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Following the shooting at Ft. Hood a couple days ago, the Texas Senate Committee on Agricultural Affairs and Homeland Security decided to hold a hearing — even though they were out of session for the year — on the topic of open carry. The usual characters showed up, from anti-gun Austin residents and Moms Demand Action radicals to people like CJ Grisham, whose testimony was sliced out into this YouTube video. The full 8 hour video from the session is available here, but if you listen to any one argument, this would be the one.

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23 COMMENTS

  2. “the Texas Senate Committee on Agricultural Affairs and Homeland Security”

    Wow. Interesting doubling-up on state agencies. “Texas state Commission on Gambling, Lawn Mowing and Diapers” is sure to follow….

    • Legislative committees, at every level, often have a curious combination of responsibilities. The administrative agencies they oversee are usually not combined in the same manner.

      … unless said legislature does something stupid, like putting our federal food stamp program under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, or the aforementioned BATFE.

  3. Not having listened to anything about it yet, any idea how it would work? Given the existing concealed carry system already in place, will it just allow the option to open carry?

    • No legislation has yet been drafted. Everything is on the table and will be hashed out come the next legislative session. If you are a Texan, be sure to be in your Reps ears to advocate for less restrictive bills such as constitutional carry (open and concealed) or unlicensed open carry with the existing CHL structure.

    • Depending on the next attorney general we get, the current reading of the concealed carry law could allow open carry by licensees. It only mentions displaying in a manner calculated to cause alarm, lawful open carrying for defense is not for causing alarm.

  4. Grisham is a voluntary American hero, along with the other soldiers at Ft. Hood and forts and bases throughout America and the world. Why they would not be allowed to defend themselves and bring the attack to those seeking to end their lives, as they are trained to do.

    Law enforcement in Texas apparently is just as ignorant as law enforcement in less so-called “gun friendly” states. Grisham’s arrest and detainment because he refused to relinquish his rifle which he brought along for protection is a cautionary tale. It should alarm every Texan, and anyone else. Section 23 of Texas State Law is supposed to protect Texans but is being misinterpreted and misapplied by law enforcement. It is a shame.

    We look to Texas so often to lead the way of our defense of liberty and our God-given rights as recognized and guaranteed by our U.S. Constitution. We need Texans to stand up for Second Amendment rights and to lead the way.

  7. I certainly welcome this hearing and thank the witnesses for interrupting their schedules, on short notice, I understand, to appear before the State Senate.

    However, this is just a political ploy by the Lt. Governor, David Dewhurst, to bolster his 2A bona fides. You see, he got walloped in last year’s U.S. Senate race, losing to Texas hero and 2A palladin Senator Ted Cruz.

    This year, running for re-election to his curent Lt. Gov. office, he drew several challengers in the GOP primary last month. He finished a distant 2nd, but with no man gettinh a majority, that showing forced a run-off next month. He lost last year in a run-off against Sen. Ted Cruz, and that was with Dewhurst having led in the primary.

    He’s had decades and decades to act on 2A issues and Dewhurst has done jack squat. This is a hail Mary pass by a dssperate career politician who doesn’t have the sense to retire with dignity.

    • “However, this is just a political ploy by the Lt. Governor, David Dewhurst, to bolster his 2A bona fides.”

      That was my take on this as well.

    • Yosemite is a federal park, which allows open carry… technically…

      http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/weapons.htm

      It’s actually a law that sorta sticks in the craw of San Francisco’s politicos: SF is home to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) which cover’s all of the City’s beaches, the former Presidio, and the Marin Headlands, and since the GGNRA is a national park, federal gun laws apply! So, yeah. you can, again technically carry a gun while traipsing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge or along the pathways of the Marina District 🙂

      http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_14436734

      The rest of CJ’s time in CA, how he carried, well, you got me!

  10. The women from Moms With Guns Demand Action had a really good speech and even mentioned the reason she created her group because MDA wouldn’t give her the time of day on their website and banned her for being pro gun. She talked to one MDA member and tried to swap business cards, got ther other persons card, but when she asked for a card in return the lady said “why should I do that?” and walked away as if insulted. These people really don’t want a dialog period!

  11. I’m amazed that there is now some level of anti gun sentiment coming from that comittee.. Last year I testified in favor of campus carry and was one of maybe 10 people testifying in favor of open carry.. And the elected officials there were very progun.. Though of course neither pieces of legislation passed.

  13. Most soldiers are not trained to run towards gun fire. In fact, about 1% of all the military is trained to do so. I am a current Active Duty Infantryman stationed at Fort Hood, and have been here for the last 3 years. Most people stationed on Fort Hood are not combat arms, and if you were to go into training areas and see the POG’s walking around in their cold weather clothes when it’s 75 degrees outside, with all their gear looking like a damn gypsy camp on their bodies, you could see very quickly that most of them wouldn’t know what to do if something like this were to happen in front of their faces. A majority of the soldiers here are very young, and aren’t exposed and never have been exposed to violent situations. Basic training is exactly what it is: basic. They teach you how to operate your weapon with the basic fundamentals of marksmanship. Sure, experiences vary, but honestly BCT is daycare to get a bunch of teenage buttholes into a professional attitude and to discipline them in a way that hopefully breaks their naive attitude towards everything so they can be called a soldier. Most people on this base can hardly drive their car safely, and letting random soldiers with a CCL conceal or open carry is a noooooo gooooooo. I work with some deployed infantrymen that I hardly trust with a gun due to their unsafe handling of a firearm, and my life relies on trusting them. Letting a bunch of young kids on this base, with no idea how to escalate force while using correct judgement, conceal or open carry, is a horrible idea. Some kids are gonna get into arguments and shoot each other, and just make everybody look like a bunch of soup sammiches. The idea of having a personally owned weapon on this post at any given time is insanely bad. Idk what unit on post Grisham is with, but apparently it’s in candyland where he thinks this is a good idea.

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