TexasCHLforum.com

EEllis wrote:

Dave2 wrote:

EEllis wrote:I have just not seen any evidence to back up the claim that, as a group, oc or cc need better retention due to BG's taking guns out of holsters.

I think the point is that OCers need "better retention" so that BGs can't start taking their guns, not to put an end to something that's already become common... it's a proactive measure, rather than reactive.

At least that's my take on it.

Well I think a holster should, at a min, hold your gun secure through any possible activity a person might make. I also understand and and support anyone who feels better about having some form of retention in holsters to prevent someone else from grabbing their handgun when it's holstered. My issue is people who advocate such a thing based on a need. I have looked and cannot find enough incidents to support a belief that retention holster would have any statistical effect on guns being "Taken" from OCers. Right now I would be more concerned with being able to draw and shoot quickly when needed than some theoretical concern about being targeted by a gun grabber.

My take on it is LIBERTY. We don't need the gosh-darn gooberment legislating holsters.

Back when we were a free country, there was a concept of being accountable for making decisions and choices in one's life and then bearing the consequences of those choices.

We can debate back and forth on whether a retention holster is a better personal decision for managing life risk. That is fine, I love debating personal opinions. But we do not need personal opinions codified into statute.

You hang upside down by your ankles.

Cedar Park Dad wrote: You won't educate people. Unless you're in a rural environs, you're going to make yourself and the cause look stupid, like Fatman and Snowboots.
The concept of "educating" others is...misplaced.

Excuse me, but with respect, you have no idea what you are talking about. If you haven't done it yourself, you are just speculating.

I am personally aware of many conversations with curious or interested people triggered by open carry. I personally know of people who started carrying after seeing other people open carry.

I have personally open carried 4-5 times per week (and concealed carry the rest of the time) for years prior to moving to Texas.

People have not mistaken me for Fatboots and Snowman. Instead, they think I am a middle-aged senior corporate executive ... because that is exactly what I am.

All the people who are speculating about the problems, drama, and tension that would happen if open carry would pass remind me of all the hysterical anti-gunner cries that there will be "blood in the streets" before concealed carry passes.

Are there a few doofus, grandstanding idjits making bad publicity at places like Home Depot? Sure. There are always idiots out there. But they do not represent the everyday reality of the thousands of ordinary nondescript Americans who already quietly go about living their life while open carrying. Kind of like the actions of a very few CHL's who end up on the DPS felony crime statistics each year are not representative of the 3/4 million Texans who quietly go about their day as law-abiding citizens.

I open carried for years and never had a problem with either citizens or police. Not in Texas, obviously.

Both I and my friends who open carried found that 9 out of 10 conversations were sparked by someone who was curious to see this, and ended up being very positive. When I told someone it was legal and their right as a law-abiding citizen, I saw the light bulb turn on in many faces.

Practically speaking, open carrying let me serve as an ambassador for the gun culture to the public at large.

I also believe that we need to remember that protecting our gun rights still boils down to keeping a majority in the electorate, and that our daily activities can have the impact of being ambassadors for the gun culture.

I also had a couple of incidents in a Kroger or Giant Eagle grocery store where a concerned woman went to the policeman stationed at the front of the store:

"There is a man back there carrying a gun."
"Where is his gun?"
"He has it in a holster."
"What is he doing?"
"He is walking around shopping."
"M'am, openly carrying firearms is perfectly legal in this state and he isn't doing anything wrong."

Of course, it didn't hurt that I was in my 50's. A neatly dressed businessman with short hair. White.

Shouldn't matter if someone was of color, young, and tatted out, but impressions do affect people's perceptions.

I'll also note that 99% of people never even noticed I had a gun on my hip.

If and when it becomes legal, I'll definitely open carry again. Another way I like to carry is with a IWB with the shirt "bloused" a bit over the grip. It is basically hidden to casual observation but much, much easier to access that a tuckable IWB with the shirt tucked in.