The Texarkana open carry walk on the state line was carried out went off without a hitch on Saturday. Conley Hennigan reports that 38 people showed up to express their First and Second amendment rights by marching with openly carried arms in two states across the border. Note the prominent use of the American flag, and the III percent symbol in the video . . .
Conley Hennigan, who organized the march, said this about Texarkana prior to the march:
Check it out! Arkansas has been a constitutional carry state since August of 2013 under Act 746, Texarkana is the only major city in Arkansas that claims they do not recognize ACT 746. Even the new AG of Arkansas opines that it is constitutional carry. OCT will be crossing into Arkansas after we conclude our event in Texas to open carry modern handguns and educate Arkansans about their rights under 746. CJ Grisham, the president and founder of OCT will also be in attendance. Come take a stand and flex your rights!
No one was reported molested or arrested during the march. In the video, numerous drivers are heard honking support for the marchers.
While this is the first cross-border march that I have heard of, it’s just one of the thousands that have been organized and completed with complete safety across Texas and other states in the last two years. Marchers uniformly report that they are met with overwhelming support, and a small minority of detractors.
Arkansas became a constitutional carry state in 2013, and Texas has a licensed open carry bill making its way through the legislature. The Texas Speaker of the House, Joe Straus, is said to be the only serious impediment to the bill’s passage. The big question is whether it will be allowed a vote on the floor.
No bill gets passed without Joe Straus letting it through the House. I still haven’t seen any evidence that that hurdle is surmountable. I certainly want Texas to get Open Carry, but let’s make sure our optimism is grounded in reality.
Straus has been blamed for the failure to pass open carry legislation two years ago. Things look different this year, with thousands of open carry marches throughout the state and activists causing a fair number of representatives to be primaried. A correspondent activist in Texas told me that Speaker Strauss lost a significant number of allies in the last primaries.
The Texas legislature only meets once every two years. In the last two years the desire for open carry in Texas has ignited a social movement beyond any seen since the 1960’s. It remains to be seen whether the Texas Speaker is listening or if Texas will remain one of the six states that prohibit the open carry of modern handguns in most public settings.
©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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