Open Carry In Texas - For or Against?

[Noid]

If you open carry in a crowd, you will be the first target of a criminal. The element of surprise is good.

[pyramider]

Open carry is just another bad idea. Most people walking around cannot keep track of their cell phone, much less a handgun.

[30seconds]

Its lame that they require a license to open carry, we need constitutional carry like these states anything less is unacceptable.

• 1.1 Alaska
• 1.2 Arizona
• 1.3 Arkansas
• 1.4 Kansas
• 1.5 Vermont
• 1.6 Wyoming (for residents)

[SpeedRacerXXX]

Originally Posted by 30seconds

Its lame that they require a license to open carry, we need constitutional carry like these states anything less is unacceptable.

• 1.1 Alaska
• 1.2 Arizona
• 1.3 Arkansas
• 1.4 Kansas
• 1.5 Vermont
• 1.6 Wyoming (for residents)

What is wrong with making people who want to carry a handgun in Texas show that they know how to shoot their handgun without killing themselves or another innocent person and know a little about the laws that govern them while carrying? From what I understand the required course that must be taken in Texas in order to obtain a CHL is somewhat of a joke, but it is probably better than nothing.

[30seconds]

Originally Posted by SpeedRacerXXX

What is wrong with making people who want to carry a handgun in Texas show that they know how to shoot their handgun without killing themselves or another innocent person and know a little about the laws that govern them while carrying? From what I understand the required course that must be taken in Texas in order to obtain a CHL is somewhat of a joke, but it is probably better than nothing.

Whats wrong is if Im not a convicted felon I shouldnt have to ask for permission for a god given right to defend myself. Works in all those states list no problem. Would I open carry? No. I certainly do care if someone wants to.Thats just my opinion man, Im a real liberal as in libertarian.

[SpeedRacerXXX]

Originally Posted by 30seconds

Whats wrong is if Im not a convicted felon I shouldnt have to ask for permission for a god given right to defend myself. Works in all those states list no problem. Would I open carry? No. I certainly do care if someone wants to.Thats just my opinion man, Im a real liberal as in libertarian.

As you state, that is an opinion. Should a 5-year old be allowed to carry a gun -- after all it's "god given". There is no such thing as "god given" rights. The Constitution was written by men. Interpretation of the Constitution has been and still is done by men and women. The states have the right to enact gun control laws as they see fit for their constituencies. The court system decides if such laws violate the Constitution. That is how our system of government works. Some states support Constitutional carry and most do not. If you don't like the laws that exist in your state you have the right to try and change the law or you have the right to move to a state that supports the law you like.

[30seconds]

Originally Posted by SpeedRacerXXX

As you state, that is an opinion. Should a 5-year old be allowed to carry a gun -- after all it's "god given". There is no such thing as "god given" rights. The Constitution was written by men. Interpretation of the Constitution has been and still is done by men and women. The states have the right to enact gun control laws as they see fit for their constituencies. The court system decides if such laws violate the Constitution. That is how our system of government works. Some states support Constitutional carry and most do not. If you don't like the laws that exist in your state you have the right to try and change the law or you have the right to move to a state that supports the law you like.

Agreed, as long as we have a truly representative government. Permits/licenses don't stop people from carrying weapons, just like drug laws or prostitution laws don't stop people either. People will do what they want in the end. Some people just have an irrational fear of firearms. I grew up in Mass., most people there why cry like a child if they even saw a pistol, yet in AZ if you go shopping with a .45 on your hip no bats an eye.

[SpeedRacerXXX]

Originally Posted by 30seconds

Agreed, as long as we have a truly representative government. Permits/licenses don't stop people from carrying weapons, just like drug laws or prostitution laws don't stop people either. People will do what they want in the end. Some people just have an irrational fear of firearms. I grew up in Mass., most people there why cry like a child if they even saw a pistol, yet in AZ if you go shopping with a .45 on your hip no bats an eye.

In New York City, there were 328 homicides in 2014, the lowest since at least 1963.
No open carry. Very few CHLs granted. Purchasing a handgun difficult. All-in-all, if you are a gun rights advocate you don't want to live in NYC. Yet it is one of the safest cities in the U.S.

BTW, I was wondering if you have actually been in one of the major cities in Arizona (there are no major cities in Alaska , Vermont, Wyoming or Kansas) and have actually seen people openly carrying handguns. If so, what percent of the adults are carrying openly? Just interested in what one might expect in Texas.

[GneissGuy]

Originally Posted by SpeedRacerXXX

BTW, I was wondering if you have actually been in one of the major cities in Arizona (there are no major cities in Alaska , Vermont, Wyoming or Kansas) and have actually seen people openly carrying handguns. If so, what percent of the adults are carrying openly? Just interested in what one might expect in Texas.

Note that the discussion about those states is about "constitutional carry." That means you can carry CONCEALED as well as open without a permit.

Most states nationwide allow unlicensed open carry already and have done so for years.

My impression is that open carry is pretty rare even where it is allowed.

[Loxly]

Don't own a handgun yet but probably would not "open carry". Exception might be, as someone pointed out about being on the range or a wilderness situation.

I do advocate gun safety and range time.

[Noid]

Our rights are neither god given, nor enumerated by governments. They are inalienable.

[SpeedRacerXXX]

Originally Posted by Noid

Our rights are neither god given, nor enumerated by governments. They are inalienable.

inalienable right


noun
a right according to natural law, a right that cannot be taken away, denied, or transferred




So are gun rights, in your opinion, unalienable rights? Do you believe that the states do not in reality have the right to enact gun control legislation?

[The Allnighter]

I've got to say that I think the open carry movement is one of the most stupid trends in society today -- and I'm not a gun-control nut.

I would love to see a poll of open-carry advocates that asks which of them has ever SEEN a violent crime take place, much less been the victim of one. Unfortunately, I believe that most advocates (not all, but most) of open-carry hide behind the myth that they wish to be crime-fighters when they simply want to be able to intimidate people, don't want anyone to tell them what to do on anything, or watched too many "Gunsmoke" re-runs as a child.

I grew up in the Bronx in the '60s and spent 20 years of my life working in various major urban downtowns. I have probably seen more violent crimes take place than most anyone participating in this thread. All three times I've had a civilian pull a gun on me, the guy pulling it was trying to intimidate me. No "crime" was involved. The knives that were pulled on me...well, those were crimes.

Statistics indicate that if you keep a gun in your house, it is 10X more likely to injure an innocent party than stop a crime. OK -- your home is your castle, and you have a right to defend it. But I think we'll see the same ratio play out in public if this trend to increased public gun carry (concealed or open) continues. More people will be shot in stupid arguments, road rage incidents or bar fights. Many of them will be innocent bystanders.

I don't know how many heated confrontations most of you have been in, but think about the other guy carrying a pistol and tell me how much safer you feel.

Think about sitting in a busy restaurant or walking down a crowded sidewalk where 5% of the assholes are packing heat. How much safer do you feel?

Did you know that the first municipal ordinance passed in Dodge City (in 1873) was to prohibit the public carrying of weapons? Because civilians were shooting each other 50 times more frequently than they were shooting criminals.

[GneissGuy]

Originally Posted by The Allnighter

Statistics indicate that if you keep a gun in your house, it is 10X more likely to injure an innocent party than stop a crime.

That's a very old lie that keeps growing every time someone tells it.

The original statistic was about how often a gun was used to kill an "acquaintance" vs. a "stranger." That was twisted into implying that you were accidentally shooting an innocent friend or family member. The problem is that "acquaintance" also includes fellow drug dealers, abusive exes who are attacking you, the crazy neighbor who's attacking you, the neighborhood drug fiend breaking into your house, etc. It also includes guns illegally owned by "professional" criminals shooting someone they're doing business with.

It's got little relevance in terms of whether a law abiding citizen with a gun in his house is likely to kill an innocent person.

It also only counts cases where you kill someone, not cases where you scare someone off, or the crimes avoided because many criminals are afraid they'll be shot if they attack someone or invade their home.

That doesn't necessarily mean gun ownership is good or bad, but please quit repeating that lie.

[junkweed]

I support open or concealed carry with a license. You need a license to drive on public roads, you should be able to pass a simple written / practical exam with a firearm if you want to carry. That is not a form of rights oppression, it's making sure you are aware of your rights and everyone else's. Your rights end where the next persons begins. It's the responsibility side of the rights coin.