war. They changed the Texas constitution to do it. Unfortunately, the new legislature, when they made the new constitution in 1876, lef in a clause allowing the legislature to regulate the carrying of arms in order to decrease crime, and the legislature, not wanting those uppity freed slaves to carry guns, banned open and concealed carry.
I am all for open carry along with concealed carry.
The reason I support open carry has nothing to do with the fact that I probably would never openly carry a gun. The point is that the cops sometimes arrest someone for accidentally letting their concealed gun be exposed.
Generally speaking, concealed carry is better, but there might be times you’d want to open carry. Plus it would keep you from getting in trouble for accidentally printing or exposing your sidearm.
While I think open carry should be a given, they would be better off implementing a no license concealed carry, such as Arizona, Vermont(of all states)and Alaska have. I believe those are the three states the do not require a permit to carry concealed. All 50 states should NOT require a permit to carry concealed or openly.
Criminals accross America prefer concealed carry.
Pay to play? Is that the deal? What does the 2A say about the RKBA?
Don’t leave out Maryland, Getting a carry permit here is damned near impossible.
Unless you have a high ranking friend in the State Police.
It seems to me that there is a need for gun etiquette, with some degree of formality.
That is, say you have CC or open carry, and you *want* to let one or more police know that you are armed, and that, based on the situation you want to temporarily disarm, but without frightening or agitating them.
Even under the old rules, it was both difficult and ritualized to take your gun from its holster, insure that it was safe, and hand it to someone else for inspection.
But such etiquette rules need a formal reintroduction, just so that everybody, citizens and LEOs, are on the “same sheet of music” again.
Well, if’n we here in neighboring New Mexico, with all our liberals, can do it, why can’t Texas?
No! people, the crime rate will skyrocket like it is here in AZ...oh, yeah...never mind.
I don’t like his qualification that an open carry person should be a CHL holder.
There are many of us Texans without CHLs that want to open carry. I’m old and would walk the neighborhood for needed exercise or feel more safe in other areas if I had the sidearm. Thugs don’t like attacking people that may be able to defend themselves.
They really need to add Mississippi to that list. The law says you can open carry, but some idiot Judge decided that a holster at least partially conceals a weapon and that makes it a concealed weapon which requires a permit and also makes it illegal to allow it to show. I haven't been able to get anyone to tell me how one would go about open carry here - can you walk around with a gun in your hand or does you hand constitute "concealment? If you tie a string around your neck with the gun hanging off it, does it make it legal to carry? IOW, we have a law that says we can open carry, but an edict that prohibits it.
What has happened to this world?
Back in the 50’s when I was a kid I used to walk down the street past the house I live in now carrying a .22 rifle or .410 shotgun over my shoulder with my buddies doing the same to go hunting about 2 miles out of town.
No one thought a thing about it.
Today, if I walked out with a BB gun and went down the street...within 5 minutes the police swat team would have me down on the ground to be arrested for 25-50 violations of the law.
What’s happened is that our culture (mainly women who are horrified at bugs, mice, snakes and most of all...guns) believe if something bothers you, simply let the government solve the problem that annoys you.
Well, the government is in full production mode at removing the problem....FREEDOM.
Now, what percentage of women voted for Obama? Pretty telling isn’t it.
It's an Individual Right that Shall not be Infringed. Both in the keeping of them and in the bearing of those arms. This applies to all 50 States under the "Laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding" clause.
I keep repeating it, but this is not rocket surgery...