So Let’s Just Blame It All On The Open Carry Advocates
BY Herschel Smith
8 years, 11 months ago
Appears the new open carry laws in Texas, which have expressly allowed guns onto College campuses and into psychiatric hospitals, are back firing against open and concealed carry enthusiasts. Private business and property owners can ban firearms from their property by either posting signs, or verbally informing armed people they are not welcome to carry their weapons. Firearms enthusiasts are finding a lot of new signs around Texas.
Ooo …, “backfiring.” Sounds serious, yes? Their source is The Trace.
“Got an email from work telling us that not only are 30.07 signs going up over the weekend on our office building but 30.06 as well. What makes this even more frustrating is I have yet to see a single open carry,” wrote a user with the handle LTUME1978, before predicting in a subsequent comment that, at least in Houston, “Once the signs are up, they are not ever going to come down.”
That original post generated more than 100 replies, and numerous theories. Some Texas CHL users speculated that the increase in notices barring concealed weapons may be due to a revision to the existing 30.06 sign that was ushered in by the new open carry legislation. Older 30.06 signage was rendered obsolete by the change — and signage is something that Texas gun rights advocates actively police.
“Just as easy to have both 30.06 and 30.07 signs made at the same time,” a user named Distinguished Rick replied. “We have lost more than we gained,” he added. “I have had my CHL 20 years this year and I hardly ran into any legal signs back then. This has woken up the anti-crowd in a big way. So now the genie is out of the bottle and I don’t see a way to put it back.”
A user with the handle bmwrdr echoed his concerns: “Before the OC [open carry] movement started everything went smooth, now we see more and more 30.06 signs erected.”
Another user, posting as flowrie, theorized that the backlash generated by the open carry movement, which was itself driven by the gun rights group Open Carry Texas (OCT), was so spectacular that it may as well have been an opposition plot. “OCT has hurt much more than helped. I insist on carrying when taking my young son and wife to the movies, but that is now becoming more difficult. I do not really oppose OC, but the way they went about it was unwise and just down right ignorant. I too wonder if some of them are anti-2A [Second Amendment]. If I were anti-2A, that’s how I would do it.”
“We were free to carry concealed at far more places before than now. You have the exact same ability to be safe carrying concealed as openly. Except that now you can’t do either in many places. So you’re not safer at all. Open carry is not a right. It’s a dress code and comfort issue. You were already freely bearing arms before 1 Jan. You’ve given up safety for comfort and lost and freedom [sic] for all of us.”
“The immature, selfish actions and the loud, belligerent mouths of a few have hurt many,” Oldgringo concluded. “It’s true, all that glitters is not gold.”
What a bunch of whiny little bitches. If it takes some time to work through the details of this, then so be it. If you have to continue to work through concealed and open carry rights issues, then so be it. If you have to petition businesses or otherwise withhold your patronage in order to persuade businesses to honor your rights, then so be it. A business who indiscriminately posts signs prohibiting both open and concealed carry isn’t worth my patronage anyway.
Shouting down the advocates of open carry is turning your criticism on the wrong people when you’ve got culpable establishments to target. Open carry advocates didn’t force businesses to put up signs prohibiting concealed carry. Other states have learned to deal with this, and Texas will too. Settle down. Mind your manners, grow up and stop being little girls over this.
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On January 14, 2016 at 4:47 am, DAN III said:
I am not an open carry advocate…..for me. It’s a PERSEC thing. You know, “outta sight, outta mind” ?
The OC carry folks are making a political statement. Sort of their own, on the hip, Gasdsen flag, so to speak.
Myself, I carry comcealed everywhere I can. If I care to frequent a business and they are “posted”, I either shop elsewhere or ignore the sign. I don’t whine, and snivel, and cry about the sign restriction posted at the business. I just do it. That includes .gov facilities also. Basically, keep your mouth shut, stay alert, do your business, leave.
In the meantime, if you carry, take time every day to:
1. Don your carry holster with weapon.
2. Clear your weapon, re-holster.
3. Put on whatever garment you wear to conceal your property.
4. From concealment:
a. Draw cleared & cocked weapon
b. Aim
c. Dry-fire
d. Re-cock weapon
e. Re-holster
5. Repeat #4 for:
1. One minute
or
2. Ten repetitions
Make an effort to do this dry-fire drill EVERY day for just one (1) minute.
Make an effort to fire your carry weapon as often as possible. Just 20 rounds. Even if only once/month.
Live.
Never, ever, give up your weapon. Never.
On January 14, 2016 at 8:30 am, Geoffry K said:
Once the robberies start at the businesses that posted 30.07 signs, they will change their minds.
Criminals will find they now have many more places to rob and nobody to stop them.
On January 14, 2016 at 9:47 am, Fred said:
Let’s have it all out in the open, and find out who it is, that is against civil liberties. If they post you are not losing a friend. They never were our friend. They will meet the workers of inequity in masks and hoodies soon enough.
On January 14, 2016 at 11:16 am, TexTopCat said:
Exactly. With the 30.07 signage being required at every entrance, you will see more of them since before several places had a 30.06 sign located at a seldom used door. The funny thing for me is that the places that now have posted signs are places that I would not normally do business with for other reasons. I suspect that people that do not treat people honestly are also the ones that do not respect our civil rights.
On January 14, 2016 at 10:52 am, RM said:
Why would you want to support any business that does not support your right of self defense and cares so little for the safety of their patrons, that they create a Gun Free Slaughter Zone?
On January 14, 2016 at 3:53 pm, Eric said:
“Never let a crisis go to waste.” If I were a “gun control” advocate, I would turn this to my advantage and shout from the rooftops that I was winning. See how many more places won’t allow any kind of firearm? We’re winning.
On January 14, 2016 at 4:10 pm, Herschel Smith said:
“If I were a “gun control” advocate, I would turn this to my advantage and shout from the rooftops that I was winning …”
Interesting. What specifically? The businesses posting signs, or the internecine backbiting within the gun community?
On January 14, 2016 at 4:58 pm, Pat Hines said:
Back when concealed carry was new in South Carolina, many businesses worked to put up prohibition signs all across the state.
An organized boycott system was worked out, a letter writing campaign designed complete with lawyer language, and was implemented. It worked. The signs came down from most businesses.
The same sort of thing will work in Texas, for both open and concealed carry.
As for those that are either ambivalent or actively opposed to open carry I say; then don’t do it. Once South Carolina has open carry, I’ll mostly carry concealed, but will likely carry openly in the spring and summer depending on what I’m doing.
On January 15, 2016 at 1:55 am, Roger V. Tranfaglia said:
Open carry IS open carry, regardless of what “rider” was attached to the bill.
Personally I would conceal. I find it ironic that one “rider” is 30.06….as in 30-06………….
On January 18, 2016 at 11:11 pm, Chuck said:
If you don’t open carry the signs are meaningless. Concealed is concealed, So I second Hershel – stop being little girls over this.