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beaumontenterprise quotes OpenCarry.org's Mike Stollenwerk on open carry controversey

Mike

Site Co-Founder
Joined
May 13, 2006
Messages
8,706
Location
Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
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.
 

stealthyeliminator

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
3,100
Location
Texas
It's crazy that the law is the same from one town to the next, but application of it is polar opposite. You have one city almost hosting open carry events, and then you drive a ways down south and another DA and police chief may arrogantly profess that they don't care that it's legal, they'll arrest you anyway for open carrying.
 
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