The ‘Open Carry’ gun law in the state of Texas, may tempt the mentality of many die-hard gunslingers. The Wild West may have died out almost one hundred years ago, but it may soon be legal for Texans to open carry. This has got many people wondering if it may tempt criminal elements who have the mentality of outlaws such as Buckshot Roberts, to make a comeback. The state of mind of some gunslingers induces fear in many people.
Contradictory to the state’s cowboy reputation, 35.9 percent of Texas citizens own a gun, which is below the approximately 40 percent national median. However, with a population of over 25 million, and being the nation’s second most populous state, Texas witnesses the second highest number of gun murders. There are about 850,000 concealed handgun license holders in Texas, which has increased sharply in recent years.
The law permits licensed Texans to carry handguns in plain sight using a shoulder holster or belt. The lawmakers, in a deal with law enforcement groups, eliminated a provision which prohibited local police and law enforcement authorities from stopping somebody to verify if he or she has a gun license. This obstruction could merely be on the grounds that the person is open carrying. Opponents of the law do not see the idea of regulators so farfetched. Thus, the ‘Open Carry’ gun law in the state of Texas, may tempt the mentality of many die-hard gunslingers.
The word ‘regulator’, in this case, as per urban dictionary, means someone who solves problems using necessary violence, which is of course necessary in a lot of cases. It also means any individuals who take care of problematic people through violence. They hit hard and fast either out in the open or covertly. However, supporters of the law insist that it is their right according to the Second Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, and they stand firm on the fact that they do not use their weapons haphazardly.
The bill initially passed the House on a 102 to 42 vote count. The Senate then handed it over to Governor Greg Abbott on a 20 to 11 vote. Once Abbott signs the bill, the Lone Star State will become the 45th U.S. state to grant licensed individuals the right to carry handguns openly in public. This leaves only the states of New York, Florida, California, Illinois, Washington, D.C., and South Carolina with flat-out bans.
Currently, Texas state law permits residents who are 21 and older, including those on active military duty, to acquire a handgun license. The license can be procured only after completing a background check, receiving proper training, finishing a gun safety class, and passing hands-on and written tests. The new law when finalized, is said to take effect in January 2016.
Although, Texas has long allowed the open carry of long guns, like shotguns and rifles, this will mark the most extreme adjustment to Texas gun regulations in 20 years. Concerns have been raised that the ‘Open Carry’ gun law in the state of Texas, may tempt the mentality of many die-hard gunslingers. However, the lawmakers have chosen to not pay heed to those concerns as of now, and go ahead with the change in regulations.
By Ankur Sinha
Sources:
Huffington Post
The Dallas Morning News
PBS
Photo Courtesy of Kordite’s Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
Photo Courtesy of Teknorat’s Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
Photo Courtesy of Christine Senke’s Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
Discover more from Guardian Liberty Voice
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
24 Responses
This SO CALLED news article is PURE BOVINE SCRIPTOLIGY!!!
“The ‘Open Carry’ gun law in the state of Texas, may tempt the mentality of many die-hard gunslingers. The Wild West may have died out almost one hundred years ago, but it may soon be legal for Texans to open carry. This has got many people wondering if it may tempt criminal elements who have the mentality of outlaws such as Buckshot Roberts, to make a comeback. The state of mind of some gunslingers induces fear in many people.”
Gunslingers? Really? Your first use of that straw man. I bet it won’t be the last.
“…Texas witnesses the second highest number of gun murders.”
I think you’re cherry picking your data. Texas rated 23rd in the rate of homicides in 2013. Frankly I don’t care if I’m killed with a gun or a butter knife, the result to me is much the same. How ’bout you?
“Although, Texas has long allowed the open carry of long guns, like shotguns and rifles, this will mark the most extreme adjustment to Texas gun regulations in 20 years.”
I read these same articles filled with consternation and gnashing of teeth then too. Pundits talked of the blood running in the streets and thThis e return of the wild west, yet over those 20 years Violent crime and murders are down. Imagine that. Whats changed with this new law? Not much. I don’t have to put a jacket on any more if I don’t want to. Is that really a big enough deal to worry about?
“Concerns have been raised that the ‘Open Carry’ gun law in the state of Texas, may tempt the mentality of many die-hard gunslingers.”
Here we go with those gunslingers again and another straw man argument, this time filled with imagination and emotionalism leaving the whole article kinda pointless.
Nice puff-piece, full of drivel. TX will be the 45th open carry state… I don’t recall gunfights being common in the first 44 as a way to settle differences. And listing NY, CA, DC and IL as ban states supports the open carry concept, as they have some of the worst crime in the country.
This cry of “WOLF!!!” has been repeated ad nauseam every time unconstitutional restrictions are removed from the public carrying of arms, and it never, EVER proves to be an accurate prognostication.
So stop, already. It isn’t true. There simply is no evidence that any such sweeping result has occurred.
Isn’t it hilarious how shrill and demented anti gun Marxists like this clueless article writer are when our rights are reinstated
Who in the heck is this clown calling a “die-hard gunslinger?” Also, he writes because of the open carry law, “many people” are wondering whether a criminal element with the “mentality of Buckshot Roberts” will make a comeback. Really? Buckshot Roberts? Truly, there is nothing more amusing than these wild-eyed liberal types waving their arms and hollering and running amok.
Law or no law, the gangster will carry a gun anyway.
New York does not allow guns, but people are killed every day by guns in New York City.
Bad People will always find a way to kill.
“This has got many people wondering if it may tempt criminal elements who have the mentality of outlaws such as Buckshot Roberts, to make a comeback.”
Right, the outlaws have been waiting for open carry to be legalized so they can rape, burn and pillage with an openly carried firearm. This idiocy is the trade mark of the hoplophobic element of our society.
Not to mention that under the new law open carry will still require a permit, and permits are not issued to “criminal element”.
Regarding the possibly correct yet ultimately misleading statement, “Texas witnesses the second highest number of gun murders,” the overall per capita murder rate in Texas appears to be below that of California and New Jersey: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state
All murders result in death, not just those by a gun, and one should, of course, look at per capita numbers for a meaningful picture of how safe a given place is.
Since you have to already have a concealed carry license, why would open carry, all of a sudden, “Tempt the mentality of Die-Hard Gunslingers”? Whatever that even means.
It’s funny, but laws banning concealed carry a century ago were justified in many states on the grounds that open carry remained legal. When pushing for a “shall-issue” concealed handgun permit system in the 1990s, many opponents argued that they’d prefer to _know_ who was carrying a gun.
Apparently, there is a lot of hypocrisy and lying going on in the gun control movement.
What an idiotic premise. Open carry exists across the rest of the United States, in 45 other states, without any issue whatsoever. There is no data WHATSOEVER to support the author’s outlandish speculation, merely bigotry.