1 Thessalonians 5:2-6 KJV “…the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”
Texans could soon see a lot more handguns in public places as a new open carry law takes effect.
Beginning on New Year’s Day, the state will allow people to openly carry handguns, provided they first obtain a license. The guns can be loaded or unloaded, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, but carriers must keep them holstered on their belt or shoulder.
Texas residents were already allowed to openly carry long guns — like rifles and shotguns — in public, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and the state also permitted those with licenses to publicly carry concealed handguns. But the state is now poised to become the latest — and largest, by far — to allow anyone with a license to carry handguns in plain view.
According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, when the New Year arrives and the Texas law goes into effect, there will be only five states that totally bar handguns to be carried openly. They are California, Florida, Illinois, New York and South Carolina, plus the District of Columbia. Several states place some limitations on how and where people can openly carry the guns, the center says, but by and large open carry is already legal in the vast majority of states.
Texas, though, is drawing some attention because it’s the biggest state to take this step, and the law is taking effect just weeks after the San Bernardino terrorist attacks caused Internet searches for concealed carry permits to surge to record levels. But the state Legislature actually passed the law much earlier in the year, and Governor Greg Abbott signed it into law back in June.
With a population of about 27 million people, Texas is the country’s second-most-populous state, trailing only California. Texas has just shy of 826,000 concealed carry permit holders, according to the state Department of Public Safety, which represents one of the highest totals in the nation. Everyone with a valid concealed carry permit will be allowed to openly carry their handguns once the new law takes effect, the department says, though it will still be illegal for people to carry guns in places like schools, hospitals, courtrooms and in some parts of airports. Businesses and private landowners can also post signs that would prohibit weapons on-site.
The law has created some divide among gun advocacy groups and those who favor gun control.
Proponents of the bill, such as the gun rights group Open Carry Texas, are planning a celebration on the steps of the state Capitol in Austin to celebrate. They say the law is a step toward their goal of “constitutional carry,” which would ultimately allow anyone who legally purchased a gun in the United States to carry the weapon without government interference.
The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a critic of open carry laws, say that the sight of handguns in public often intimidates people, and they hinder public safety more than they help.
People must undergo safety training before they can obtain a license, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
This is another issue that leaves me conflicted. I get both sides of this 4 or 5 sided coin. I don’t like making little old ladies like aunt Martha unnecessarily nervous at the sight of a hog leg .45 hanging on my hip. But on the other hand just maybe aunt Martha needs to grow up and be a big girl and recognize the multifaceted paradigm shift that this world is going through right now. The whole open carry debate and concealed carry licensing boondoggle is a fairly long running issue in most of the states. Making it a felony by law to carry a concealed weapon in most states decades ago legislatively reduced a constitutional right to a criminal act. What were they thinking? Issuing a concealed weapons license effectively reduces a constitutional right to a privilege administered and dispensed by the government. But only after you have paid a fee and gone through the process to exercise a constitutional right. Better than nothing or risking a felony I suppose, but seriously? Having to jump through hoops and pay a fee sure doesn’t sound much like a constitutionally guaranteed right to me. Open carry in many states is still legal without licensing but many people continue to chastised and even harassed when choosing to exercise this option. For the most part right now, open carry is a form of protest and an effort to raise public awareness of the fact that the we Americans still have some rights to keep and bear arms left intact. Sorry aunt Martha, if you see your friends or neighbors packing their pistols, just recognize it for the great many things it historically and currently represents. As for now I’ll forego offending your nerves and sensibilities. I just don’t need the personal controversy.