Interesting perspective TAM. I may get a very good look at the differences between the suburban and rural environments in the coming months. We recently purchased property in the Weimar, La Grange, Schulenburg area and are in the process of making it our weekend place. We currently live in Sugar Land (similar to what you describe in Grapevine) but will be selling our house there and renting in Katy (to be near work during the week). I'll likely get a good feel for tolerance of open carry in all locations.The Annoyed Man wrote:I am very happy that open carry got passed. In my perfect world, on Planet TAM, we have Constitutional Carry, and everyone does it.
However, I am VERY unhappy at the antics of some open carry activists which have poisoned the well for the rest of us.
For me, open carry is just another tool in the handgun carrying toolbox. Like others, I think that in most situations for the environment in which I live, open carry is a tactical mistake. In that light, I will probably continue to conceal most of the time. As we have just entered the winter season, and I almost never leave the house lately without wearing at least a light jacket over my shirt, concealed carry is probably the default condition anyway. I can see situations where open carry - at least for brief periods - might make sense.
But the bottom line is that I live in a suburban environment right now, and open carry is probably going to be more noticed by others than if I lived in a rural environment. Furthermore, because I live in a suburban environment, there is a higher probability that those people who do notice my gun are going to be frightened or angered or whatever by seeing it than they would be if we were in a rural environment where guns are more tightly integrated with daily life for people.
I live in a pretty low-crime area. But even though the probability of ever needing to use my gun in self-defense is fairly low, I prefer to be prepared for that possibility than not......and so I carry. But, I don't care to deal with muttered comments and nasty looks, NOR do I care to be the person who instigates the posting of 30.07 by open carrying into places of business where my concealed handgun was previously welcome.
It's not that I care what other people think; it's that I don't want to deal the the friction arising from their insecurities. Avoidance is sometimes a "best practice" when carrying a handgun, and what I am doing is avoiding their nastiness.
Example....... there is a neighborhood forum for my part of Grapevine on nextdoor.com. There is a Grapevine police sergeant who regularly posts public service announcements in this forum about public safety issues, etc. A week or so ago, he posted a reminder to local residents that, as of 1/1, open carry would be legal in Texas. Included in his post was the following:One respondent in the thread implied he was going to call 911 every time he saw someone open carrying, and he had to be reminded that open carry is not a reason to call 911, and that falsely reporting emergencies is illegal. Suburbia is FULL of cretins like this. I don't need their crap, so I don't expose myself to the possibility of receiving any of it to begin with.House Bill 910 Effective: January 1, 2016
Authorizes individuals to obtain a license to openly carry a handgun in the same places that allow the licensed carrying of a concealed handgun. Individuals who obtain a License to Carry (LTC) or have a valid concealed handgun license (CHL) will be able to carry their weapon in plain view, when properly secured in a belt or shoulder holster.
Citizens are urged to call 911 ONLY [emphasis mine, TAM] when encountering a person who is in clear violation of House Bill 910. Violations can include:
Removal of the gun from a secured holster
When a gun holder seems intoxicated
When the gun holder is obviously committing a crime or acting in a reckless or suspicious manner.
A license holder may carry a handgun anywhere in Texas that is not expressly prohibited by law. Those prohibitions appear in several provisions of the Texas Penal Code.
(LINKEY TO HIS POST)
If I lived in or near a truly small town in rural Texas - as I hope to some day - it would be different, and my OC practices would likely be different.
My views on OC are similar to yours. I won't do it as a general rule for various reasons (tactical advantage, don't want the grief, don't want to be the cause of 30.07's going up, etc) but I already carry OWB at our place to keep from sweating through my IWB holster. OC may become the norm out there.
My two cents...