Mike
Site Co-Founder
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Gun-rights-debaters-analyze-mall-incident-5124092.php
SNIP
A gun store owner who was arrested last week was within his rights when he walked through Parkdale Mall with a rifle over his shoulder but was unlikely to get away with it, said a prominent firearms activist with concerns about Texas' gun laws.
Mike Stollenwerk, a founding member of the website opencarry.org, said he isn't sure what [else] Derek Poe could have done to convey to the mall's patrons that he wasn't there to cause harm.
Poe, 26, was confronted in Parkdale Mall on Dec. 28 by Beaumont police after shoppers reported being terrified by the sight of his AR15 rifle, which was slung muzzle down across his back, according to authorities. He wasn't arrested in the shop, but the weapon was confiscated and a warrant was later issued for his arrest on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace. He turned himself in last week.
. . .
Stollenwerk said he doesn't see an alternative way for Poe to have carried the rifle.
"That's about the best you can do to carry a long gun," . . . He said Texas is one of a handful of states, along with Florida and South Carolina, that are viewed as pro-gun but have restrictive laws on openly displaying guns in public.
SNIP
A gun store owner who was arrested last week was within his rights when he walked through Parkdale Mall with a rifle over his shoulder but was unlikely to get away with it, said a prominent firearms activist with concerns about Texas' gun laws.
Mike Stollenwerk, a founding member of the website opencarry.org, said he isn't sure what [else] Derek Poe could have done to convey to the mall's patrons that he wasn't there to cause harm.
Poe, 26, was confronted in Parkdale Mall on Dec. 28 by Beaumont police after shoppers reported being terrified by the sight of his AR15 rifle, which was slung muzzle down across his back, according to authorities. He wasn't arrested in the shop, but the weapon was confiscated and a warrant was later issued for his arrest on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace. He turned himself in last week.
. . .
Stollenwerk said he doesn't see an alternative way for Poe to have carried the rifle.
"That's about the best you can do to carry a long gun," . . . He said Texas is one of a handful of states, along with Florida and South Carolina, that are viewed as pro-gun but have restrictive laws on openly displaying guns in public.