Texas embraces handgun 'open-carry': What took 'em so long?

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

http://news.yahoo.com/texas-embraces-handgun-open-carry-took-em-long-190146321.html


Texas embraces handgun 'open-carry': What took 'em so long?


The state of high plains drifters and urban cowboys has long been skeptical about open-carry of handguns, making the Long Star State more like New York than Arizona when it comes to guns out in the open. That’s now changing.
Christian Science Monitor By Patrik Jonsson
7 hours ago


Despite its reputation as a conservative bulwark, Texas has long acted more like California or New York when it comes to aversion to guns in public. But that’s now changing, as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has indicated he’ll sign a bill that’ll make Texas the largest US state to allow open carry of handguns in public.

Mr. Abbott’s expected signature will make Texas the 45th state to allow open-carry of handguns in public spaces, a fact that polls suggest is indicative of a deeply-held suspicion of handguns and gun-carriers in the Lone Star Republic.

Yet a years-long push by tea party lawmakers and gun rights advocates has steadily worn down the resistance at the Austin statehouse, yielding to a contentious 96-35 vote on Friday, just a month after the Texas Senate passed a similar open carry bill

Indeed, lawmakers in some ways spoke up on behalf of a minority of Texas residents who want to see an increase in open-carry. Only one in three Texans want to see open-carry without a permit, and only 45 percent are okay with open-carry with a permit – which is what the legislature finally adopted. In a recent University of Texas survey, only one in 10 Texans wanted to see open carry without a permit, and 25 percent said no one should carry handguns openly in public.

What’s more, according to a recent Texas Policy Project poll, even a majority of Republicans wanted to see gun laws in Texas unchanged, with 55 percent of tea party respondents saying there was no need to add more gun rights in the state.

To be sure, Texas has always allowed residents to carry long runs, like rifles and shotguns, in the open, a nod to its pioneer past and living ranch legacy.

But residents have been more suspicious about carrying handguns in public, in part owing to the state’s large and dense urban areas – think Houston and Dallas – where police and residents fret that more guns in public will equal more violence and problems for law enforcement.

“It’s going to be difficult for the beat cop to know who should have a gun, who shouldn’t have a gun, and frankly there are people out there who shouldn’t own guns,” Sean Mannix, the police chief of Cedar Park, Tex., and chair of the Texas Association of Police Chiefs, told KXAN TV.

Because of its sheer size, Texas has long been seen as a prize by gun rights advocates, who have had significant successes in expanding the breadth of the Second Amendment even as America becomes increasingly more urban. Since the sun-setting of the assault rifle ban in 2004, states have steadily expanded gun and self defense rights while rebuffing federal attempts at closing gun show loopholes and expanding background checks.

Currently, about 841,000 Texans have concealed handgun licenses, or about 5 percent of eligible residents.

Democrats tried in vain to restrain those numbers with a variety of amendments, including an opt-out provision for larger urban areas. Democrat Rafael Anchia at one point asked a fellow Dallas lawmaker, Eric Johnson, whether there’s a “groundswell” in Dallas demanding open carry.

Mr. Johnson answered no, but added, “I also recognize that there may be districts around the state where there is this outcry.”

While most Democrat amendments failed, the final bill did include a compromise to include concerns from police.

While some lawmakers pushed for so-called constitutional-carry where no license is required, the legislature finally opted to require a special open-carry permit for which owners have to apply.

For gun rights advocates, the victory seemed decisive after years of inaction. Terry Holcomb, Sr., told the Wall Street Journal that the open-carry provision had never even made it out of legislative committees before this year. That it passed suggests “we are seeing historic progress in Texas,” he said.


I always wondered what took them so long to get to expresses the 2nd Amendment as it was intended to be ..-Tyr

[Jeff]

We have it here in GA and it works great, yes you have to have a carry permit ( which means you are not a criminal nor do you have any mental illness )

A example how well it works.

A buddy of mine owns a Tattoo shop and a bike shop in town next to each other, a few weeks ago he was leaving the shop late at night ( 2 am or so ) with a good bit of cash on him, as he walked out to go to his pick up he heard voices and looked up to see a small group of black kids hanging on the corner, one said something to them and then approached my buddy and asked if he had a dollar, my buddy pointed to his 45 and said no but I have this and the kid turned and walked away. A few days later a lady was robbed right around the corner from where this happened.

This story happened in a town that has like one light, blink and you will miss the town, and the shops are downtown, nothing at all for kids to do there so no if they are hanging out they are there for no other reason than trouble. Again no thug wants to get hurt, they will prey on those they think wont ( or can't ) hurt them.

[indago]

Texas embraces handgun 'open-carry': What took 'em so long?

I guess they just didn't understand the concept of THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS



.

[red state]

Yeah...and some (mostly liberal minded/MINE-LESS) would have us ALL leave our guns our to church and GOD out of gov. Some will even go as far as to say that GOD will protect and if you are a REAL Christian, you will trust in God and His protective hand. To that, I leave everyone with a Jerry Clower joke:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxi51j_jerry-clower-god-s-gonna-take-care-of-me_fun

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxi51j_jerry-clower-god-s-gonna-take-care-of-me_fun
:salute: The same idiots (mostly leftists) who are void of common sense, rely on others and reject the wisdom that God has given to most of us, in addition to supporting a perversion of our Constitution (which is full of common sense), would also have us rely TOTALLY on the gov. (as with KATRINA where unarmed folks were raped, robbed and murdered while the gov. robbed law abiding citizens of their means to protect themselves and left them PREY to the predominantly black hood-lums.

GOD is going to take care of me but HE has given me the means by which I do HIS bidding in taking care of my family, my church and my Nation!!!!!!

[LongTermGuy]

Yeah...and some (mostly liberal minded/MINE-LESS) would have us ALL leave our guns our to church and GOD out of gov. Some will even go as far as to say that GOD will protect and if you are a REAL Christian, you will trust in God and His protective hand. To that, I leave everyone with a Jerry Clower joke:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxi51j_jerry-clower-god-s-gonna-take-care-of-me_fun

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxi51j_jerry-clower-god-s-gonna-take-care-of-me_fun
:salute: The same idiots (mostly leftists) who are void of common sense, rely on others and reject the wisdom that God has given to most of us, in addition to supporting a perversion of our Constitution (which is full of common sense), would also have us rely TOTALLY on the gov. (as with KATRINA where unarmed folks were raped, robbed and murdered while the gov. robbed law abiding citizens of their means to protect themselves and left them PREY to the predominantly black hood-lums.

GOD is going to take care of me but HE has given me the means by which I do HIS bidding in taking care of my family, my church and my Nation!!!!!!


:clap::clap::clap: Well said sir....!:salute:

[red state]

Sorry for the many type-O's....getting accustomed to new keys. Glad you guys have the talent to decipher what was actually being said/written.

~RED

[Drummond]

If there's any thread subject I couldn't hope to add a meaningful contribution to, I imagine it'd be this.

All I can really say is that I greatly envy you all your 'right to bear arms' in the first place. We should have it in the UK, in my opinion. But our own Left have spent generations in brainwashing our people to not only NOT want such a thing, but to disdain anyone who would.

Rioting across England, a couple of years ago, would've been short lived, maybe stopped in its tracks, if the ordinary citizen could've relied on the proper gun freedoms to deter it.

So cherish that freedom, folks. Left-wing trash will rob you of it, any way they can, given the smallest chance.

[red state]

If there's any thread subject I couldn't hope to add a meaningful contribution to, I imagine it'd be this.

All I can really say is that I greatly envy you all your 'right to bear arms' in the first place. We should have it in the UK, in my opinion. But our own Left have spent generations in brainwashing our people to not only NOT want such a thing, but to disdain anyone who would.

Rioting across England, a couple of years ago, would've been short lived, maybe stopped in its tracks, if the ordinary citizen could've relied on the proper gun freedoms to deter it.
:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap: (please accept 5 claps as a token of "reputation" that DP does not allow until we "ShARE thE wEalth or rep".

So cherish that freedom, folks. Left-wing trash will rob you of it, any way they can, given the smallest chance.

_________________________________

So very true, Drummond, and so EXTREMELY well worded....I have fantastic clients from all around the world and have been extremely blessed that said clients are "conservative" for the most part but even those who are either Conservative (and proud of it) or Conservative (without even realizing it) have been brain washed into thinking that the right to protect oneself is evil and only a point from which we PRO LIFE & SECURITY Conservatives use to argue out point. I've noted this before but I have a client in Australia who was head of customs and security at one point before going into the business privily and we once discussed this to the point of arguing after an absurd suggestion of "MARTIAL ARTS" being a substitute for a gun. I firmly believe in ALL forms of self-security and see no reason to "LIMIT" my abilities against criminals or a gov that most definitely plan to have unlimited power over me.

[Drummond]

_________________________________

So very true, Drummond, and so EXTREMELY well worded....I have fantastic clients from all around the world and have been extremely blessed that said clients are "conservative" for the most part but even those who are either Conservative (and proud of it) or Conservative (without even realizing it) have been brain washed into thinking that the right to protect oneself is evil and only a point from which we PRO LIFE & SECURITY Conservatives use to argue out point. I've noted this before but I have a client in Australia who was head of customs and security at one point before going into the business privily and we once discussed this to the point of arguing after an absurd suggestion of "MARTIAL ARTS" being a substitute for a gun. I firmly believe in ALL forms of self-security and see no reason to "LIMIT" my abilities against criminals or a gov that most definitely plan to have unlimited power over me.[/B][/I]

:clap::clap::clap:.. Completely agree with your viewpoint ... I've nothing useful to add ! :beer:

[Gunny]

I guess they just didn't understand the concept of THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS



.

Sure we did, and do. Check your facts.

[DLT]

Texas embraces handgun 'open-carry': What took 'em so long?


The state of high plains drifters and urban cowboys has long been skeptical about open-carry of handguns, making the Long Star State more like New York than Arizona when it comes to guns out in the open. That’s now changing.
Christian Science Monitor By Patrik Jonsson
7 hours ago


Despite its reputation as a conservative bulwark, Texas has long acted more like California or New York when it comes to aversion to guns in public. But that’s now changing, as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has indicated he’ll sign a bill that’ll make Texas the largest US state to allow open carry of handguns in public.

Mr. Abbott’s expected signature will make Texas the 45th state to allow open-carry of handguns in public spaces, a fact that polls suggest is indicative of a deeply-held suspicion of handguns and gun-carriers in the Lone Star Republic.

Yet a years-long push by tea party lawmakers and gun rights advocates has steadily worn down the resistance at the Austin statehouse, yielding to a contentious 96-35 vote on Friday, just a month after the Texas Senate passed a similar open carry bill

Indeed, lawmakers in some ways spoke up on behalf of a minority of Texas residents who want to see an increase in open-carry. Only one in three Texans want to see open-carry without a permit, and only 45 percent are okay with open-carry with a permit – which is what the legislature finally adopted. In a recent University of Texas survey, only one in 10 Texans wanted to see open carry without a permit, and 25 percent said no one should carry handguns openly in public.

What’s more, according to a recent Texas Policy Project poll, even a majority of Republicans wanted to see gun laws in Texas unchanged, with 55 percent of tea party respondents saying there was no need to add more gun rights in the state.

To be sure, Texas has always allowed residents to carry long runs, like rifles and shotguns, in the open, a nod to its pioneer past and living ranch legacy.

But residents have been more suspicious about carrying handguns in public, in part owing to the state’s large and dense urban areas – think Houston and Dallas – where police and residents fret that more guns in public will equal more violence and problems for law enforcement.

“It’s going to be difficult for the beat cop to know who should have a gun, who shouldn’t have a gun, and frankly there are people out there who shouldn’t own guns,” Sean Mannix, the police chief of Cedar Park, Tex., and chair of the Texas Association of Police Chiefs, told KXAN TV.

Because of its sheer size, Texas has long been seen as a prize by gun rights advocates, who have had significant successes in expanding the breadth of the Second Amendment even as America becomes increasingly more urban. Since the sun-setting of the assault rifle ban in 2004, states have steadily expanded gun and self defense rights while rebuffing federal attempts at closing gun show loopholes and expanding background checks.

Currently, about 841,000 Texans have concealed handgun licenses, or about 5 percent of eligible residents.

Democrats tried in vain to restrain those numbers with a variety of amendments, including an opt-out provision for larger urban areas. Democrat Rafael Anchia at one point asked a fellow Dallas lawmaker, Eric Johnson, whether there’s a “groundswell” in Dallas demanding open carry.

Mr. Johnson answered no, but added, “I also recognize that there may be districts around the state where there is this outcry.”

While most Democrat amendments failed, the final bill did include a compromise to include concerns from police.

While some lawmakers pushed for so-called constitutional-carry where no license is required, the legislature finally opted to require a special open-carry permit for which owners have to apply.

For gun rights advocates, the victory seemed decisive after years of inaction. Terry Holcomb, Sr., told the Wall Street Journal that the open-carry provision had never even made it out of legislative committees before this year. That it passed suggests “we are seeing historic progress in Texas,” he said.


I always wondered what took them so long to get to expresses the 2nd Amendment as it was intended to be ..-Tyr

What took them so long....is probably the fact that many Texans, myself included, prefer to keep concealed carry vs. open carry. I'm ok with the passage of it, but I feel that concealed carry is a better option since it keeps would-be muggers, robbers, etc., guessing as to who they should or should not try to victimize. With open-carry, all of the mystery is gone....lol. And of course, you miss out on all of those Kodak moments when some stupid sob tries to rob a helpless-looking female (like me) and then discovers that they just fukked up....royally....heh.

[indago]

Sure we did, and do. Check your facts.

"The right existed at the adoption of the constitution; it had then no limits short of the moral power of the citizens to exercise it, and it in fact consisted in nothing else but in the liberty of the citizens to bear arms." — Kentucky Court 1822

No limits! Can you in Texas boast of this?

[Jeff]

What took them so long....is probably the fact that many Texans, myself included, prefer to keep concealed carry vs. open carry. I'm ok with the passage of it, but I feel that concealed carry is a better option since it keeps would-be muggers, robbers, etc., guessing as to who they should or should not try to victimize. With open-carry, all of the mystery is gone....lol. And of course, you miss out on all of those Kodak moments when some stupid sob tries to rob a helpless-looking female (like me) and then discovers that they just fukked up....royally....heh.

Here in GA we can carry either way as well and I agree with you, I prefer to conceal but in certain cases open carry is the way to go. Seems the problem with many open carrying is they want everyone to see they have a gun, myself I don't want anyone to know I am carrying nor do I want to ever have to pull my weapon ( but it is there if I have to ) Folks that are carrying a gun just to look cool ( yes many open carrying are doing just that ) shouldn't be carrying at all IMO. But then you have the folks that believe it is there God given right as Americans to carry and are proud to do so and open carry to show how proud they are, those folks I have no problem with. Open carry does keep the would be criminals wondering who may have a gun, the old saying out of sight out of mind applies here, criminals aren't the brightest bunch and the reminder of someone open carrying can help in this case.

[tailfins]

I guess they just didn't understand the concept of THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS



.

Here's what took them so long: Cleaning up after this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgeQ_y7LMRI


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-tyKWNwtMU

[red state]

To Indigo, Jeff and DLT; The main problem with open carry is not the criminals seeing who to 'F' with and who not to. Unfortunately, the worse part of it, in my humble opinion, is the liberals who WILL make issue with your abiding by our Constitution. It makes it to where you are the target for EVERYONE....criminals included because if you are in a bank, hospital or federal building, you are obviously going to be targeted and made to surrender the weapon or take it back to the car and off the premises. But say you are allowed to carry, as in a restaurant or pawn shop situation; you are not only the target of a liberal who may call the cops on you or complain to management but you are also going to be the first one a criminal hits if he or she is dead-set on robbing the place regardless.

As for regulation or new laws allowing or disallowing one to carry openly or concealed......I'm against any such laws (even at the expense of being surrounded by a bunch of illegal Mexicans or muSLUMs with guns under their coat or behind their shirt (which is going to be the case regardless of the law or your abiding by any such law that LIMITS your rights and livelihood. The way I see it (and I believe Indigo and I agree) it that the 2nd Amendment IS my right to openly or conceal carry. PERIOD!!!! In Australia, just about the only folks allowed to carry or even own a gun are those who have pull and I see that happening bit by bit here in the good ole USofA.

Just like the argument from years ago regarding the homosexual movement: If you keep it "HERE" and go no further, I can live with it so we can get along BUT, they didn't wish to keep it "THERE" and I knew it would progress to the state we see ourselves in now. Same can be said of the gun control (GUN LIMIT/RESTRICTION/REGULATIONS). I haven't been happy with this crap for years (even when I had a liberal lean) but if any of ya'll are OK with it the way it was or is.....at what point do you say enough is enough. Already, we have the "insanity" bill hitting many States. This is just another foot in the door to restrict "Right-Wing-NUTS", EX-military or anyone that big bro or sis deems unworthy to keep and bear arms. A dangerous DOWN-HILL slope we find ourselves in and I'm never even happy to see an upswing with States like Arkansas or TX because we should have never had to go on an upswing and should have never allowed a degradation of our RIGHTS.

Gaffer has told me many times that I post long messages and that they are hard on the eyes but he also has told me that he enjoyed them and for me to keep it up because I usually have so much that needs to be said. What I say may be lengthy and hard on old eyes but it is hard on the left who can't digest it and if Ole Gaffer couldn't argue with any of it, enjoyed the read, even with strained eyes, I'm going to write as I see fit and hope that it covers something that went unmentioned or is a help to someone in a way of THINKING. I don't get to post often so I TRY to make good when I do post.