Posted on 04/10/2014 8:31:56 AM PDT by marktwain
With AR-15s, Mossberg 20-gauge shotguns and modified AK-47s slung over their shoulders, gun-rights activists received thumbs up, handshakes and honks of approval Thursday night as they distributed information to motorists who rolled down their windows at a busy Mansfield intersection.Arlington is not small town Texas, where such celebration of second amendment rights would be expected. It is in the heart of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, and the wide approval shows that Gun Culture 2.0 is becoming mainstream in much of the the United States. The article in the Star-Telegram has a virtual photo essay celebration of the open carry movement in Texas. From the article:
The demonstrators were from the Tarrant County chapter of Open Carry Texas, whose mission includes lobbying legislators to enact less-restrictive gun laws, educating residents about their right to openly carry shotguns and rifles safely, and helping the public feel comfortable around those who do.
Open Carry Tarrant County was formed about eight months ago and has about 900 members, Watkins said. During organized walks in various Tarrant County cities, members typically carry or wear long-barreled guns or pre-1899 black powder revolvers or replicas of those revolvers, he said. The group is pushing for the state to allow residents to openly carry pistols.I doubt that there is another activist group in Tarrant County that can boast of 900 members, with the possible exception of the Right to Life movement. The article mentions the opposition to the group:
The Arlington Police Department has shown up with as many as a dozen officers to monitor the demonstrations and has detained members in the past, Watkins said. It’s the only department the group has had problems with, he said.
Officers were initially dispatched to investigate an Open Carry gathering at Road to Six Flags and Collins Street on March 27 after the city received four 911 calls, reviewed by the Star-Telegram, including one from a man who said, “I don’t feel safe when someone is walking around with a shotgun.”It is significant that the article mentions *one* call where the caller said that they did not "feel safe". This response is similar to what open carry groups have experienced across the nation. Most calls are simply to determine if the practice is lawful or not. Only a smattering of calls actually deal with "safety" concerns, and those may well be by the minority of those politically opposed to the second amendment. Anti-second amendment types have exhorted people to call the police on Internet forums. Some have asked callers to "enhance" the call by falsely accusing open carriers of threatening people, and false accusations of open carriers have been made.
This sort of scenario has been replicated numerous times for open carriers. It shows that the open carry events are doing what they are designed to do: educate the public about the existence of the right, and normalize the practice.
* Operator: You're safe right where you are, you think?
* Caller: Yea, we are. But there's the place is full of people.
...
* Caller: It's just the strangest thing I've seen.
...
* Caller: So I just wanted to let you know in case it wasn't right.
* Operator: Uh Hm. Ok. Well, not threatening anyone that's really
what we're worried, concerned about right now.
* Caller: No. They're just sitting there extremely relaxed.
* Operator: I do believe now that it is um just for your information
it was asked by the state Attorney General that it is legal to be
armed in Wisconsin if they're not threatening or someone is not
disturbed by the uh by your weapon.
* Caller: I didn't know that.
* Operator: Yea.
Excellent!
Good.
May God continue to bless Texas.
Hmm... let’s see...
Cute lady...
Beagle...
Glock on Hip.
Yup. I’m happy.
My guess is that no one is going to complain too loud if she fails to clean up after her dog.
She SHOULD clean up after her dog.
I have three dogs. They are always leashed and never permitted to defecate on anyone else’s property.
Courtesy and neighborliness are good things.
Nice lookin’ puppies. All three.
Now that’s what I’m tawkin bout.
Would be rapist, robbers, knockout gamers whool think twice after ganderin at the hog leg on her side.
She’ll get in more trouble not having her pooh picker upper.
I'd be willing to bet that some of her neighbors would be happy to clean up after her dog, knowing that she's helping to keep their neighborhood safe.
;-)
Excellent!
After over 35 years in the military, I’d be happy to be allowed to open carry any weapon I have.
The news on open carry, or the blonde?
Yes!
Hey, that guy has a slung Swiss K-31... what a jewel of a vintage rifle. Texas ought to host state-wide Schützenfest in the Swiss style.
Thanks for the ping!
Good!
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