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"Operation Lone Star Thunder" Targets San Antonio and Representative Castro

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Mike

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[align=center]
[/align]




[align=center]OpenCarry.org[/align]


[align=center]For Immediate Release - December 8, 2008
---[/align]


[align=center]Operation Lone Star Thunder” Targets San Antonio and Representative Castro [/align]


[align=center]Petition to Restore Rights Surges Past 45,000 Signatures[/align]


[align=center]"Texas Open Carry Working Group" Now Operational[/align]


[align=center]FBI Study Concludes: Bad Guys Don't Open Carry[/align]


[align=center]----------[/align]
In most states adults may openly carry handguns in public without any license.[1] But not in Texas. Texas is one of only 6 states completely banning the open carry of handguns, even if you stop by a friend’s home on the weekend.

Since OpenCarry.org's billboards went up San Antonio,[2] and on I-45 in Houston[3], and on a Taxi fleet in Austin, our online open carry rights restoration petition signature count has skyrocketed to over 45,000 signatures[4]. And now starting Monday December 8, 2008, “Operation Lone Star Thunder” AUGMENTS its ongoing ad campaign over 6 radio stations across the Dallas-Ft. Worth radio airwaves with ads for one week over San Antonio on WOIA, KTKR, KAJA, and KZEP targeting Representative Joaquin Castro's recent remarks urging gun owners to stay in the closet (radio spot attached).[5]

The word in Austin is that there will be at least one open carry bill this year - the only question is, will the bill(s) merely seek to allow Conceal Handgun License holders to open carry? Or will the bill seek to restore Texans' rights to the same level as folks who live and travel in most states and can open carry without any license?

OpenCarry.org calls on the Dallas-Ft. Worth members of the Texas Legislature to come to work in January prepared to conform Texas law to the Second Amendment's right to openly carry handguns.[6] After all, a recent FBI study essentially concluded that dangerous criminals never open carry, and don't even wear holsters![7]

NOTE: The "Texas Open Carry Working Group" is now formed and its Legislative Operations Officer Aaron Poffenberger will give a short talk entitled "Decriminalizing Open Carry" at the Seabrook Rotary Club on December 18, 2008. See details at [url]http://www.clubrunner.ca/CPrg/home/homeD.asp?cid=3951[/url].

###

Media Contacts:

OpenCarry.org co-founders:
John Pierce: John@OpenCarry.org
Mike Stollenwerk: Mike@Opencarry.org

Texas Open Carry Working Group:
Ian McCarthy, Petition Founder and Chair of the Texas Open Carry Working Group, TexasOpenCarry@gmail.com, (San Antonio)
Duane Suddeth, dksuddeth@gmail.com, Vice-Chair of the Texas Open Carry Working Group (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Aaron Poffenberger, Legislative Operations Officer, akp@hypernote.com (Houston)
Ralph Carroll, r-carroll1@ti.com, (Van Zandt County)
Dennis Patterson, dpatterson2095@hotmail.com, (Austin)
Lori Dodson, LoriDodson@gmail.com(Houston)
Sean Johnson, seanjohnson@att.net(Dallas-Ft. Worth)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] See map at [url]http://www.opencarry.org/opencarry.html[/url].

[2] [url]http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum66/15001.html[/url].

[3] [url]http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum66/18160.html[/url].

[4] [url]http://www.petitiononline.com/texasoc/petition.htm[/url].

[5] [url]http://www.ksat.com/news/18190630/detail.html[/url]: "State Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) said he would not vote for an open carry law [because] 'I don't think people want to walk into a restaurant or movie theater and see five or six people who have guns on their waist.'"

[6] District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S.Ct. 2783, 2793-2798 (2008) (“bear means to carry” but concealed carry is not constitutionally protected).

[7] An FBI study recently documented that, essentially, bad guys don't open carry, or even wear holsters: Anthony Pinizzotto, et al., Violent Encounters: A Study of Felonious Assaults on Our Nation's Law Enforcement Officers, FBI (2006) (finding that violent criminals carefully "conceal" their guns and "eschew holsters"), summary available at http://www.forcesciencenews.com/home/detail.html?serial=62.
 
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Blkwdw86

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It's refreshing to see the petition response. I only signed on the 4th at #44028, and a thousand people have signed in only four days. This is great! It's hard for politicians to ignore the will of the people (although they find ways to do it anyway).
 
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jmaynard

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Does anyone else have a problem with the proposed lanuage?

In reading it apears some older language has crept back in whichre-inserts some of the concealed carry rules of past.

Problems:

(2) on the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting event or interscholastic event is taking place, unless the person is a participant in the event and a handgun is used in the event;

(5) in an amusement park;

(6) on the premises of a church, synagogue, or other established place of religious worship;

(1) "Amusement park" means a permanent indoor or outdoor facility or park where amusement rides are available for use by the public that is located in a county with a population of more than one million, encompasses at least 75 acres in surface area, is enclosed with access only through controlled entries, is open for operation more than 120 days in each calendar year, and has security guards on the premises at all times. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area.

[align=left]Here are some of the problems. [/align]
[align=left]1) Currently churches must employ30.06 signs in order to prevent CCL's from carrying inside. In addition, there are problems withthese are some churches are also schools. Which is it when it comes to interpertation, a church or a school? [/align]
[align=left]2) Seperate legislation is being introduced to allow carry on College campuses.[/align]
[align=left]3) The only Amusement parks that qualify are the water parks and Six Flags. All of these areas do not have strict access controls which would aloow anyone to carry an illegal firearm into the area. This creates 'killing zones'.[/align]
[align=left][/align]
 
M

Mike

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jmaynard wrote:
Does anyone else have a problem with the proposed lanuage?

In reading it apears some older language has crept back in whichre-inserts some of the concealed carry rules of past.

Problems:

(2) on the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting event or interscholastic event is taking place, unless the person is a participant in the event and a handgun is used in the event;

(5) in an amusement park;

(6) on the premises of a church, synagogue, or other established place of religious worship;

(1) "Amusement park" means a permanent indoor or outdoor facility or park where amusement rides are available for use by the public that is located in a county with a population of more than one million, encompasses at least 75 acres in surface area, is enclosed with access only through controlled entries, is open for operation more than 120 days in each calendar year, and has security guards on the premises at all times. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area.


[align=left]Here are some of the problems. [/align]

[align=left]1) Currently churches must employ30.06 signs in order to prevent CCL's from carrying inside. In addition, there are problems withthese are some churches are also schools. Which is it when it comes to interpertation, a church or a school? [/align]

[align=left]2) Seperate legislation is being introduced to allow carry on College campuses.[/align]

[align=left]3) The only Amusement parks that qualify are the water parks and Six Flags. All of these areas do not have strict access controls which would aloow anyone to carry an illegal firearm into the area. This creates 'killing zones'.[/align]
Click to expand...
I presume you have copied this from the draft bill? if so, there is no "older language" creeping back - this is the current text of relevant statutes, and our effort is solely to de-criminalize open carry - other groups can figure out how to roll back victim disarmement zones.
 
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jmaynard

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Mike wrote:
I presume you have copied this from the draft bill? if so, there is no "older language" creeping back - this is the current text of relevant statutes, and our effort is solely to de-criminalize open carry - other groups can figure out how to roll back victim disarmement zones.
Click to expand...

Yes, this is from the draft and the current laws do have additional language which was inserted during the last legislative session and the one previous to that.

I appreciate that this bill is attempting to restore our Constitutional right, but I would not be more encouraged if any section that was not directly effected were removed from the draft. This would insure that older language would not creep back in making CCL more restrictive along with restricting open carry. While I would neve consider open carry in church, I do conceal carry there and would not appreciate loosing that ability. Same goes for the upcoming legislation to carry on campus. We are just now starting to get some foot hold into getting our rights back as our founding fathers intended. Any legislation needs to take the whole picture into account.

ANyway, thats for the response. My signature is included and I will be actively working with our representatives to get this passed.
 
M

Mike

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jmaynard wrote:
Mike wrote:
I presume you have copied this from the draft bill? if so, there is no "older language" creeping back - this is the current text of relevant statutes, and our effort is solely to de-criminalize open carry - other groups can figure out how to roll back victim disarmement zones.
Click to expand...

Yes, this is from the draft and the current laws do have additional language which was inserted during the last legislative session and the one previous to that.

I appreciate that this bill is attempting to restore our Constitutional right, but I would not be more encouraged if any section that was not directly effected were removed from the draft. This would insure that older language would not creep back in making CCL more restrictive along with restricting open carry. While I would neve consider open carry in church, I do conceal carry there and would not appreciate loosing that ability. Same goes for the upcoming legislation to carry on campus. We are just now starting to get some foot hold into getting our rights back as our founding fathers intended. Any legislation needs to take the whole picture into account.

ANyway, thats for the response. My signature is included and I will be actively working with our representatives to get this passed.
Click to expand...

Can you move your comment to the appropriate thread - i.e., the thread with the draft bill? Or, start a new thread? You also need to post what newer statutes you are talking about - john and I pulled the current code down first, then started surgery.

But if we were mistaken, let us know.
 
rodbender

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jmaynard wrote:
[align=left]3) The only Amusement parks that qualify are the water parks and Six Flags. All of these areas do not have strict access controls which would aloow anyone to carry an illegal firearm into the area. This creates 'killing zones'.[/align]
Click to expand...
Gun Free Zones also create "Killing Zones"
 
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