It's hard to be surprised at the lies, vilification, and breast beating drama of the anti-gun anti-2A crowd, they are as predictable as the sunrise and sunset. You can pretty much set your watch by their timing and predictability. I am somewhat baffled by the Texas law that excludes open carry of handguns, and the methods of effecting change chosen by OC proponents (whom I support fully). That they have every right to carry long guns in public as they wish is without question, what remains is the core issue of how to get the law changed or modified to include handguns in the OC equation.
From a young age my father taught me the wisdom and importance of choosing the right tool for the right job. Many of us on this forum have had a long gun either in hand or at hand 24/7 in a combat zone and realized the benefit for ourselves and our brothers in arms, yet, in my opinion a long gun remains a distant second best self defense weapon for carrying out the normal activities of daily living as we experience in normal American life as we live it today. The best tool for self defense in this case is a well maintained handgun carried in either OC or CC by a responsible American gun owner who trains frequently and values personal responsibility and accountability and refuses to be cowed by thugs, criminals, and crazies. This individual, be they male or female, is formidable indeed. All the more reason the quirk in Texas law that excludes handguns from OC baffles me, and perhaps a native Texan can enlighten me on the history and reasoning.
What remains is how to affect a change in the law by Texans and for Texans. In my eyes there are two venues available to the Texas OC advocates. One is to go directly to those who could enact a rightful change in the law, that being the Texas legislature and the governor. This would entail putting together a clear and concise factual, logical, and evidenced based argument to be placed before every legislator by well spoken OC advocates in every district urging a change in the law and assuring them that if they they cannot or will not get this done we will support an opponent at election that will. This argument should be made before the governor as well. Politicians fear nothing more than the possibility on not getting reelected. This may well have been done by OC handgun advocates but I've not read or heard of it.
The other venue is in the court of public opinion as amplified by the media. This court has 3 groups, with the first and obvious group being those like minded individuals who support your cause, and for obvious reasons not necessary to address. The second group is those who vehemently oppose your cause, and equally obvious we will never change their mind or stance. The last and by far largest group is John and Jane American public going about the challenging task of everyday life, working or seeking work, trying to earn enough to pay rent or mortgage, car payment, other bills, food, raise children, serve community and church, and after all that carve out enough time and money for vacation and fun. Your goal is to convince these folks via your demonstration (more on that later) that they need to pause from their hectic day and life, listen to your cause and supposably carve time out of their lives do something in support your cause. Bear in mind that since the sixties and the Vietnam war demonstrations have been part and parcel of the American psyche and culture. Someone is always marching, carrying signs, occupying, or simply being in the public eye for one cause or another however valid or petty they may be. Many if not most Americans observe some demonstrative act in person or the news and the next question out of their mouths is likely "what are we going to do for dinner", and rightfully so.
The act of carrying long guns into places of public commerce even, and especially in a gun friendly state like Texas will give pause to the public if for no other reason that people recognize it's a poor choice for strictly self defensive purpose (see above) whereas such carry of a handgun would likely not raise an eyebrow. I fail to see how carrying a long gun around in public will somehow cause the public to make the intuitive leap that I'm carrying this long gun openly because I can't carry a handgun openly without an in depth one on one conversation, and I've not seen any reports that such conversations between carriers and the general public took place. One must be very aware of the power of the photograph in modern media. Who of us older ones don't remember the pathetic photo of presidential candidate Michael Dukakis (sp?) driving an army tank with a helmet looking like a ridiculous "Rocky the Flying Squirrel". The same can be said of those young men in the Chipotle photo however honorable and well intended they were, it could have easily been captioned "Bevis and Butthead walk their rifles to get a burrito", and I'm surprised the left missed the opportunity. They are masters of media manipulation and misinformation, why pass the ammo so to speak.
In conclusion, I support carry in both forms, OC and CC based on every individuals right to preference. I fully support the Texas advocates right to carry long guns as they will, and hopefully handguns in the near future. I do question the efficacy in what I see as their supposed strategy to effect real change to Texas gun law via the court of public opinion via public demonstration for all the reasons I stated above. I believe interaction with the legislators and the governor would be more effective.
