Question for Open Carry Proponents

[iratollah]

If you support open carry for handguns, why don't you get the ball rolling by regularly carrying a rifle or shotgun in public? It's legal to carry longguns in many public places, it provides better protection than a handgun, and it will certainly put an exclamation point on any statement you may be looking to associate with open carry of handguns.

Believe it or don't, I'm not trying to be a smart aleck (that comes kind of naturally), but I'm curious why proponents of open carry may view open display of a handgun to be different from legally open carry/display of a long gun.

[boomerang]

Probably the same reasons most people in the waiting room don't carry a concealed shotgun while they wait for the plastic.

[jimlongley]

When I had a pickup I regularly used the gun rack, and if I still had a pickup I would.

[iratollah]

Probably the same reasons most people in the waiting room don't carry a concealed shotgun while they wait for the plastic.

You are now describing illegal behavior, versus the legal behavior I suggested.

[KBCraig]

If you support open carry for handguns, why don't you get the ball rolling by regularly carrying a rifle or shotgun in public?

No one is going to "regularly" carry a long gun, because doing so is a major pain.

But for purposes of educating the police and public, as well as advocating legal open carry of handguns, some folks are planning "long gun picnics":

http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=14768

[KBCraig]

Probably the same reasons most people in the waiting room don't carry a concealed shotgun while they wait for the plastic.

You are now describing illegal behavior, versus the legal behavior I suggested.

There is nothing illegal about carrying a concealed shotgun without a license.

[The Annoyed Man]

I don't open carry my long guns because:

1. There is no place to which I would go (except a gun store) which would not call the cops if a person walked in carrying a long gun - legally or not.

2. I am not interested in confrontation or "making statements." I make my statement by voting, and by means of quiet conversation. I eschew the dramatic and confrontational (as should all CHL holders) unless it is unavoidable.

3. I have a lot of money invested in my long guns and scopes. The only time I transport them or "carry" them, other than while hunting, they are safely ensconced in a heavy duty SKB rifle case. It is not worth the risk of damaging a piece or knocking a scope out of zero in order to satisfy any macho atavistic streak.

4. I live in suburbia, not out in the country. Leaving a long gun in plain view in my parked vehicle, even if it is locked in a rack, is an invitation to break into my SUV and try and steal it. If the theft is successful, I will have armed a criminal with a highly accurate weapon. If the theft attempt is unsuccessful, I will still have to call my insurance company and pay a deductible to have the damage to the vehicle repaired.

It's just not worth it to me - too many negatives, and not enough to be gained.

[BigBlueDodge]

It's just not worth it to me - too many negatives, and not enough to be gained.

That last statement pretty much sums up how I feel about open carry. It's go more downside than upside in my opinion. But open carry vs concealed carry has been beat to death.

[KBCraig]

It's just not worth it to me - too many negatives, and not enough to be gained.

That last statement pretty much sums up how I feel about open carry. It's go more downside than upside in my opinion. But open carry vs concealed carry has been beat to death.

As a discussion of defensive strategy, I wholeheartedly agree. It's a "never the twain shall meet" area.

But as a legal issue, I think we're not nearly through beating the horse. I would probably OC rarely in my day-to-day life if it were legal. But even if I thought it was the worst idea ever, and 99.99999999% of Texans agreed with me, I'd still fervently support the right to do so for that one person out there somewhere who wanted to legally OC in Texas.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I hope a Houston "long-gun picnic" doesn't generate the same response from the Texas Legislature as did Quanell X's long-gun protest during the Republican Convention in Houston some years back. He and his New Black Panthers marched to the George R. Brown Convention Center holding rifles and shotguns, being very careful not to point them at anyone. The legislative response was to amend the State's preemption statute to allow cities to ban firearms from parades and political gatherings. (CHLs are exempt and can carry.)

A group of people sitting around a Houston park with shotguns and AR's while having burgers and barbeque is going to draw a lot of media attention and that's rarely good. Sound bites and creative editing can make the story anything Belo Corp. wants it to be. The stated motive is to "educate" the general public that good, law-abiding people can openly gather with long-guns and have fun without harming anyone. Whether this message will get to the public via the media is doubtful, but one thing is certain. Somewhere around 4 million people in the Houston viewing area are going to learn that Texas law doesn't prohibit the carrying of long guns pretty much anywhere you wish. I think that's an education program we can do without.

Chas.

[Texian]

Iratollah,

Wasn't this pretty well hashed over a couple of months ago on this rather long thread?

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... &sk=t&sd=a

This is one of your posts in that discussion. Sounds a lot like this current discussion. I really do think that you expressed your feelings about open carry rather well in the old discussion and would not mind them being placed here in this new discussion as well.

Question for the proponents of OC. Why don't you open carry your long guns today? Think of the deterrent value if 4 of you are sitting in the park or the Dairy Queen with your Remington 870s. Throw in maybe an M4 into the mix just for a little variety. This is legal, so long as the DQ manager has no issue with it and the park is public property. Why aren't you doing this sort of thing today if OC is such a great idea and an ideal exercise of your 2A rights?

[Elvis]

Just because you have a right to do something, doesn’t necessarily make it the right thing to do.

[casingpoint]

A group of people sitting around a Houston park with shotguns and AR's while having burgers and barbeque...to "educate" the general public that good, law-abiding people can openly gather with long-guns and have fun without harming anyone

Sounds nuts.

[WildBill]

If you support open carry for handguns, why don't you get the ball rolling by regularly carrying a rifle or shotgun in public? It's legal to carry longguns in many public places, it provides better protection than a handgun, and it will certainly put an exclamation point on any statement you may be looking to associate with open carry of handguns.

Believe it or don't, I'm not trying to be a smart aleck (that comes kind of naturally), but I'm curious why proponents of open carry may view open display of a handgun to be different from legally open carry/display of a long gun.

I hope a Houston "long-gun picnic" doesn't generate the same response from the Texas Legislature as did Quanell X's long-gun protest during the Republican Convention in Houston some years back. He and his New Black Panthers marched to the George R. Brown Convention Center holding rifles and shotguns, being very careful not to point them at anyone. Chas.

This type of demonstration by the Black Panthers at the State Capitol in Sacramento is exactly why California passed more restrictive gun laws [Mulford Act 1967].

[iratollah]

Iratollah,

Wasn't this pretty well hashed over a couple of months ago on this rather long thread?

This is one of your posts in that discussion. I really do think that you expressed your feelings about open carry rather well in the old discussion and would not mind them being placed here in this new discussion as well.

Thanks for bringing that to my attention. Looks like I'm suffering from a serious case of CRS. Sorry about starting a dupe here.