Post your TX Open Carry experiences here!

[stealthyeliminator]

Despite the original pre-OC bluster by Whataburger, we have yet to visit any store in the Houston Metro that has posted either a valid or invalid 30.06/30.07 sign.

This entire conversation should be in a different thread, but surely you aren't speaking of visiting any Whataburger establishments after your thorough and flamboyant rebuke and condemnation of your fellow OCers visiting establishments with no gun or conceal only policies?

And, hence, we have yet another illustration of ...

It's really kind of silly to attribute "such a mess as we are" to the occasional business with establishments that exercise their property rights in a manner we disagree with. Their decision is poor, sure, and in general we should probably use what influence we can to guide them toward a better decision, but they're within their rights to have such a policy while the real problem is actual infringement being actively perpetrated by all three branches of our governments.

 

[TXOC16]

This entire conversation should be in a different thread, but surely you aren't speaking of visiting any Whataburger establishments after your thorough and flamboyant rebuke and condemnation of your fellow OCers visiting establishments with no gun or conceal only policies?

My household is in the habit of punishing poor behavior and rewarding good behavior. Whataburger's public statements prior to Jan. 1, 2016 were indicative of poor behavior, whereas their lack of 30.06/30.07 signage at their establishments post-Jan. 1, 2016 is indicative of good behavior. That's exactly how it's supposed to work. You didn't really need me to explain that to you, did you?

It's really kind of silly to attribute "such a mess as we are" to the occasional business with establishments that exercise their property rights in a manner we disagree with. Their decision is poor, sure, and in general we should probably use what influence we can to guide them toward a better decision, but they're within their rights to have such a policy while the real problem is actual infringement being actively perpetrated by all three branches of our governments.

Not once have I suggested that any private establishment did not have a right to control their property as they see fit. That wasn't even a decent attempt at a straw man.

Clearly some of us value our Second Amendment rights more than others, and, as such, are less willing to compromise our principles in the name of some sort of "convenience." I'm just a bit surprised that on a forum that has the words "Open Carry" in its name, there appear to be so many so willing to make that compromise. Then again, perhaps they're simply a small, albeit vocal, minority.

 

[stealthyeliminator]

My household is in the habit of punishing poor behavior and rewarding good behavior. Whataburger's public statements prior to Jan. 1, 2016 were indicative of poor behavior, whereas their lack of 30.06/30.07 signage at their establishments post-Jan. 1, 2016 is indicative of good behavior. That's exactly how it's supposed to work. You didn't really need me to explain that to you, did you?



Not once have I suggested that any private establishment did not have a right to control their property as they see fit. That wasn't even a decent attempt at a straw man.

Clearly some of us value our Second Amendment rights more than others, and, as such, are less willing to compromise our principles in the name of some sort of "convenience." I'm just a bit surprised that on a forum that has the words "Open Carry" in its name, there appear to be so many so willing to make that compromise. Then again, perhaps they're simply a small, albeit vocal, minority.

You're being extremely defensive.

And hypocritical.

There was no attempt at a "straw man." I offer observation.

Remember that in this thread, you began the stone casting by harshly criticizing another member, impugning their integrity and commitment to the cause, and actually blaming their personal choices for what you perceive to be a negative state of circumstance.

It's not my concern. Nobody has called me to their defense. I just observed potential hypocrisy coming from someone applying harsh criticisms to others, and decided to try to verify it. I believe it has been verified. You are making personal judgement calls, based on your own personal and probably largely arbitrary criteria, about which businesses to patronize - choosing to patronize some despite those businesses having current policy against carry, and if I recall a history of asking OCers to leave - yet you don't afford the opportunity to others for them to make their own personal judgement calls, and blame their choices for your perceived problems. My suggestion would be to dismount the high-horse, as your stone casting will certainly not convince the other members of this board to start making their personal judgement calls according to your will.

I have at this point already contributed too much to the off-topic and unproductive thread-drift, so, I will not comment further on this subject.

 

[TXOC16]

You're being extremely defensive.

I'm the defensive one? Pot, kettle, black.

I have at this point already contributed too much to the off-topic and unproductive thread-drift, so, I will not comment further on this subject.

As well it should be, since your "contribution" has been mostly nonsense.

 

[Turbod'1]

Nobody has called me to their defense.

Nor has anyone called me.

That said, I absolutely agree with him! If you continue to give money to a business that considers you a second class citizen (out of personal convenience (or the hope of winning them over in the future)) then it clearly demonstrates your priorities.

I haven't been to a SINGLE business that has signage posted in over 6 months. Several of these were places that I have frequented for over 2 years as a "regular" and, while it often calls for me to drive out of my way, I too refuse to reward a business that doesn't want my business.

 

[qednick]

...
I haven't been to a SINGLE business that has signage posted in over 6 months. Several of these were places that I have frequented for over 2 years as a "regular" and, while it often calls for me to drive out of my way, I too refuse to reward a business that doesn't want my business.

^^This. I haven't shopped at HEB in 6 months. WalMart now gets our money.

 

[Taypo]

Had a conversation with the checkout guy at the Kroger while open carrying - apparently his family is from "the sticks" and has been open carrying for years anyway so its not a big deal to them, but he was curious as to why I was doing it.

Told him it made my wife happy

 

[SpeedDaemon]

My trusty Galaxy S3 went on the fritz this week, so I stopped at the MetroPCS store on the corner of Parker and Premier in Plano for an upgrade today (also went from $80/mo to $30/mo by switching off of ATT!).

While the guy behind the counter was setting up the new account and porting my number, a gentleman who was sitting with his daughter waiting on something or other asked me what I was carrying. I told him it was a Glock 23, and he said he was thinking about getting something for carry, but wasn't sure what to get. I told him why I liked Glocks, and suggested he check out Bullet Trap's rental collection to see if he could find something that worked for him before he spent a bunch of money.

I mentioned how happy I was that TX had open carry now, so I didn't have to sweat a second shirt in this heat, and the guy behind the counter (who was home-from-college-at-a-summer-job age), piped up and said "yeah, and we can carry on campus now, too, starting next week!"

Another good day.

 

[Taypo]

My trusty Galaxy S3 went on the fritz this week, so I stopped at the MetroPCS store on the corner of Parker and Premier in Plano for an upgrade today (also went from $80/mo to $30/mo by switching off of ATT!).

While the guy behind the counter was setting up the new account and porting my number, a gentleman who was sitting with his daughter waiting on something or other asked me what I was carrying. I told him it was a Glock 23, and he said he was thinking about getting something for carry, but wasn't sure what to get. I told him why I liked Glocks, and suggested he check out Bullet Trap's rental collection to see if he could find something that worked for him before he spent a bunch of money.

I mentioned how happy I was that TX had open carry now, so I didn't have to sweat a second shirt in this heat, and the guy behind the counter (who was home-from-college-at-a-summer-job age), piped up and said "yeah, and we can carry on campus now, too, starting next week!"

Another good day.

I was just at the Trap this weekend burning up some ammo and testing the little LCR thats on my Christmas list. Wanted to give the AR a workout too but whoever was on the rifle lanes was there for 1+ hour and I got tired of waiting.

 

[Stryker]

A bit of a strange encounter yesterday at CMC Recycling in Ft. Worth. I have not seen any 30.06 or 30.07 signs and did see a sign that used to say "Drug, Alcohol, and Weapons Free Zone" but the word Weapons and the image of a pistol had been removed.

While I was unloading my stuff from the truck, two employees from the office approached and informed me that I couldn't carry and that the place was posted .06 and .07. A polite conversation in which I agreed to abide by their employer's wishes, but I explained that I had not seen any signage.

They indicated that the office had a sign. I explained how that would indicate that the office was no carry, but that the entire recycling facility (100+ acres) would not be interpreted as such. They then clarified that there was another sign at the gate.

I wrapped up my business in the yard, secured my sidearm and went to the office to conclude my business. Shocker... no sign. Hmmm.

I asked to speak with the manager and asked him to help me find the signs (I'm not getting any younger). He said that they haven't put up the signs yet. I only shared that I really didn't appreciate being lied to because my initial reaction was to assume I was in the wrong and had committed a minor misdemeanor.

I understand that verbal communication is effective notice and I actually prefer this option over our legally binding signage. Funny that both men claimed to be CHL (sic) holders, yet they said non-existent signs had been posted.

Sorry for the long story with no real positive spin. Everyone was polite and no LEO involved, though it would have been hilarious if they had brought in police to enforce the signs that didn't exist. Oh well. Time to find another recycler.

Probably giving myself too much credit, but the local minions are now following the marching orders from corporate at CMC.

Obviously, their landscaping creates a legal out, but I'll play their game. The other recyclers in the area really suck. Just another call from me that we need to rid our state of the .06 and .07 signage options. Verbal trespass notification is adequate, IMHO.

 

[stealthyeliminator]

Told him it made my wife happy

heheh, I may steal that. Great answer, funny, doesn't provide much opportunity for debate or further confrontation. Good diffuser so to speak.

Just another call from me that we need to rid our state of the .06 and .07 signage options. Verbal trespass notification is adequate, IMHO.

I have come to agree with this position of ridding ourselves of .06 and .07 signage options. However, I would personally prefer to be notified by sign before entering a property than to be asked to leave verbally after entering.


ETA: A coworker recently mentioned that they noticed an OCer in a local restaurant. I was super glad to hear it. They didn't mention it to me due to any knowledge of my activism I don't think, so I take it as a sign that awareness is increasing, and I'm glad for that too.

 

[canvasbck]

Wanted to share my not so good experience from a few months ago. I was OCing into a liquor store that is not posted, only has the blue TABC signs out front.

Walked into the store (I have OC'd there before) and I see the Sheriffs deputy who is working the store come from behind the counter and was clearly headed my direction. I was expecting him to come over and ask for my CHL/LTC. He walked up beside me and without saying a word, reached out with both hands and started removing my M&P from it's holster. I moved my arm out of his way, but stated "what are you doing?"

OFFICER: You can't have that in here

ME: (confused look) there's no signs posted, I checked before I came in. If you are verbally informing me, I'll put it back in the car and come back in without it.

OFFICER: They have signs posted out front

ME: (worried now that I just earned a class C for walking past valid signs) Are you sure? I've been here before and never seen a sign.

OFFICER: They don't need a sign, it's a liquor store and illegal to carry in here.

ME: I believe you're mistaken, there are no laws prohibiting carry in a liquor store

OFFICER: They get more than 50% of their income from alcohol sales so it's not allowed.

ME: Sir, you are mistaken. That law refers to on premise consumption. The liquor store has the blue TABC sign.

We then proceed outside the store (he still has my gun in his hands) where he reads every sign on the front of the store. I point out the blue sign and emphasize the part that says 'unlicensed'. Once he is satisfied that there are in fact no signs on the store, I offer to put the pistol in my vehicle and then I will go back in and complete my purchase. He will give me the pistol back and says "no, I'll put it in your vehicle and then you can go back in". I follow him to my vehicle and tell him that my wife is on the driver's side, so could he please place it on the passenger side. He tells me that he will just hand it to my wife. I say "well, let me give you the holster to put it in, I would rather you not pass it off to her like that". He says OK, and I remove my holster and hand it to him. Then he hands the now holstered handgun to my wife.

I go back into the store to complete my purchase while he waits by the cash register. He asks the cashier "what's the official name for this type of store?" She wasn't sure what he was referring to so I say "You mean package store?". Then he says "yeah that, I'm just checking the laws concerning carrying". I tell him "if I give you my cell number, could you text me if you find anything. I stay up on the laws pretty religiously and I'm fairly certain there is no law prohibiting carry, but just in case I've missed something I wouldn't want to inadvertently break any laws in the future". He takes down my number and I leave.

A later reported this directly to the Sheriff. He promised additional training, but nothing else. I have since learned that the individual officer received more than just additional training. Suffice it to say, I'm satisfied in the response by the department.

 

[canvasbck]

Great story and I love how you handled yourself. We could all learn some things from it. It would sure be more powerful, if we knew more about the outcome for the deputy. I mean, its not like we know his name or even what county he works for. Did he ever call you back and admit that he was mistaken on the law? I'm guessing that he didn't or you would have mentioned it. If that call had happened, it would have been the mark of a gentleman and he would have earned a little discretion in the retelling of the story. Assuming that he didn't, means that you owe him nothing. Come on, tell us "the rest of the story".

My understanding (not confirmed through official channels) is that he was taken off the street and "reassigned" to the jail. He was also prohibited from working extra jobs until his retraining was complete.

ETA: He never called.

 

[qednick]

So gone 8 solid months of exclusively open carrying without any single negative to report--in fact, quite the opposite. I didn't want to keep posting about carrying in the same old places but today we went to the Wal-Mart in Boerne for our usual weekly shopping trip and some guy comes up to me and asks if I've checked out the shooting range on Hwy 46 in Boerne. I told him not yet but that we were planning on it. He then tells me that he works there and we chatted a bit about the facility and whatnot before he shakes my hand and continues shopping.
We got the truck loaded up and the same guy walks by as we were pulling out, this time he's OC'ing and waves at us. I'd like to think that my OC just let someone else know it's "OK" to do so!

 

[qednick]

Two days in a row... at the Wal-Mart in Huntsville yesterday with the youngest and some fella comes up to me, shakes my hand and thanks me for carrying.

 

[Stryker]

We got the truck loaded up and the same guy walks by as we were pulling out, this time he's OC'ing and waves at us. I'd like to think that my OC just let someone else know it's "OK" to do so!

Thanks for sharing, qednick... I have always hoped that our efforts to normalize open carry would bear fruit. This made my day.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[qednick]

Thanks for sharing, qednick... I have always hoped that our efforts to normalize open carry would bear fruit. This made my day.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Absolutely brother! To be honest, some of the conversations I've had over the last 9 months it's become evident that a lot of folks still think they are only allowed to "conceal" because their license still says so--and I find myself having to educate. People don't realize they can OC with a "concealed" carry license. I guess until they change address or renew their license (and thus get an LTC instead) many people will still believe this.

On another note, I've heard that unlicensed carry is the number one item on the Republican ticket for TX next year. I'd be interested to know if anyone can confirm this.

 

[TXOC16]

On another note, I've heard that unlicensed carry is the number one item on the Republican ticket for TX next year. I'd be interested to know if anyone can confirm this.

Yeah, sorry to disappoint, but I've already received word that "Little" Chuckie Cotton, the self-proclaimed all-knowing and all-seeing Second Amendment defender and advancer of everything related to Second Amendment rights in Texas has already made his supreme proclamation that that to pursue an unlicensed-carry bill this session (OC or otherwise) would be a fool's errand and a colossal waste of "political capital," which, frankly, is a term I despise. Of course, Chuckie is fully qualified with regard to fool's errands as he also stated multiple times with near certainty during the immediate-previous legislative session that both OC (of any form) and campus carry were virtually dead, the eventual passage of which, of course, he then took credit for having helped steer through after their eventual passage (so much for the "all-knowing, all-seeing" stuff).

Folks, as with any bureaucracy, the problem isn't the NRA itself, which has a mostly noble cause, it's with the people who keep voting to send back those with whom we have significant disagreements, such as NRA Board member "Little" Chuckie Cotton. Get rid of the "Second-Amendment-light" dinosaurs like him and his ilk, and the NRA gets better---a lot.

But as this is a Texas thread, the real question is, what have you (and that's intended as a non-specific, general "you") done today to advance unlicensed, Constitutional carry in the great state of Texas? The 2017 Texas legislative session begins on January 10, 2017, with many committee meetings have already been held (see: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Home.aspx. You may want to pay particular attention to the Homeland and Public Safety committee in the House, and the State Affairs committee in the Senate), so right now is the opportune time to be contacting all of your congress critters and senators, and encouraging your friends, relatives, range buddies, and neighbors to be doing the same.

Guns Up!

 

[solus]

Yeah, sorry to disappoint, but I've already received word that "Little" Chuckie Cotton, the self-proclaimed all-knowing and all-seeing Second Amendment defender and advancer of everything related to Second Amendment rights in Texas has already made his supreme proclamation that that to pursue an unlicensed-carry bill this session (OC or otherwise) would be a fool's errand and a colossal waste of "political capital," which, frankly, is a term I despise. Of course, Chuckie is fully qualified with regard to fool's errands as he also stated multiple times with near certainty during the immediate-previous legislative session that both OC (of any form) and campus carry were virtually dead, the eventual passage of which, of course, he then took credit for having helped steer through after their eventual passage (so much for the "all-knowing, all-seeing" stuff).

Folks, as with any bureaucracy, the problem isn't the NRA itself, which has a mostly noble cause, it's with the people who keep voting to send back those with whom we have significant disagreements, such as NRA Board member "Little" Chuckie Cotton. Get rid of the "Second-Amendment-light" dinosaurs like him and his ilk, and the NRA gets better---a lot.

But as this is a Texas thread, the real question is, what have you (and that's intended as a non-specific, general "you") done today to advance unlicensed, Constitutional carry in the great state of Texas? The 2017 Texas legislative session begins on January 10, 2017, with many committee meetings have already been held (see: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Home.aspx. You may want to pay particular attention to the Homeland and Public Safety committee in the House, and the State Affairs committee in the Senate), so right now is the opportune time to be contacting all of your congress critters and senators, and encouraging your friends, relatives, range buddies, and neighbors to be doing the same.

Guns Up!

sorry, to be a realist, you are not going to sway your legislature one iota...the lonestar's citizens wanted open carry...the kind legislature obliged AND kept the agency's profit center intact...a win win for the citizens and the agency...and the legislative back slapping has not stopped since!!

sorry to reiterate such a premonition was stated on this forum when ya'll were so happy and excited to get permit allowed open carry as you lived under the perception "we'll change it next legislative session".

in the real world, the concept tis political folly...

ipse

 

[SpeedDaemon]

sorry, to be a realist, you are not going to sway your legislature one iota...the lonestar's citizens wanted open carry...the kind legislature obliged AND kept the agency's profit center intact...a win win for the citizens and the agency...and the legislative back slapping has not stopped since!!

sorry to reiterate such a premonition was stated on this forum when ya'll were so happy and excited to get permit allowed open carry as you lived under the perception "we'll change it next legislative session".

in the real world, the concept tis political folly...

ipse

With regard to unlicensed carry, as far as I can tell, not having a state-issued license means a Hell of avoiding school zones due to the federal Gun-Free School Zone Act.

18 U.S. Code § 921(a):
(25) The term “school zone” means—
(A) in, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school; or
(B) within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, parochial or private school.

18 U.S. Code § 922(q):
(2)
(A) It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.
(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to the possession of a firearm—
(ii) if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located or a political subdivision of the State, and the law of the State or political subdivision requires that, before an individual obtains such a license, the law enforcement authorities of the State or political subdivision verify that the individual is qualified under law to receive the license;