Texas members

[dolanp]

I think the only way we'd ever get it is if cities could ban it with ordinances which would essentially amount to Austin, Houston, and Dallas not having it and the rural areas not really caring.

[therooster]

Originally Posted by jgdean85

I believe Texas should have open carry, and less restrictive concealed laws. I would support the right to open carry. However, I am for the element of suprise. Don't want to take a chance at being the first target, and I love to be underestimated by people.

thats exactly how i feel.

Originally Posted by XDTOM40

Are we trying to go back to the Wild West days, Stetson Envy (as someone had called it. Wanting to be a cop) or what. Open carry will just cause more problems than it is worth. 9/11 did not help the situation with people being so freaked out about weapons. Keep it concealed, so maybe you'll have the edge. You need all the advantages you can. Carry a gun openly and hope to prevent a crime or be a target? Hmmmm, eliminate the possibility of being a target and have your weapon availible if needed. I carry OC, knife and pistol. Who said every encounter was going to escalate to deadly force. Talk to cops (maybe ex-cops) that have had to KILL a human being. It F*CKS you up mentally most of the time. Have an alternate method available, but if needed, use DEADLY FORCE.

The more people seeing folks walking around with guns on their hips, the more crap we are going to hear about it. Be glad we even have concealed carry. A lot of CCW people do not have the training enough to carry a weapon PERIOD, let alone open carry.

Open Carry People, are there a lot of folks walking around the streets in your states with a pistols on their hips? I just wonder how common it is. I have never been to any of those states. You know Texas though, there would probably be more than we would like. Hell, you have seen the boots and hats haven't you. All we need now if the guns on our hips.

DEAD HORSE, I KNOW.

i kindof understand what your saying, but it seems to me that you think (if open cary every became lawful) that everyone and their mother would carry open. that i could see causing problems, but its not the case.

"You need all the advantages you can.".... open cary is one of them

"Carry a gun openly and hope to prevent a crime or be a target?"..... how can you be a target? you have a freekin gun. even if a criminal is prepared to kill someone they will want to do it with as little resistance as possible, and a gun is a big resistance.

"The more people seeing folks walking around with guns on their hips, the more crap we are going to hear about it."...... i agree, the more the general public sees them, the more the general public will be less afraid of them.

"A lot of CCW people do not have the training enough to carry a weapon PERIOD, let alone open carry."..... what makes you say that? have you looked at the revoke records of texas CHL or the "individual criminal records" of the non CHL holders vs. CHL holders? they showed us in my CHL class and CHL holders criminal records were much lower, even percentage wise.

all in all, i understand where your comming from, but i think you are taking it to an extreme. it seems to me that you look at it pesimistically, and i look at it optemistically. and i'm not saying your wrong and i'm right... i'm just trying to look at everything from every point of view possible so i can come up with the most unbiast answer.

[Frenchy]

If Texas didn't have a CCW provision; I would want open carry. But seeing that CCW exists...I don't see the need.
Missouri has both, but it had open before CCW came to being.

[morbidking]

i think texas should have open carry or concealed carry along with all other state if you want to carry concealed or open then do so

[XDTOM40]

"A lot of CCW people do not have the training enough to carry a weapon PERIOD, let alone open carry."..... what makes you say that? have you looked at the revoke records of texas CHL or the "individual criminal records" of the non CHL holders vs. CHL holders? they showed us in my CHL class and CHL holders criminal records were much lower, even percentage wise. "


I would hope that the criminal records for CHL holders are much lower!!!

What does training have to do with criminal records? I am saying that because what I have actually encountered while taking the CHL classes and other training where folks are not handling their weapons safely and don't know much about shooting/weapons at all. One of the women that was in my CHL class bought the weapon the morning of the class! As a cop, we trained much, much more than the requirements for a Texas CHL to be able to be proficient with a weapon. I think the requirements need to be increased and for open carry even more. Your criminal record does not have anything to do with training is my point. (Hell, there are criminals out there training more than some CHL holders I bet!) It is your responsibility if you carry a weapon to train with it and not just every 4 years. Yes, a lot of us do train often, but do you think that all CHL holders train that much? If you open carry you need more training.

How can you be a target open carry? YOU ARE A THREAT!

I make my comments based on over 15 years of working as an LEO and working with criminals and shooting with a lot of folks. I am just not that die hard 2nd amendment as some.

No, I don't think I am taking it to the extreme. If they are ever going to allow people to open carry, they are going to have make sure people are trained to handle it. You are going to have to educate a lot of people that don't carry guns first before others start packing guns around in plain sight. There is a lot of responsibility in carrying a weapon in plain sight, I just want people to understand that. You'll never have an accurate number of crimes deterred by the presence of a handgun on someone's hip, you will however have a better numbers of who became a target from it.

Just my .02 It doesn't matter to me if we get OC or not, I just wouldn't actively support it. Everyone expressing their thoughts is great so that we see both sides of the story and point out things others might not have thought about.

Just be safe and remember that deadly force is last resort. Fortunately, the majority of us, statistically, will never have to "use" our weapon and that is a great thing.