Open Carry impact

[carlson1]

On a personal note, I work in a retail location that is CC friendly. heck, a good portion of my regular customers spend time bull'ing about guns on a daily basis. Ownership has no intention of posting a 30.06, because some of us carry at work and we have a lot of chl customers. That being said, we also have a lot of customers that are definitely not gun people and would probably be uncomfortable with guns in the open. There's a high likelihood that we'll be posting 30.07, simply to appease a portion of our customer base. It doesn't make us anti-gun, it makes us anti-losing business.

Its not a decision that I like, but its a realistic one that I suspect will be made elsewhere.

The love for firearms and the belief of being armed goes very deep in my soul, but I will be posting a 30.07 at my church without a doubt.

[Taypo]

On a personal note, I work in a retail location that is CC friendly. heck, a good portion of my regular customers spend time bull'ing about guns on a daily basis. Ownership has no intention of posting a 30.06, because some of us carry at work and we have a lot of chl customers. That being said, we also have a lot of customers that are definitely not gun people and would probably be uncomfortable with guns in the open. There's a high likelihood that we'll be posting 30.07, simply to appease a portion of our customer base. It doesn't make us anti-gun, it makes us anti-losing business.

Its not a decision that I like, but its a realistic one that I suspect will be made elsewhere.

The love for firearms and the belief of being armed goes very deep in my soul, but I will be posting a 30.07 at my church without a doubt.

That's completely understandable as well, and its definitely a move I can respect.

In the early days of the OC push, my main concern was a negative impact on CC. The 30.07 option (and lack of support for any type of Gunbuster sign) has gone a long way to ease my fears. I still feel like a portion of the non-gun community is going to associate any OC with the tools from OCT, at least initially.

[ralewis]

I spend a lot of time (about a month/year) in Pennsylvania. Northeast part of the state in a relatively urban area (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton). Mix of cities and small towns. It's very rare to see a no-guns sign and very few folks open carrying. Rare to see any discussion of gun issues on local news or in the local papers. PA has the highest percentage of License To Carry holders in the country but by no means a majority (something like 15%). It's a solidly Purple state that mostly votes Democrat, so it's not a hotbed of pro-gun conservatives.

Its fun to discuss all the scenarios we may encounter (LEO stops, signs, public backlash against gun folk because of open carry), but I think we'll see for the most part the same thing happen here in Texas. Few people actually open carrying, few 30.07 signs as a result (no more than the usual suspects who post 30.06), and all of this mostly be the same non-issue in Texas that it is in PA.

[ScottDLS]

If open carry passes I'm going to buy a Colt Python .357 stainless w? 6" barrel that I've wanted since I was a kid. Gonna carry it low on the (right) hip with a big gun belt. I pity the fool (or zombie) that messes with me.

[Scott B.]

Re: licensed open carry in vehicles

If I understand what I'm reading, the firearm can be visible as long as it's in a shoulder or belt holster carried by the license holder.

Had hoped open carry would mean I could mount a holster in the vehicle, but appears it would still have to be the concealed/covered variety. Having that cover on it kind of defeats the purpose, although it would be more comfortable on long hauls.

[steveincowtown]

On a personal note, I work in a retail location that is CC friendly. heck, a good portion of my regular customers spend time bull'ing about guns on a daily basis. Ownership has no intention of posting a 30.06, because some of us carry at work and we have a lot of chl customers. That being said, we also have a lot of customers that are definitely not gun people and would probably be uncomfortable with guns in the open. There's a high likelihood that we'll be posting 30.07, simply to appease a portion of our customer base. It doesn't make us anti-gun, it makes us anti-losing business.

Its not a decision that I like, but its a realistic one that I suspect will be made elsewhere.

The love for firearms and the belief of being armed goes very deep in my soul, but I will be posting a 30.07 at my church without a doubt.

That seems surprising to me. I would assume you know every one in your congregation fairly well. We also know that at this point if/when OC passes it would strictly be for licensed CHL holders.

CHL holders have excellent track records of being law abiding citizens, and I would assume most of the God fearing folks at your church do as well.

Why not just wait to post 30.07 until you see if it is really a problem? If someone did OC at your church why not just pull them aside and notify them verbally?

[Taypo]

On a personal note, I work in a retail location that is CC friendly. heck, a good portion of my regular customers spend time bull'ing about guns on a daily basis. Ownership has no intention of posting a 30.06, because some of us carry at work and we have a lot of chl customers. That being said, we also have a lot of customers that are definitely not gun people and would probably be uncomfortable with guns in the open. There's a high likelihood that we'll be posting 30.07, simply to appease a portion of our customer base. It doesn't make us anti-gun, it makes us anti-losing business.

Its not a decision that I like, but its a realistic one that I suspect will be made elsewhere.

The love for firearms and the belief of being armed goes very deep in my soul, but I will be posting a 30.07 at my church without a doubt.

That seems surprising to me. I would assume you know every one in your congregation fairly well. We also know that at this point if/when OC passes it would strictly be for licensed CHL holders.

CHL holders have excellent track records of being law abiding citizens, and I would assume most of the God fearing folks at your church do as well.

Why not just wait to post 30.07 until you see if it is really a problem? If someone did OC at your church why not just pull them aside and notify them verbally?

Not being a member of his congregation, I can't really speak for him but I'd venture a guess that he's not posting for safety reasons or a lack of faith (See what I did there?) in the armed patronage. Its a matter of keeping the folks that are uncomfortable with open carry as comfortable as possible. With a lot of folks, out of sight is out of mind.

[howdy]

On a personal note, I work in a retail location that is CC friendly. heck, a good portion of my regular customers spend time bull'ing about guns on a daily basis. Ownership has no intention of posting a 30.06, because some of us carry at work and we have a lot of chl customers. That being said, we also have a lot of customers that are definitely not gun people and would probably be uncomfortable with guns in the open. There's a high likelihood that we'll be posting 30.07, simply to appease a portion of our customer base. It doesn't make us anti-gun, it makes us anti-losing business.

Its not a decision that I like, but its a realistic one that I suspect will be made elsewhere.

The love for firearms and the belief of being armed goes very deep in my soul, but I will be posting a 30.07 at my church without a doubt.

That seems surprising to me. I would assume you know every one in your congregation fairly well. We also know that at this point if/when OC passes it would strictly be for licensed CHL holders.

CHL holders have excellent track records of being law abiding citizens, and I would assume most of the God fearing folks at your church do as well.

Why not just wait to post 30.07 until you see if it is really a problem? If someone did OC at your church why not just pull them aside and notify them verbally?

I believe this is the best option for a Church as large as mine. We have greeters at all entrances to the sanctuary on Sunday morning and these people could verbally inform an OC'er to cover the gun. It might come down to a discussion if the greeter has that authority but I would hope they would just cover it up or take it back to the car. We have many CC members and I don't think any of them will OC. I think businesses that have greeter's like Costco/Sam's/Walmart might do the same thing.

[rogersinsel]

If open carry passes I'm going to buy a Colt Python .357 stainless w? 6" barrel that I've wanted since I was a kid. Gonna carry it low on the (right) hip with a big gun belt. I pity the fool (or zombie) that messes with me.

That is what my wife wants to open carry. However, we have looked for them and their a bit pricey.

As Rick would say "shut up!"

[rotor]

I am still sign confused but from what I can see, which may be completely wrong, a new 30.06 needs to be posted prominently once but the 30.07 will need to be posted at each entrance. If that's correct it may be easier to mistakenly walk into a building open carry where a sign was missed than concealed carry. Any legal experts been following this?

[oljames3]

On a personal note, I work in a retail location that is CC friendly. heck, a good portion of my regular customers spend time bull'ing about guns on a daily basis. Ownership has no intention of posting a 30.06, because some of us carry at work and we have a lot of chl customers. That being said, we also have a lot of customers that are definitely not gun people and would probably be uncomfortable with guns in the open. There's a high likelihood that we'll be posting 30.07, simply to appease a portion of our customer base. It doesn't make us anti-gun, it makes us anti-losing business.

Its not a decision that I like, but its a realistic one that I suspect will be made elsewhere.

The love for firearms and the belief of being armed goes very deep in my soul, but I will be posting a 30.07 at my church without a doubt.

We will have to agree to disagree. My pastor at First Baptist in Elgin simply asks that CHLers consider how distracting open carry could be during worship services. No signs, no orders (as if one could give orders to Baptists). I'll continue to cover in the sanctuary after 1 JAN 16, but I don't feel OC would be distracting in other parts of the church.

[carlson1]

We will have to agree to disagree. My pastor at First Baptist in Elgin simply asks that CHLers consider how distracting open carry could be during worship services. No signs, no orders (as if one could give orders to Baptists). I'll continue to cover in the sanctuary after 1 JAN 16, but I don't feel OC would be distracting in other parts of the church.

I understand. As a Baptist Pastor this is not even open for debate with me. It is like being naked. I don't mind it I am just not going to be naked in public.

[mojo84]

We will have to agree to disagree. My pastor at First Baptist in Elgin simply asks that CHLers consider how distracting open carry could be during worship services. No signs, no orders (as if one could give orders to Baptists). I'll continue to cover in the sanctuary after 1 JAN 16, but I don't feel OC would be distracting in other parts of the church.

I understand. As a Baptist Pastor this is not even open for debate with me. It is like being naked. I don't mind it I am just not going to be naked in public.

We thank you for this.

[carlson1]

We will have to agree to disagree. My pastor at First Baptist in Elgin simply asks that CHLers consider how distracting open carry could be during worship services. No signs, no orders (as if one could give orders to Baptists). I'll continue to cover in the sanctuary after 1 JAN 16, but I don't feel OC would be distracting in other parts of the church.

I understand. As a Baptist Pastor this is not even open for debate with me. It is like being naked. I don't mind it I am just not going to be naked in public.

We thank you for this.

Here to help.

[nightmare69]

As a LEO, I'm not looking forward to the influx of calls of someone OC a firearm. Unfortunately, we have to go and check out all calls no matter how silly. Hopefully it won't last long as I would rather spend my time answering legit calls.

Just have the dispatchers tell the caller that openly carried handguns are legal in Texas. Problem solved.

Unfortunately dispatchers do not have the authority to disregard a call for service. That permission would have to come from a supervisor. To do what you ask on a permanent basis ,the chief of police or sheriff would have to write policy allowing such.