Texas House Bill 700, if enacted, would allow CHL holders to carry handguns openly as well as concealed.
Texas is one of only six states plus the District of Columbia that doesn't allow open carry.
This, according to Sunday's Ft. Worth Star-Telegram article, prompted Bryan Hull of the Oklahoma Open Carry Association to say, "The entire country is shocked that Texans can't open-carry. It doesn't fit the culture."
Even Minnesota, a liberal state (home of Al Franken, Walter Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, and birthplace of Communist Party USA leader Gus Hall) re-legalized open carry recently.
Predictably, Texas Brady Campaign spokeswoman Marsha McCartney was quoted in the same article as saying, "Back in the Old West, people had to leave their guns at the edge of town. I thought that was very sensible."
But that's the Hollywood Old West. In the real Old West, things were different.
Which brings us back to Minnesota.
On September 7, 1876, Jesse and Frank James, Cole, Jim and Bob Younger, and three others didn't "leave their guns at the edge of town," law or no law, when they entered Northfield, Minnesota.
They where there to rob the bank
Fortunately, the townspeople didn't leave their guns at the edge of town either.
The gang met a hail of gunfire from the merchants and townsfolk when they exited the bank with their loot.
Two outlaws were killed, the other six were wounded, and all they got according to Wikipedia was "several bags of nickels."
Two townsmen were killed and one was wounded. They were unarmed.
Northfield residents were so proud of what they had done that they still stage reenactments every year.
Compare that "Old West" to today's "New West," Chicago, with gun laws so strict that gun shops and ranges are illegal and citizens are effectively disarmed by a statewide personal handgun ban, resulting in "500 homicides last year and at least 40 killings already in 2013."
Back in North Texas Watauga resident and CHL instructor Curtis Van Liew told the Star-Telegram that he favors open carry but personally prefers concealed carry.
In its current form HB 700 will allow both, which means accidental exposure shouldn't make LEOs go F-bomb screaming berserk like a caught-on-video Deputy did in Florida recently.
Both the Libertarian Party of Texas and the national Libertarian Party platforms recognize the right of peaceful American citizens to carry side arms – concealed, open, or otherwise.
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