open carry

On Wednesday afternoon, a crowd of open carry activists, all of whom were welding firearms, mobbed an Austin, Texas, police station. The activists were there to protest about the police chief’s stance on the proposed legislation of open carry laws. Police Chief Art Acevado of the Austin Police Department recently made ill-favored remarks regarding a state bill will allow Texans to open carry firearms. According to reports, Acevado’s comments on the legislation explained that the bill sounded like it was drafted by, “criminals, drug cartels, and extremists. He stated that the legislation will cause more violence in the city.

At least 30 activists from the Open Carry Texas group were wielding semi-automatic rifles and shotguns outside of the Austin police headquarters in protest. The police station is near the scene of a shooting between law enforcement officers and a white supremacist around six months ago.

C.J. Grisham, a Texas resident, was infuriated by the comments from Acevado. He spoke out about the shooting that happened last year. “There are pot marks in the concrete, bullet holes all over the place,” he said. He believes that current legislation is not keeping illegal firearms out of the possession of criminals and gang members. He stated that he believes the right to open carry a firearm will prevent a future shooting incidents. “Hopefully Chief Acevado has heard what I’ve said,” he said in regards to his protesting and comments.
The fight for open carry legislation started over four decades ago. In the 1970s, the National Rifle Association (NRA) put more emphasis on political action towards less strict gun laws. As the Republicans found the essence of the right to open carry, it became part of their political philosophy. NRA officials and members explain that they formed the association to be tough on crime, blunt in regards to foreign policy, and holding conservative family values. The NRA has been great supporter of the Republican party over many elections cycles.
open carryAlthough the NRA members of the past were very conservative and humble with their political views, the activists in Austin seem to be putting an extreme right-wing philosophy into the fight for open carry legislation. The activists have been protesting the right to open carry by mobbing a police station in Austin. The group is seeking to open carry a firearm in public without it being licensed. Even though the protesters are aligned with a legislature that is very pro-gun, some say the weeks-long demonstrations have hindered the fight to pass the open carry bill.
In the rhetoric of House Bill 910, there is a regulation that would prevent law enforcement officer from asking a person for the licensure requirement for their firearm. Grisham stated that Acevado’s stance violates the Second Amendment.

The activists included dozens of people, all of whom marched through the downtown area with rifles and other firearms strapped to their person. Ryan Jones, one of the activists, said, “We’re nice guys, and we’re not going away.” By demonstrating in front of the Texas capital, demonstrators may have taken the issue to the breaking point. Even with a mostly Republican legislature, the bill could be debated even further and amended.

By Alex Lemieux

Sources:

Raw Story

Texas Observer

KXAN

Photo by Teknorat – Creativecommons Flickr License

Photo by Teknorat – Creativecommons Flickr License

 

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