Renegade
Regular Member
imported post
SAN ANTONIO - Texans with concealed handgun permits want to come out of the closet and wear their weapons in polite society. I'm calling it the "gun pride" movement and it's taking off like a bullet.
There are no state gun pride parades as of yet, but there is an online petition with over 20,000 names that's asking Texas lawmakers to let them bare their barrels. You can find the petition at http://www.opencarry.org.
According to the Web site, Texas is just one of six states that completely ban open carry.
The group behind the petition is asking for unlicensed open carry. That means anybody over 18 without a felony conviction can strut with a Smith & Wesson.
The Legislature approved the concealed-carry law in 1995. There were predictions that Texas would revert to the days of the Old West with daily gunfights, poor dental hygiene, and mothers naming their wild-eyed offspring Festus.
That didn't happen. Instead, we've witnessed the violent crime rate in the state continuously drop, according to the FBI's crime stats.
I don't know if there's a connection. So I blame video games for the decrease in violent crime.
Nevertheless, those dire forecasts of blood in the streets are being re-uttered as the debate over open carry heats up in Texas.
The accusation is that Texas gun slingers want to patrol the streets with their shooting irons strapped on their hips. These trigger happy yokels will be itching to unload at the slightest insult or doubt about their passive nature.
Pish-posh, I say. This is not about gunning down lilly-livered-sloppy-chop criminals. This is about fashion.
Supporters of open carry complain that Texas is too hot and humid for concealed carry. Who wants to wear a plaid sports coat in the heat just so they can pack heat?
It's not exactly a concealed weapon when you can pick out the gun enthusiast in a crowd because he's the one sweating bullets through his Sears suit at the county fair.
Also, when Texans do get the go-ahead to unveil their firearms, the sidearm is going to be the trendiest accessory since the baby bump.
How can you be seen in last year's Beretta at the rodeo? Just shoot me if you see me make such a fashion misfire!
I think we can look forward to pimping my pistol behavior. Fancy pearl-handled platinum-plated revolvers could be all the rage at the cotillion.
The folks in favor of open carry say it will make them more effective in shooting bad guys since they'll be quicker on the draw. They also argue that because the gun is in plain sight they will be walking deterrents to crime.
Those against the law change caution that having more guns in the open makes it easier for criminals to get them. And it increases the chances of accidental shootings.
Either way, I don't think passing open carry is going to change much in the streets of Texas. Guns are already a big part of our way of life.
Gun aficionados love to remind us that we've got a constitutional right to bare arms and they are ready to fight to defend that right.
I only wish they were just as equally passionate about protecting all the other rights in the Constitution.
David Martin Davies is the news director for Texas Public Radio and host of the syndicated program Texas Matters.
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/080808/opi_opin2.shtml
SAN ANTONIO - Texans with concealed handgun permits want to come out of the closet and wear their weapons in polite society. I'm calling it the "gun pride" movement and it's taking off like a bullet.
There are no state gun pride parades as of yet, but there is an online petition with over 20,000 names that's asking Texas lawmakers to let them bare their barrels. You can find the petition at http://www.opencarry.org.
According to the Web site, Texas is just one of six states that completely ban open carry.
The group behind the petition is asking for unlicensed open carry. That means anybody over 18 without a felony conviction can strut with a Smith & Wesson.
The Legislature approved the concealed-carry law in 1995. There were predictions that Texas would revert to the days of the Old West with daily gunfights, poor dental hygiene, and mothers naming their wild-eyed offspring Festus.
That didn't happen. Instead, we've witnessed the violent crime rate in the state continuously drop, according to the FBI's crime stats.
I don't know if there's a connection. So I blame video games for the decrease in violent crime.
Nevertheless, those dire forecasts of blood in the streets are being re-uttered as the debate over open carry heats up in Texas.
The accusation is that Texas gun slingers want to patrol the streets with their shooting irons strapped on their hips. These trigger happy yokels will be itching to unload at the slightest insult or doubt about their passive nature.
Pish-posh, I say. This is not about gunning down lilly-livered-sloppy-chop criminals. This is about fashion.
Supporters of open carry complain that Texas is too hot and humid for concealed carry. Who wants to wear a plaid sports coat in the heat just so they can pack heat?
It's not exactly a concealed weapon when you can pick out the gun enthusiast in a crowd because he's the one sweating bullets through his Sears suit at the county fair.
Also, when Texans do get the go-ahead to unveil their firearms, the sidearm is going to be the trendiest accessory since the baby bump.
How can you be seen in last year's Beretta at the rodeo? Just shoot me if you see me make such a fashion misfire!
I think we can look forward to pimping my pistol behavior. Fancy pearl-handled platinum-plated revolvers could be all the rage at the cotillion.
The folks in favor of open carry say it will make them more effective in shooting bad guys since they'll be quicker on the draw. They also argue that because the gun is in plain sight they will be walking deterrents to crime.
Those against the law change caution that having more guns in the open makes it easier for criminals to get them. And it increases the chances of accidental shootings.
Either way, I don't think passing open carry is going to change much in the streets of Texas. Guns are already a big part of our way of life.
Gun aficionados love to remind us that we've got a constitutional right to bare arms and they are ready to fight to defend that right.
I only wish they were just as equally passionate about protecting all the other rights in the Constitution.
David Martin Davies is the news director for Texas Public Radio and host of the syndicated program Texas Matters.
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/080808/opi_opin2.shtml