NRA blasts Open Carry Texas after San Antonio incidents

Source.

The NRA on Friday called the Texas group's open carry displays in restaurants “weird,” “scary,” “counter-productive” and “downright foolishness” in a blog post on the NRA's Legislative Action website.

It must take a really special kind of gun owner to be denounced by the NRA.

You can carry your gun...just don't do it in a large group and show up to places where no one expects you to do so.

a reply to: links234

Makes no sense. If these guys are simply trying to get the point across that they are doing no harm by carrying, then why is it a big deal? The NRA confuses me sometimes. Well, most of the time.

a reply to: links234

It really doesn't matter what the NRA thinks.

Those gun holders weren't doing anything illegal when the SAPD decided to harass them. They were charged with "disorderly conduct" even though they were protesting. In other words, unconstitutional. Not that it makes a difference these days. Constitution is only as good as the courts that protect it. May as well just use it as toilet paper.

Sure it's not illegal to be an idiot and a jerk - but you're still an idiot and a jerk - and even the NRA can see it!

why is it a big deal?

It's a big deal because it brings embarrassment and ridicule to the gun lobby.

Well, the NRA does make this point:

Recently, demonstrators have been showing up in various public places, including coffee shops and fast food restaurants, openly toting a variety of tactical long guns. Unlicensed open carry of handguns is legal in about half the U.S. states, and it is relatively common and uncontroversial in some places.

Yet while unlicensed open carry of long guns is also typically legal in most places, it is a rare sight to see someone sidle up next to you in line for lunch with a 7.62 rifle slung across his chest, much less a whole gaggle of folks descending on the same public venue with similar arms.

Let's not mince words, not only is it rare, it's downright weird and certainly not a practical way to go normally about your business while being prepared to defend yourself. To those who are not acquainted with the dubious practice of using public displays of firearms as a means to draw attention to oneself or one's cause, it can be downright scary. It makes folks who might normally be perfectly open-minded about firearms feel uncomfortable and question the motives of pro-gun advocates.

Source: NRA-ILA

In other words, if these demonstrators go around making the average person feel uneasy, then they are doing their cause a great disservice. It is virtually impossible to distinguish a gun enthusiast from a lunatic. I'll be honest, if I see someone decked out in camo gear and brandishing a weapon on their hip, I'm getting my children to safety and calling the police.

a reply to: maria_stardust

I don't understand the stigma firearms carry. Sure they are used to kill people, but it's not the gun that does the killing, its the person holding it.

Now, if the person with a gun on his hip was acting shady or seemed on edge, sure, be scared, but having a gun shouldn't automatically make someone scary.

The fact is that just by being around others you are putting yourself in danger. My bare hands could kill someone as dead as a gun, but you wouldn't run away frightened by me displaying my hands in public would you?

I don't understand the stigma firearms carry. Sure they are used to kill people

Yeah, but that's no worry for the "culture of life" is it? Maybe we should let people walk around with live grenades everywhere and see if that can help people like you understand.

a reply to: andr3w68

Look at it from this perspective, it is highly unusual to see someone other than law enforcement openly carrying a weapon. Again, it is impossible to distinguish a gun enthusiast from someone with a chip on his shoulder with intent to inflict harm. It is not the gun that is scary in and of itself. It's the fact that, unless you are a mind reader, you really have no idea of that person's intention.

Erm.. wasnt the nra supposed to support gun owners ??? Or did I miss a memo somewhere ..

It does sound like pushing the envelope a bit....some people get downright passionate about their side of an argument or discussion.....supposed "principals" and "rights" were perhaps better not waved in others faces out of plain courtesy maybe....
There is also the danger of mistaken identity where LEOs or CCW or even open carrier who doesn't know whats going on....may engage the "protesters" in gunplay....what then????

several of the stopped open carry advocates have won generous lawsuits from police departments
www.9news.com...

COLORADO SPRINGS - The City of Colorado Springs has paid $23,500 to a man mistakenly arrested for carrying an open weapon. James Sorensen sued the city after seven CSPD officers detained and arrested him at a gay pride festival in July 2012, a day after the Aurora theater shooting, after seeing the open gun on his hip. What happened was caught on camera by Sorensen's partner. The four sergeants and three officers involved were unaware that it's legal to open carry in city parks and has been since gun laws changed statewide in 2003.

fox17online.com... another lawsuit filed to the tune of 600k

www.policeone.com... suing for 3.6 million if its legal (varies from state to state so check laws) i dont see what the problem is other then people letting their fear get the better of them perhaps a few more sucessfull lawsuits will stop this from happening

gunsnfreedom.com...

It is not a crime to open carry a firearm while getting the mail in Oregon, but one resident found himself being detained by a police officer for simply doing that. Kevin Hall, 31, is a software developer and volunteer fire fighter. He was very aware of his rights when a police officer detained him for “reasonable suspicion” a couple years ago. But according to Gazettetimes.com he has won the law suit and was awarded $5,000 for his troubles - See more at: gunsnfreedom.com...

thefreethoughtproject.com...

The 9-1-1 call that led to Deffert’s arrest was released Monday, and it illustrates just how uneducated and fearful some people are over the state’s current gun laws and guns in general. “I just got out of church and I was driving down Michigan Street,” a frightened caller told the emergency dispatcher, “and I don’t know if it’s illegal, but it looks like.. it looks like the guy’s got a gun strapped to his right leg, on the outside of his pants.” “OK. He’s got it in a holster?” the operator asks. “Yeah.” “OK. It’s not illegal to open carry,” the dispatcher appropriately responds. At this point the call should have been over, but the caller persists. “Oh God, kind of alarming,” she says.

seems like people think fear trumps peoples rights and i guess people trying to say talking to him self looked suspicous have never heard of blue tooth head sets

www.theblaze.com... mich/ wonder how many law suits and city coffers raided it will take to educate people that in some areas open carry is legal.and this person offered to eat the legal costs if they just dismissed the case but they chose to continue so now they get to have to possibly deal with a civl suit

Since it is legal in Texas to carry long guns as they did, it's out of line for the NRA or anyone else to call them "weird" or "scary" for doing so. They did something totally legal, didn't threaten anyone, and the NRA has now proven themselves to be utterly useless. I knew I didn't want to give them money; now I know why.

People that get all upset simply because someone is legally carrying a gun need to get a grip. Mobs go around in cities attacking people, without using guns, but I don't hear anyone calling for banning large groups. Nope, attack the thing that can protect against the mobs, instead.

Surreal.

why is it a big deal?

originally posted by: CB328

It's a big deal because it brings embarrassment and ridicule to the gun lobby.

Perfect.

The Gun Lobby _should_ be ridiculed.








The gun grabbers have created this whole psychosis where people freak out when they find out that there are good guys with firearms in this country. Law abiding citizens without the strange tint of taxes behind them. The gun grabbers are the ones who spent decades building up this mind # and now they are showing us their highest science for solving all perceived problems. Ridicule it to death.

I'm glad this phase has started.










I can't wait for the awareness by the gun grabbers that a few cowboys on an airplane can make the world a whole lot safer than their state sanctioned checkpoints ever could. I estimate a few more phases have to pass first. I get the feeling someone is trying to keep this idea out of the light.


Mike Grouchy

originally posted by: LadyGreenEyes
Since it is legal in Texas to carry long guns as they did, it's out of line for the NRA or anyone else to call them "weird" or "scary" for doing so.

Why?

AFAIK you still have the first amendment along with the 2nd - so you're perfectly entitled to call someone "weird" or "scary" if you want.

Especially if it is patently obvious why!

originally posted by: LadyGreenEyes
People that get all upset simply because someone is legally carrying a gun need to get a grip.

It's perfectly natural for a person to be leery of another person carrying a gun, legally or not. It's a survival instinct. Even someone legally carrying a gun is liable to have a bad day and go off the deep end.

You just never know.

Yes, open carry of long guns is legal here in TX, but it's very uncommon and causes many people to get a little nervous. What these guys are doing is causing more harm than good for us pro-gunners. There is a push for open carry of handguns, and it has been gaining momentum recently, but it could all be lost if these guys continue doing what they're doing. You cant just run around town with an AR or AK on your back and expect to bring more people to suddenly side with you on this issue.

Personally, I would like to see the open carry of handguns law passed.

When people ask me why Im not a big fan of the open carry of long guns but support open carry of handguns, I ask them how they think the majority of people feel when they see a police officer with his handgun on his side (or even a plain clothes officer, not even wearing a badge). Barley anyone gets nervous about that. But how do people generally feel when they see cops walking around with a shotgun or AR-15 strapped on their back? Atleast from what I can see, people get a bit nervous and wonder if there's something bad going on.

a reply to: links234

Since being a child our family have been shooters, hunters,and involved gun hobbyist. I have been a serious competitor in several shooting disciplines and done reasonable well, and had a boatload of fun along the way, meeting some of the best people on the planet. All evil gun toters as myself.

In the 56 years years I have been alive, I have never seen anyone carry a long gun around as they would a sack of groceries. Quite frankly carrying a gun is an uncomfortable PITA, around your hip, in your pocket dragging your pants down, or in a expensive first class Law Enforcement Holster, it's still uncomfortable. Why you need to prove your 2nd amendment rights in a group openly carrying rifles makes no sense, other than being in your face, much like any other protesters. It seems pretty obvious they mean no harm because if there was a problem of an armed group walking the streets shooting everywhere it would be in the anti-gun MSM in the time it takes to load a single round on a progressive machine.

That being the case I think the whole reason the public and the NRA becomes incensed with this is because of the conditioning we receive on a regular basis through the propaganda box otherwise known as the television. We are bombarded with regular reports of murders with guns, not of knives, hammers, screwdrivers, cars or any other object used to kill people. I can't tell you how many times I have seen the news about a shooting with a picture of an AR15 and the person was shot with a handgun. This last case in Kalifornia the guy shoots and kills two people and the fact he killed 3 by stabbing never got a mention. It's kind of like cigarettes, wow in my lifetime there was a common thing so demonized it became cool for people to pitch a fit at a person walking down the street having a smoke.

I think common sense has escaped the issue of gun control, through registration, legislation & confiscation. Some of the best examples of throwing common sense out the window.

1. If it is racist to ask for identification to vote for what I consider a such an important right, is it not racist to ask me for identification to own a gun.
2. If the idea of restricting guns to the public based on an emotion to save lives, why not start with things that kill more people than guns?
3. Why do black leaders (Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson) want gun control in cities? Isn't that the way to insure that slavery will never happen again?
4. Serial killers rarely if eve user guns. This is where you come to grips with the fact you can't legislate morality. If someone wants to kill a single person or multiple people they will certainly find a way. Gun or not. It's about people not the implement used to kill. It's about the killer.

originally posted by: buni11687
Yes, open carry of long guns is legal here in TX, but it's very uncommon and causes many people to get a little nervous. What these guys are doing is causing more harm than good for us pro-gunners. There is a push for open carry of handguns, and it has been gaining momentum recently, but it could all be lost if these guys continue doing what they're doing. You cant just run around town with an AR or AK on your back and expect to bring more people to suddenly side with you on this issue.

Personally, I would like to see the open carry of handguns law passed.

When people ask me why Im not a big fan of the open carry of long guns but support open carry of handguns, I ask them how they think the majority of people feel when they see a police officer with his handgun on his side (or even a plain clothes officer, not even wearing a badge). Barley anyone gets nervous about that. But how do people generally feel when they see an cops walking around with a shotgun or AR-15 strapped on their back? Atleast from what I can see, people get a bit nervous and wonder if there's something bad going on.

Oh god. Here let me help.







What if they walked into McDonalds packing. Would anyone immediately think the worst?









How about this for the breakfast rush. Would concern be unduly high?











This?









Don't help out the ministers of emotions by subconsciously hating on boys for being boys with guns. Girls have guns too. This is not about sex. All of your comments seem to imply boys. But the story would be very different if the protest was made up of girls.





[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4349244c09c9.png[/atsimg]

There is always the Hello Kitty AR-15



Mike Grouchy

a reply to: mikegrouchy

I would like to know where I can verify the accuracy of this post.The shooting ranges, names, all of it. It provides quality assurance to ATS post. I am the quality assurance guy for all female shooting sports in America, yeah "thats the ticket" the quality assurance guy.