I understand the belief that large numbers of people tend to react mindlessly to the presence of firearms in their midst, and you are correct on that point, but if I could offer one little bit of advice. . . .roberts wrote:Maybe they're not overrun by herds of sheeple in those places.
. . . .stop using the word "sheeple." I'm not offended; I'm a sheepdog, myself. But sooner or later you have to confront - and sway - people who disagree with you on this issue. Your goal should be to persuade them, not to alienate them. "Sheeple" is a term of condescension, and if you want to get people to see things your way, condescending to them is not a very good way to go about it.
Just my 2¢. . . . .
Other than that, my advice to OC advocates would be to recommend patience. As someone wrote above, the legislative process is never about instant and perfect gratification. It can take years. Even the current state of CHL law today was arrived at incrementally; and it continues to change incrementally. For whatever limited value my opinion holds, it is apparent to me that the current state of CHL law was arrived at, and continues to be improved upon, by wise heads who fully understand the legislative process as it exists in Texas, and not some other state. The main thing that firebrands are useful for is starting fires and burning things down. They can ruin years of good work by refusing to understand and cooperate with the process, and they just wind up ticking a lot of people off whose support is necessary to the cause. Nobody likes a bully, and OC supporters should understand that they are not going to gain support by trying to bully people who have been at this game longer than they have.
That being said, I hope we do eventually get open carry here. For me personally, it's not so much that I want to carry in the open, but that open carry would simplify my life for some of the reasons others have stated above. BUT. . . . I don't care about OC enough to put the rights I already have at risk in order to obtain it. That is why I cannot support OC advocates who are willing to burn things down and destroy the good work of others in order to obtain a short-sighted and pyrrhic victory.