New TX "Open Carry" law as it pertains to San Antonio (Houston: store, license)

[Azure110]

Whataburger allows you to carry your concealed firearm into their restaurants, just not OC.

A lot of people here want to think the majority support gun rights and I am sure that is true but the fact is very, very few Texans actually possess CHL (I posted the #'s a few posts back), therefore not many can actually OC handguns. I m not sure what is required to legally open carry long guns though.

That leads me to believe that the majority of Texans support the ownership of guns for collections, defending the home, hunting and target practice but not many really care to carry their guns everywhere they go in public.

What I resent the most being stated here is that if one chooses not to carry, they are automatically "sheep" and get flamed for stating whatever decision why they choose not to carry. If it makes you feel better to flame people for that choice, then more power to you.

[clay1]

If you can legally own a long gun then you can carry a long gun. A license to carry handgun(formerly concealed handgun license) only applies to.....

Handguns.

As to your conclusion drawn from the number of people with the permit, you have no evidence to support that conclusion. The concealed carry permit system in Texas is about 20 years old. It requires attending a class that takes all day and costs a not negligible amount. The permit requires a not negligible fee as well. The number of places that are prohibited from carrying are numerous and the rules convoluted, and the fact that you do not need a permit to carry on your own property or in your vehicle. All of these are more substantial evidence to support the resulting number of permits issued.

Vermont has no laws prohibiting concealed or open carry. Maybe they aren't as emotional as all the people on this forum and others talking about how they feel.

[Kthnry]

Originally Posted by clay1

It requires attending a class that takes all day and costs a not negligible amount.

This NY Times article about the mandatory weapons training course doesn't leave me with a lot of confidence in the graduates.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/op...-your-gun.html

I’m a Responsible Gun Owner? Seriously?

Austin, Tex. — “WHAT are you doing?”

I had just shot a gun for the first time. The instructor was yelling at me because he couldn’t understand how a 22-year-old missed a target some four feet tall and two feet wide, standing only nine feet away. But he was completely at ease when, 10 minutes later, he certified me for a concealed handgun license application.

In late May, after school let out, the Texas Legislature passed a bill that, among other things, authorized individuals with concealed handgun licenses to carry firearms in most college buildings. “Campus carry” was a hard-fought victory for Republicans. My school — the University of Texas at Austin — continues to largely oppose the law. Administrators, the student government and the faculty council have all publicly regretted our legal reality. We don’t like it that students 21 or older can get a license, buy a gun and bring that gun to class. One clever undergraduate’s protest involves students bringing sex toys to school because, unlike guns, they are not allowed on campus.



...

The class was six hours long, but the instructor told us exactly what we needed for the exam in the final five minutes. Then, we got the test: 25 questions, multiple choice — mostly about where you can lawfully carry your gun. City Hall? University buildings? Elementary school parking lots? All of the above. Everyone passed. I got 100.

...

After almost zero training and a 10-minute test, the State of Texas considers me responsible to carry a gun. Once my background check clears, I’ll have the license. I am not an outlier. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, 99.7 percent of applicants in 2014 received their license.

...

[VeeGer]

All that is just an excuse for the background check.

There are states that allowed constitutional carry and that means anyone can carry. Now how scary is that?

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by Kthnry

This NY Times article about the mandatory weapons training course doesn't leave me with a lot of confidence in the graduates.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/op...-your-gun.html

I noticed at the end of the NY Times article, that the author was "Founder of UT Students Against Guns On Campus".


Any chance there was an agenda, going into that training?

[Pancho-Villa]

Probably...but you and I both know that the CHL class is really, really simple.

[prim8]

Originally Posted by TexasRedneck

Obviously, you know nothing about the new OC law. Might want to study up on it a bit......

Originally Posted by clay1

Then perhaps you should educate yourself before sharing your uninformed opinion.

Then educate me?
Just because a license is required doesn't mean the knuckleheads will get one before they carry right?
It isn't like the police are going to go around wasting their time checking everyone that is carrying, or do we actually want them spending their time harassing everyone to check their papers?

And again, that does nothing for the knuckleheads who are licensed, but are going to go around showing off their "power".

[Paka]

Lets stick to the facts:

Ask ANY officer and they are RELIEVED when they are dealing with someone who keeps their hands on the steering wheel and announces to them on being pulled over they have a concealed hand gun and where it is located...they REALIZE they are dealing with someone MUCH less likely to be a "bad guy" than others. You are announcing you have willingly subjected yourself to a background check.

The number of "crimes" against others by people that hold CHL is MUCH lower than those that do not. Again, the criminal element is ruled out.

The times when someone WAS hurting others, the most effective efforts to end the situation would be for someone able to pose a serious threat to the perp, and normally it is waiting for an officer to show us who HAS a weapon. Only then is the perp's attention moved from being the aggressor to self preservation.

You can chose not to carry, and hate guns, but I have the right, and now the law to back it, to protect and defend myself in public as well as my home.

I agree with the above post that places of business that post no weapons signs only announce to those intent on doing evil that they will probably have nothing to worry about since CHL handgun folks are far more likely to "follow" the rules than those that are intent on evil.

When you need help, you call for law enforcement....why? Because they carry weapons! Do you think the badge, the uniform or the ticket book is going to get you out of a situation where life and property are being threatened??? No, it is the fact that they will come ready to HANDLE the situation, and that is the weapon and the ability to use it.

The MAJOR concern for all of us is not that small precentage licensed to carry (open or concealed), but the LARGER percentage that are not, but will without concern for the law or have evil intentions for personal gain, and it appears those not wanting to arm themselves trust that larger percentage to do the right thing more than the 3% of us licensed to carry...

[prim8]

Training, you forgot the training. Something you and I both know is sorely lacking for the CHL.
They require that you know the rules, at least that day. They require you can shoot a pitifully easy target under little to no stress at all.
There's really no training to get a CHL, and yes, I'm worried about the people who have the license who I'm betting will panic and miss the intended target if they're ever in a situation that they need to pull that weapon.

This is coming from someone who has a CHL, and who has been taking self defense courses for over a year now. I'm not a sheep, and honestly I'm more worried about some of the other people who aren't sheep hitting me with a stray bullet than I am of being robbed or worse at gun or knifepoint.

[Paka]

Originally Posted by prim8

Training, you forgot the training. Something you and I both know is sorely lacking for the CHL.
They require that you know the rules, at least that day. They require you can shoot a pitifully easy target under little to no stress at all.
There's really no training to get a CHL, and yes, I'm worried about the people who have the license who I'm betting will panic and miss the intended target if they're ever in a situation that they need to pull that weapon.

This is coming from someone who has a CHL, and who has been taking self defense courses for over a year now. I'm not a sheep, and honestly I'm more worried about some of the other people who aren't sheep hitting me with a stray bullet than I am of being robbed or worse at gun or knifepoint.

While you have a point about the training, I can assure you that everyone I know with a CHL is a "regular" at one of the local shooting ranges practicing their skills.

How many people do you know that have a CHL that do not go out and shoot target practice???

We quite enjoy it.