TexasCHLforum.com

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

KBCraig wrote:The gun culture in Texas and Pennsylvania are pretty similar. Both are mostly rural states with a strong heritage of hunting and firearms ownership. Both have some metropolitan areas that believe they should be above state law, but they are kept in check by strong preemption and court rulings (PA has actually strengthened their preemption in recent years).

There is a huge distinction that many people ignore; open-carry has been legal in PA for many years. In fact, I don't believe open-carry has ever been illegal in PA. Open-carry in Texas would be a huge change, unlike PA. But even in PA, a state cited by open-carry proponents, this woman had a problem! She had to go to court to get her license back.

Also, can anyone point to a state that passed legislation in the last 20, 30, or 40 years legalizing open-carry?

Charles L. Cotton wrote: My concern lies with the likely response from the business community. If this incident happened in a Texas Home Depot, the parents who objected to the lady in PA carrying at a ball park would also complain to the Home Depot Manager. I am very concerned that this manager would choose to post 30.06 signs, rather than risk his store's profitability and his compensation. This would apply equally to any business whether or not they are part of a major chain. Remember, Texas CHLs make up less than 3% of the population. This means a business owner can ban guns and risk alienating 3% of the population, or he can refuse to respond to customer complaints and risk alienating the 97% of Texans who are not CHLs.

KBCraig wrote:I believe your concern is excessive. Why would Texas businesses react differently from those in other states?

Again, I acknowledge that my fears may be unfounded, but I would like to see open-carry supporters also admit that they may be wrong. The business community may react more strongly than they anticipate. It's the "it'll never happen here" attitude I find troubling. Rather than engaging in a rational and candid risk analysis, they ignore the risk altogether. Then they equate those who have legitimate concerns with the "blood in the streets" anti-gunners. That's unfounded, unfair and counterproductive. The pro-gun community should be able to discuss issues of importance to us without making accusations that tend to alienate one another. (You are not doing this Kevin. You and I disagree on this issue, but our discussions have always been respectful toward one another. However, a review of opencarry.org makes it clear that many open-carry supporters don't merely disagree with opponents, they scoff and mock our concerns and belittle those who don't share their confidence.)

KBCraig wrote:In the case of Home Depot and other major chains, almost all follow the Wal-Mart model: their policy is to follow the laws of the state in which the store is located. If open carry causes undue concern in a particular store, the customer may be asked to conceal (if legal), or leave. They don't ban all carry just because someone openly carries there.

Home Depot was just an example; the likelihood of an anti-CHL response is greater the smaller the business. That said, I'd be very interested in a link to documentation that Home Depot, Wal-Mart, or any other major corporation has an official corporate policy of following the gun laws of the states in which the stores are located. This is a very significant decision and one that would be made at the Board of Directors level and properly documented. If such official policies exist, they should be easy to document and very useful in the future, if open-carry were to pass in Texas.

KBCraig wrote:To borrow an analogy about overstated fears, I really don't worry that the streets will be flowing with 30.06 notices if legal open carry passes in Texas.

My concern isn't theoretical, it based upon what happened right here in Texas in 1995 when CHL first passed. Ghostbuster "no gun" signs and decals were everywhere! (Our own experience is much more enlightening than anecdotal stories by open-carry supporters about other states.)

SB 60 was signed by then-Governor Bush on May 26, 1995, it went into effect on Sept. 1, 1995, but no CHL was effective until January 1, 1996. During the six months between passage of SB60 and the January 1, 1996 effective date of actual CHLs, business were in near panic mode. Major law firms in Texas were advising all of their business clients to post "no-gun" signs or face certain liability. TV newscasts warned that Texans would be carrying guns in six months and then interviewed business owners who were posting their businesses "to do everything we can to protect our customers." These newscasts even told people how to use Texas' trespass law (TPC §30.05) to keep "gun toaters" off of their property. As bad as it was, only the BOMA conference in Houston in 1995 prevented the situation from being much worse; i.e. having virtually all major office buildings in Texas posting "no-gun" signs.

The situation had gotten so bad by the 1997 legislative session that it was necessary to enact TPC §30.06 with it's notice requirements and minimum sign requirements to stem the growing tide of "no-gun" signs on businesses of all sizes. TPC §30.06 had the desired effect, because it was a big ugly sign that businesses didn't want defacing their storefronts. As time passed, CHL became a non-issue for two reasons. First, the predicted blood-baths never occurred. More importantly, the 97% of Texans who didn't have CHLs never realized they were standing next to an armed citizen because they didn't see their guns. The out-of-sight-out-of-mind element had a significant calming effect.

Now we have 12 years of experience with CHL and an excellent track record. Those facts are on our side. However, if we start carrying handguns openly, we've lost the out-of-sight-out-of-mind effect and people who never give CHL a second thought are going to react to what they perceive as an "in your face" situation. This is not theoretical, it's not at all analogous with the "blood in the streets" arguments CHL opponents used against us. It's based upon recent experience in Texas. What is uncertain is how widespread, how strong, and how committed the opposition will be. This is why I acknowledge that my fears may ultimately be unfounded. It's also why open-carry supporters should be equally honest and admit that there is a risk. You can no more guarantee that businesses will not react by posting 30.06 signs than I can guarantee they will. In my view, based upon past experience in Texas, the risk is simply too high.


Chas.