Open Carry in Texas.

As we've now heard, Governor Abbot's open carry law has passed and will go into effect in January of 2016. This will allow licensed Texans to openly carry a weapon in most places, people must understand that there will still be some places that open or concealed carrying will not be allowed. Surprisingly, Whataburger, a true Texas tradition, has already publicly stated that openly carried guns will not be allowed in their restaurants. Personally, I find that as a insult from Texans to Texans but I will not contest it because I understand that the Whataburger is just another corporate entity that has has succumbed to profiteering and the poilticlal correctness movement in favor or profit over truth and constitutional rights. Ok, I get it, it's about corporate greed before true Texas traditional and constitutional rights. Whataburger, I love your burgers but I'm sadly disappointed in your decision to to to defy a true Texas right over profit and political correctness!

I'm going to put my neck on the chopping block here and tell you why I think open carry is not a good idea. Before the haters and anti gunners start their whining, hear me out. I'm a proponent for the Second Amendment, gun ownership, concealed carry permits, guns for self defense, and self defense in general. The main reason I am against open carry is because I do not believe people will understand that criminals are not afraid of open carriers because you're armed and also because people who fear guns will eventually whine to the point that their safety is more important than your right to bear arms. Some liberal wussy politician will eventually make a big fuss and make all gun carriers look the bad the bad guy. Kind of like the global warming conspiracy theorists. Anyway, here's what I predict,

Gun thefts.

Here's a guy sitting on a park bench watching his kids play in the park. He feels secure because he thinks no one will mess with him because he's armed. A criminal will see this exposed gun as an opportunity for a free gun and possible robbery of the gun owner. Many open carriers just don't have the training with gun use and ownership. Untrained open carriers have this belief that showing they're armed is enough to keep them safe. I predict many stolen guns and armed robberies. I can take his weapon away and turn it against him before he knows it's gone. He has no locking mechanism on his holster. If I later commit a crime with his gun and it's traced back to him, he'll be legally held responsible.

Racial profiling.

These two guys walk into the restaurant your at with your family. They're both openly carrying. You get a bad feeling about the guy on the right and decide to call the police because you're convinced he's up to no good.

The guy on the left has an extensive criminal history including rape, aggravated assault and narcotics use. He's on parole and should not be in possession of weapon but cannot be questioned by law enforcement about carrying. The guy on the right is military combat veteran, reserve county deputy, addiction counselor, lay minister at his church and father of three. This happens all the time even without the guns. Profiling is a societal norm commonly accepted by our society due to preconceptions of races and racial perceptions.

Accidental shootings.

Some leather holster have been known to misform over time and press against the gun trigger causing the gun to fire after some movement or pressure is applied. I recommend a plastic or composite type holster with a locking mechanism to avoid accidental discharge or theft.Unintentional discharges will happen. This will also take time from police officers' time as they must investigate these accident which will take time from their regular duties and patrols.

Stand your ground shootings.

Road rage or any incident of confrontation will be taken as a threat to life and claimed as "I feared for my life" shootings. "He looked threatening and cussed at me, I feared for my life so I shot him".

Lost guns.

Even police officers and soldiers have been know to lose weapons. A civilian with minimal training will inadvertently forget a weapon where some criminal dirtbag or child could find it. The consequences could be devastating.

Officer Safety.

Regardless of how strongly you feel about your 2nd Amendment right or the legality of the open carry law, the police officer is the legal enforcer who must deal with the laws on a daily basis and make split second decisions. This poor guy who has sworn to uphold the law of the land will have to confront armed citizens every day. Aside from putting his life on line for our society's safety, He or she must risk every single encounter with an armed citizen multiple times a day. While YOU may be a law abiding citizen with your rights in the forefront, there is no way for him or her to know your intentions upon approach. For their safety, they must assume some level of hostility on your part and take every precaution to safeguard their lives while performing their duties. Just for a second, put yourself in their shoes and imagine pulling a stranger over who is carrying a loaded gun as you approach their car. Are you POSITIVE they are a law abiding citizen? I predict many people will get in serious trouble and or lose their right to open carry for challenging an officer's authority over their rights. I also predict some civilians will get shot by officer for challenging the officer's authority over their "rights" to open carry. Unfortunate, but it will happen.

Reciprocity Laws

While Texas may allow open carry, other states around Texas may not. People who live along bordering states may inadvertently forget they have a gun in the car when crossing state lines may get arrested if caught with a weapon. Now that Texas has made it legal to carry a gun, other states may not allow a gun in the vehicle. I predict many people will get into some legal troubles while traveling into Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and New Mexico for having an accessible weapon in the car. Those surrounding states will now be extra careful to stop and search any vehicle with Texas license plates. God forbid you should get caught in Mexico with a gun. You're going directly to prison. You will not pass go or collect $200. Solitary with no chance of parole.

The Second Amendment

Sorry to burst your bubble but the second amendment does NOT trump your state laws. The US constitution has been challenged many times for this and has always lost to state laws. If you get busted in Washington DC or any other state for carrying an  unlicensed gun registered in another state, the second amendment does NOT give you the rights to carry a weapon in that state regardless of what you believe. Regardless of how you interpret the Second Amendment, (muskets or AR 15s) state law will usually always win. I predict many Texans still believe that the Second Amendment and reciprocity laws will guarantee their "RIGHT" to bear arms and wind up with criminal records.

Forgetfulness

People are human and forget. After openly carrying all day everywhere, people will forget they're carrying and walk into someplace where weapons are not allowed. Using cell phones in the church,  piano recitals and theaters are good example of this even though it's clearly posted and mentioned in the previews. People forget or just believe the that the law gives them the right to carry anywhere. Who really looks for the little sign on the door that states that carrying weapons openly is prohibited. I myself spotted a man with a gun in a place clearly marked with a 30.06  guns prohibited sign clearly posted on the front door. He wasn't paying attention when he entered but fortunately, I was able to discreetly inform him of the sign and being that he was a law abiding citizen, scurried out and left his gun in his car before re-entering the business. There will be times when people will not notice legal postings and carry into places where guns are not allowed and get into legal troubles.

I believe if Thomas Jefferson's words, the US Constitution and especially the Second Amendment but I also believe that today's threat is not so much from the government but the criminal element. In Jefferson's day, everyone had a at least one gun for true personal protection and hunting and was well versed in it's use, maintenance, and purpose, but remember that we don't live in Jefferson's days. Today, guns are and our laws are much more complex and must be learned before use and their implementation. Political correctness, public opinion, and laws must also be considered before we jump on the supposed overall encompassing Second Amendment, street justice, and claiming self defense like back in the days of Jefferson. Our society hes become very complex since the days of Jefferson and when our constitution was written. We, as a society cannot just revert back to the days of yore and claim our right to bear arms as a Constitutionally given human rights without regard to modern rights and law.

As I have mentioned many times before in this blog, We live in a different time, where things are different from times we learned in our history classes. As such, the times of Jefferson and colonial days, 2015 is very different as our laws our. This is where we as a society must accept this change and follow the new societal norm that we have created. Sorry if you don't agree with it, but you played a part in creating it whether you accept it or not.

UPDATE:
Ironically, or as proof of my point, the day after I wrote this, I went to work and was informed that a federal agent in the building I work in, accidentally discharged his duty weapon in the office! My partner who was on duty at the time heard the blast and went to investigate. Upon finding that there were no injuries, went back to work but noted the incident in his duty log. Apparently, this was the agent's second accidental discharge and is a fully trained firearms instructor!  If this can happen to a firearms instructor, when will a similar occurrences accidentally injure or kill an innocent bystander by accidental discharges by open carriers who are not fully trained or openly carry just because they feel it is they're constitutional right.

Folk's you MUST understand that just because you have the Second Amendment legal RIGHT to bear arms, it does NOT mean that you are immune from the legalities of the state laws governing the bearing of weapons! Every state define the misuse of guns, gun safety, ignorance of the law, or even the legal repercussions of  shooting another person differently. You MUST understand that even though the Second Amendment gives you the right to bear arms, there are other laws that govern the standards and conditions that govern HOW, WHEN, and WHY you may exercise those conditions according to each state in the US. Those laws are set by the states and are NOT automatically overridden by the US Constitution!

As proof of this point, there are NO reciprocity rules or laws in the US that will excuse an ANY concealed or open gun carrier for weapons violations in the US who claims his 2nd Amendment right as justification. Just because you can openly carry in one state, does NOT mean you can openly or conceal carry in another state regardless of your licensing, certification, or misguide interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. This is proof that each state can have laws that seam to override the US Constitution. But, what many people fail to recognize is that, while the US Constitution may be the law of the land, the Constitution ALSO gives each state of our union, the right to have it's own constitution and the federal government must respect each state's constitution.

Suck it up Buttercup.
Dave