Texas petition for open carry

Petitiononline has a link for people to sign up to request Texas allow open carry.

At this time, about 57,257 people have signed the petition. That's a lot of names, but not enough to overwhelmingly convince the state legislators to quickly adopt the bill.

All the points in the petition are ideas I agree with, and I signed the petition just now even though the idea of open carry doesn't personally appeal to me. But I do support the option of open carry and would like to see it made legal in this state.

The link to the petition is here.

The petition reads...

To: Texas State Legislature and Texas Governor Rick Perry

We hold that all citizens who may lawfully purchase a handgun be allowed to carry openly in public in the State of Texas except for those places prohibited by law. We also call for state preemption of all handgun laws concerning open carry in Texas.

1. Every individual has the right and responsibility to defend their self against unjustified threats of death or serious bodily injury.

2. The Constitution of the United States guarantees the right of individuals to keep and bear arms.

3. Criminals are not deterred by rules, regulations, and laws forbidding the possession of weapons. A man bent on mass murder will not be stopped by a rule forbidding him to have a gun.

4. It is well known that the requirement to conceal a handgun for the purpose of protecting self, friends, and family can be difficult especially in Texas with our extreme heat since a person will usually have to wear a jacket to properly conceal a handgun and to avoid "printing."

5. The requirement to conceal a handgun can make it difficult to draw the weapon should the life of the carrier or the life of someone else be in danger.

6. A criminal will not open carry a weapon because he does not want to draw attention to himself. We believe that a citizen openly carrying a handgun lawfully will be a deterrent for crime.

7. Ten states including Arizona, Alaska, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Virginia, Vermont, and Wyoming all allow open carry of handguns without a license. Twelve states including Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, and Tennessee allow open carry of handguns with a license. In fact, Texas is one of only SIX states in the entire United States that completely bans open carry of handguns.

8. In these states, Open carry is very common and it does not alarm law enforcement or other citizens.

For the foregoing reasons, we residents of the State of Texas affirm and assert that all citizens who may lawfully purchase a handgun be allowed to carry openly in public in the State of Texas except for those places prohibited by law. We also call for state preemption of all handgun laws concerning open carry in Texas.

A challenge for those who want to ban firearms

I challenge all those people who want to ban firearms and say you can use an "alternative means of self defense" in case your home is burglarized to try a little experiment.

Get a month's worth of your salary in cash. Put it in your home. Anywhere you can get to it will be fine. (IE: Don't encase it in cement.)

Tell four or five of your very fit and in-shape friends they can have all of that money if they can take it from your home. Warn them about your "alternative means of self defense", but if they can get by that, all the cash is theirs.

Tell them to break in sometime between 1 and 6 AM. They have to find the money themselves. And you won't hold them responsible for any damages they do to yourself or to your home. In writing.

As a bonus, they can't tell you when they are going to do it. And you can't put a time limit on when they can try.

Don't forget when it finally happens, these are supposedly your friends steamrolling over you. See how long that "alternative means of self defense" holds up.

If you have a method that works, please let me know!

4 armed suspects recorded on home invasion

This is a terrifying video of four armed men charging a man's home this last week. What happens next is brilliant. The homeowner defends himself with his own firearm and sends the four armed thugs running.

I would like to take a moment to ask all the anti-gun activists a few questions based on the video.

1) What do you think these four armed men were intending to do, not only to the individual in the home, but to anyone who encountered them in the process of their morning exercise?

2) Since assault rifles are illegal, how do you think the first suspect in this video had one in his possession? EXTRA CREDIT: Do you think the individual was aware or cared if the possession of his assault rifle was illegal? What social situations may have driven him to obtain this illegal assault rifle?

3) If this was happening to your home, what would you have done to solve or avoid this problem? Would your response and the options you take possible and/or available for those with a low to middle class income level to enact in their own homes?

4) Explain why you believe these four armed men may have more and/or equal rights compared to the individual inside the home they were running into. Who do you think has the ability to sue whom? Who committed a crime in this video?

5) Construct a linear timeline based on ten second increments for the following two situations: (A) The time required for the individuals in the video to approach in their vehicle, exit, and run toward the home. (B) The time required to call 911, clearly inform the dispatcher of the situation and location of the incident in progress, and for the police to arrive at the scene. Which is timeline is longer? Which is timeline is shorter? Do you think this may be important?

Not soooo fast!

I just deleted my last post. It was a touch premature.

Hunter's Mark (the store) will re-open soon with accessories, paraphernalia, and gear for all your hunting and sporting needs.

If you are looking for a FFL to transfer your online purchase to, please visit auctionarms.com or gunbroker.com and look in their "find an FFL" section.

"In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield."
- Warren Buffett