Those folks don't seem to understand that even if you're OC'ing a rifle around fellow gun people, the best case scenario is getting a neutral response. At worst, you're going to cause a panic.Charles L. Cotton wrote:I really haven't heard anyone claim they were carrying a rifle or shotgun into a store to exercise their constitutional right. Oh, perhaps there was one or two who said that on camera, but I really don't recall.
The overwhelming majority of people who are carrying long guns into stores in Texas are doing so to promote passage of open-carry of handguns, or so they claim. So the real question is "does this help or hinder passage of open-carry?" The clear answer is that it is hurting the cause, even though some will claim otherwise. The negative media coverage combined with pro-open-carry elected officials and their staff asking for such tactics to stop should be all the proof anyone needs. I can't help but wonder if part of the reason these in-your-face tactics haven't stopped is because of a division among open-carry supporters on the issue of licensed v. unlicensed open-carry.
Chas.
I'm 100% for OC rights, but this is not the way to get support. They're looking for a reaction and an argument, and don't realize that they're doing EXACTLY the same thing that they rail on people like Westboro for doing.