Open carry of long arms in Texas (holstered Keltec sub 2000?)

[Daniel M. Ramos]

Do whatever you want. They are not going to tell you whether you can or cannot open carry a long gun. Even if by some chance a cop sitting at the police station told you you could, no other cop is bound to that. As I have already written, each case is incident specific.

Well, I wasn't talking about just walking up to a beat cop and considering that authoritative.
In Austin I guess I would speak to the Chief of Police, Art Acevedo.
For DPS I suppose it would be Director Colonel Steve McCraw.

It would be nice to get some clarification from the people that set policy.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

To the average uninformed person, openly carrying a firearm usually doesn't do much of anything to help get the point across or "educate" them on the subject. For a lot of people, all it does is make you look like a nutjob. I personally wish it were different, but that's the reality. It's like walking in to a library with a megaphone and asking everyone to listen to what you have to say. People aren't going to be too happy, and they're going to think you're nuts.

IMO, I think a better way to go about it is in the same manner that this social conditioning has occurred; progressively. Find ways to connect with more uninformed people, on their terms, and help educate them in a manner that is easily understood by them. The society we live in has basically been subjected to over 40 years of anti-gun social conditioning. Like I said, it has progressed to the point where the average uninformed segment of the society considers guns to be a "dirty" topic that shouldn't be discussed in public, that you should be ashamed to talk about, you should be ashamed to own them, and all other negative manner of things. You have to understand, these people think differently than you and I. They don't reason the same way that we do, and so the same logic will not work, and could potentially even be detrimental.

If you can't afford a spectacle, the last thing you will want to do is open carry a long gun in Austin as a spectacle is exactly what you will get.

 

[M. Sage]

Done it once. My advice is don't. The cops seemed really agitated and plain freaked out. This was outside city limits.

 

[txinvestigator]

Well, I wasn't talking about just walking up to a beat cop and considering that authoritative.
In Austin I guess I would speak to the Chief of Police, Art Acevedo.
For DPS I suppose it would be Director Colonel Steve McCraw.

It would be nice to get some clarification from the people that set policy.

it does not matter. Acevedo cannot tell you specifically all of the situations where you would or would not be "calculated to alarm". Neither can McCraw. Policy is if you have probable cause make an arrest. There are too many variables for them to be anywhere near specific with you.

 

[Renegade]

Why would it be a waste of time? I don't understand why speaking to the people that are enforcing our laws about the law would be a waste of time. At the very least you would get a sense of what the prevailing attitude was.

Questions about the law should be directed to your attorney.

 

[matefrio]

Why would it be a waste of time? I don't understand why speaking to the people that are enforcing our laws about the law would be a waste of time. At the very least you would get a sense of what the prevailing attitude was.

You are within your rights to open carry a rifle in a manner not calculated to cause alarm in my opinion. Even though I'm not a lawyer I believe we can all agree.



That's an awesome setup for the kel-tec and may be useful so I say get it, ware it around the house and when the right opportunity comes around go for it.

Just know the risk when you do go out open carrying a rifle.

To evaluate risk you want to read my case of openly and legally carrying a knife to the Texas State Capital.
http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/...ife-chl-concealed-handgun-=-jail-charges.html

• I was detained by several officers in the building.
• Those officers reviewed the law, even highlighted where I was within the law on their own printout. So much for getting the correct interpretation of the law from several officers. Must have been 12 there and only one agreed with me but he was too low on the pole to matter. They also tried to put a felony charge on me.
• I was arrested and spent the night in jail.
• I was Charged with UCW and bail was set for several thousand dollars.
• I lost my CHL.
• Hired a lawyer in my defense for $5,000.00 flat fee.

My lawyer agreed with me, I'd done nothing wrong. I should have never been arrested or charged.

Charges were dismissed. "In the interest of justice" saying I did nothing wrong, I never should have been arrested a couple of months later.

Thankfully due primarily to the folks here on the forum, and some on other forums, just over half the legal fees were covered by donations.

There are other things that are still up in the air and not resolved.

The experience was an educational one and for a cause I still believe in and still working to further.

 

[Daniel M. Ramos]

Here is another idea.
What do y'all think of a backpack with a scabbard that would totally conceal the silhouette of the rifle within the backpack's dimensions?
An Eberlestock Mini Me with a folding long arm would be an example.

 

[45tex]

Can somebody explain why nobody seems to pursue Official Oppression charges against the Officer making the arrest. My thinking is nothing will change if an Officer believes he can violate a persons rights with impunity. (You may beat the rap but not the ride) Its been over a dozen years since I was last a sworn Peace Officer, but the thought of this was always on my mind. The thought of losing my badge and being branded a criminal even without any jail time was a constant overreaction stopper for me. I know I've seen this charge made in the news, usually just to make the offender lose his status. This would change minds at the Officer level. If this were included in these Lawyer programs some advocate perhaps things would change. Just thinking out loud. Even if not upheld a bunch of charges would have an effect.

 

[preyn2]

Find a criminal defense lawyer in the phone book. Call him. Explain that you're thinking about doing something that might get you charged with Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon (or whatever crime; I'm sure somebody on the board will correct me), and that you'd like a ballpark figure for how much the defense to that charge will cost you.

Instead of doing something that might get you charged with a crime, use the money you would have spent on your defense and purchase a bunch of full-page ads in local newspapers explaining the position. Then you'll hit the entire newspaper-reading population, you'll probably gain the attention of broadcast media wanting to know what your agenda is, and you won't be trying to explain your position to one cop at a time.

Good luck.

 

[Daniel M. Ramos]

Can somebody explain why nobody seems to pursue Official Oppression charges against the Officer making the arrest. My thinking is nothing will change if an Officer believes he can violate a persons rights with impunity. (You may beat the rap but not the ride) Its been over a dozen years since I was last a sworn Peace Officer, but the thought of this was always on my mind. The thought of losing my badge and being branded a criminal even without any jail time was a constant overreaction stopper for me. I know I've seen this charge made in the news, usually just to make the offender lose his status. This would change minds at the Officer level. If this were included in these Lawyer programs some advocate perhaps things would change. Just thinking out loud. Even if not upheld a bunch of charges would have an effect.

I always wondered why it is if someone was wrongfully arrested, and the charges completely dismissed, that the arresting officer and the department he was employed by didn't bear responsibility for covering ALL of the legal fees of the wrongfully arrested citizen?
Wouldn't that be justice?

 

[Daniel M. Ramos]

Find a criminal defense lawyer in the phone book. Call him. Explain that you're thinking about doing something that might get you charged with Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon (or whatever crime; I'm sure somebody on the board will correct me), and that you'd like a ballpark figure for how much the defense to that charge will cost you.

Instead of doing something that might get you charged with a crime, use the money you would have spent on your defense and purchase a bunch of full-page ads in local newspapers explaining the position. Then you'll hit the entire newspaper-reading population, you'll probably gain the attention of broadcast media wanting to know what your agenda is, and you won't be trying to explain your position to one cop at a time.

Good luck.

I have family that are criminal defense attorneys down in South Texas. I could simply ask them and they would advise me for free. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[matefrio]

I always wondered why it is if someone was wrongfully arrested, and the charges completely dismissed, that the arresting officer and the department he was employed by didn't bear responsibility for covering ALL of the legal fees of the wrongfully arrested citizen?
Wouldn't that be justice?

It'd be nice. It's not a reality though. Civil cases can be made but also cost.

 

[dreyes89]

Why would it be a waste of time? I don't understand why speaking to the people that are enforcing our laws about the law would be a waste of time. At the very least you would get a sense of what the prevailing attitude was.

I had called south Houston pd about the subject, I was told I would be met by cops pointing their guns at me, that they can be sure I would be going to jail that night, and why would I want to do that. They never denied it was illegal when I asked. As another forum member told me( don't want to say the persons name without permission), better have a good lawyer lined up if you do, and try to do it in groups, so they won't single you out.

 

[Daniel M. Ramos]

Well, here is an interesting story of what happened when it was done on the capitol grounds.

Protestors Openly Carry Guns During Texas Capitol Rally - keyetv.com Austin News, Weather, Traffic KEYE-TV Austin - Top Stories

What do y'all think of that?

 

[45tex]

Official Oppression would be charged by the State, won't cost you, the Officer has to get a lawyer. If you set out to get arrested you get what you deserve, there are many folks wrongfully arrested thru no ill intent of their own. This is most likely a chicken S#@ District Attorney problem. IMHO

 

[Daniel M. Ramos]

Here is another real situation that I am sure comes up more frequently than we think. Say a person is travelling in Texas. They do not own a handgun or have a CHL. They do own a compact rifle. They are legally allowed to take that in their car. They make a stop and do not want to leave the rifle in the car for fear of theft etc., but they also do not want to freak people out. Isn't that a valid question for LE?

 

[matefrio]

Well, here is an interesting story of what happened when it was done on the capitol grounds.

Protestors Openly Carry Guns During Texas Capitol Rally - keyetv.com Austin News, Weather, Traffic KEYE-TV Austin - Top Stories

What do y'all think of that?

So, you doing this for personal protection or demonstration? I understand either reason, you should decide. Demonstration, hire a lawyer first and take along a video crew.

 

[Daniel M. Ramos]

So, you doing this for personal protection or demonstration? I understand either reason, you should decide. Demonstration, hire a lawyer first and take along a video crew.

Actually I would rather do it as a personal protection thing (see my previous hypothetical post about carrying in a vehicle). The open demonstration would probably be best reserved for an organized large group type of thing as there is a certain amount of clout that is provided by numbers and media coverage. In that I am sure.

Of course the State of Texas does not pay me enough to afford attorney fees, so personal demonstration is really not feasible.

 

[matefrio]

Actually I would rather do it as a personal protection thing (see my previous hypothetical post about carrying in a vehicle). The open demonstration would probably be best reserved for an organized large group type of thing as there is a certain amount of clout that is provided by numbers and media coverage. In that I am sure.

Of course the State of Texas does not pay me enough to afford attorney fees, so personal demonstration is really not feasible.

As I said, get the holster for the SUB 2000, may come in handy at some point. Also get a handgun to carry in your car and a CHL to carry it on your person in most places.

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

That holster is awesome. When SUB2000 prices come back to reality I'm getting one.