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"Texas Gun Owners Worry That Open Carry Is Backfiring"

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http://www.thetrace.org/2016/01/open-carry-texas-chl-forum/

Any private business in Texas that wishes to bar firearms must display a strictly regulated sign — dubbed “30.07” for openly carried guns, and “30.06” for concealed firearms. Amid the controversy over open carry, this gun owner was noticing more of both varieties.

As January 1 approached, the day Texas’s new open carry law took effect, it seemed gun rights advocates were poised to savor a big victory. The legislation, coupled with a measure allowing guns on college campuses, was the result of a hard fought and widely publicized battle in the state capitol that culminated with Texas becoming the 15th state to allow the open carry of handguns with proper licensing.

But within just 11 days, the attitudes on display on a popular message board suggest that some Lone Star State open carriers worry that the push to expand their rights may have done more harm than good.

“Got an email from work telling us that not only are 30.07 signs going up over the weekend on our office building but 30.06 as well. What makes this even more frustrating is I have yet to see a single open carry,” wrote a user with the handle LTUME1978, before predicting in a subsequent comment that, at least in Houston, “Once the signs are up, they are not ever going to come down.'

That original post generated more than 100 replies, and numerous theories. Some Texas CHL users speculated that the increase in notices barring concealed weapons may be due to a revision to the existing 30.06 sign that was ushered in by the new open carry legislation. Older 30.06 signage was rendered obsolete by the change — and signage is something that Texas gun rights advocates actively police.

“Just as easy to have both 30.06 and 30.07 signs made at the same time,” a user named Distinguished Rick replied. “We have lost more than we gained,” he added. “I have had my CHL 20 years this year and I hardly ran into any legal signs back then. This has woken up the anti-crowd in a big way. So now the genie is out of the bottle and I don’t see a way to put it back.”

A user with the handle bmwrdr echoed his concerns: “Before the OC [open carry] movement started everything went smooth, now we see more and more 30.06 signs erected.”

“We were free to carry concealed at far more places before than now. You have the exact same ability to be safe carrying concealed as openly. Except that now you can’t do either in many places. So you’re not safer at all. Open carry is not a right. It’s a dress code and comfort issue. You were already freely bearing arms before 1 Jan. You’ve given up safety for comfort and lost and freedom [sic] for all of us.”

“The immature, selfish actions and the loud, belligerent mouths of a few have hurt many,” Oldgringo concluded. “It’s true, all that glitters is not gold.”

Last week, Charles Cotton, the NRA board member who moderates Texas CHL, weighed in on the public’s reaction to the new open carry law. “I truly wish that open-carry supporters would admit that they were wrong and that there is a problem,” he wrote in response to a post entitled “I now regret that OC passed.” “However, I won’t hold my breath. If I cannot carry my self-defense handgun into a store because they put up 30.06 and 30.07 signs, then someone’s ability to show their handgun to everyone will have cost me the ability to defend myself.”

With the changes in regulation, new notices need to be printed and posted. A 30.06 notice allows business to prohibit concealed carry, while a 30.07 notice prohibits open carry. Both signs are frequently being posted as a pair in places where there was either only an open-carry ban before, or where there wasn't any ban prior to Jan 1. As quoted above some think both are posted mostly because businesses are really after 30.07 (open carry), but since they're already going through the trouble of printing and posting a notice they also throw in the 30.06.

I can confirm that I have seen more notices in more businesses banning open and concealed-carry weapons. Suffice to say a lot of businesses aren't interested in rah-rah gun-toting drum beating, so what's happening is that there are more businesses actively choosing to ban all firearms now that the new regulation is forcing them to make a choice either way.

i'mokwiththis.jpg

30.06 me if old
 

Trident

Loaded With Aspartame
Why not quote the paragraph that explains what 30.06 and 30.07 signs are?

Any private business in Texas that wishes to bar firearms must display a strictly regulated sign — dubbed “30.07” for openly carried guns, and “30.06” for concealed firearms. Amid the controversy over open carry, this gun owner was noticing more of both varieties.
 

RiccochetJ

Gold Member
Go figure that people carrying rifles strapped across their back made people nervous and the businesses responded in kind.

At least Texas has laws pertaining to this sort of thing.

Why didn't you let people know what 30.06 and 30.07 actually mean OP?
 

Joni

Member
Who could have expected coming out and showing there are a lot of crazy gun owners would turn the tide against gun owners?
 

Averon

Member
I would imagine most people would avoid establishments populated with a small gang of gruff looking men carrying glocks and rifles for all to see.
 

TylerD

Member
So thanks to the open carry law there will be more soft targets than before? This really isn't going to plan. What a shame!
 
Well this is an oddly sensationalist article that made me think gun advocates were actually unhappy about gun prevelance. Instead it's a stupid logistics issue. All it'll take is a couple of protests and a state-forced pricing adjustment by the organization that prints the signs (make the double notice three times as expensive or something), and all will be right for NRA enthusiasts.
 

lednerg

Member
Why not quote the paragraph that explains what 30.06 and 30.07 signs are?
Any private business in Texas that wishes to bar firearms must display a strictly regulated sign — dubbed “30.07” for openly carried guns, and “30.06” for concealed firearms. Amid the controversy over open carry, this gun owner was noticing more of both varieties.

This. I thought a 30.06 was a kind of rifle I never heard of or something.

EDIT: this guy in the comments says the signs have to be in English and Spanish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktjb443NAYo
 

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
OCT has hurt much more than helped. I insist on carrying when taking my young son and wife to the movies, but that is now becoming more difficult.

The paranoia level is just amazing.
 

RiccochetJ

Gold Member
It's not unimportant to say most places don't need to...

Concealed carry is legal in a lot more places than Texas. I'm sure there's more, but this is the first I've seen where a business is legally allowed to warn people up front before they enter.
 

Salmonax

Member
We were free to carry concealed at far more places before than now. You have the exact same ability to be safe carrying concealed as openly. Except that now you can’t do either in many places. So you’re not safer at all.

The ironing is delicious.
 

xenist

Member
I thought businesses would have loved having the awesome combo of overhanging belly, tacticool camo and/or cargo shorts, and modded AR-15 hanging around. It would give every place the Mogadishu ambience that is all the rage in retail.
 
First time in my life I hear about a 30.06 or a 30.07 sign. OP should've explained that in his post, it's ludicrous to expect everyone to know what that is.
 

Syriel

Member
We were free to carry concealed at far more places before than now. You have the exact same ability to be safe carrying concealed as openly. Except that now you can’t do either in many places. So you’re not safer at all.

Which is what anyone with a brain has been saying all along.

People who want to carry for protection don't need to open carry. They can conceal carry.

The only reason to open carry is for the intimidation factor.
 

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
It's ludicrous to read the second sentence in the OP?

Here is the second sentence of the OP and the article. "The legislation, coupled with a measure allowing guns on college campuses, was the result of a hard fought and widely publicized battle in the state capitol that culminated with Texas becoming the 15th state to allow the open carry of handguns with proper licensing. "

Neither of those explain the difference in the signs. It's explained further down the article. It's not "ludicrous" or anything, but it is a key bit of info that leads to the second block of text reading as mostly gibberish to those unfamiliar with the signs.
 
Why not quote the paragraph that explains what 30.06 and 30.07 signs are?

Thanks for this-I was very confused.

This. I thought a 30.06 was a kind of rifle I never heard of or something.

EDIT: this guy in the comments says the signs have to be in English and Spanish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktjb443NAYo

First time in my life I hear about a 30.06 or a 30.07 sign. OP should've explained that in his post, it's ludicrous to expect everyone to know what that is.

Guys I explain what it is in my second sentence:

A 30.06 notice allows business to prohibit concealed carry, while a 30.07 notice prohibits open carry.

I'll add the quote from the article to the OP though
 

FyreWulff

Member
never underestimate a business's ability to save money by combining and consolidating expenses.. in this case, buying combo signs.

capitalism'd.
 

Chariot

Member
Here is the second sentence of the OP and the article. "The legislation, coupled with a measure allowing guns on college campuses, was the result of a hard fought and widely publicized battle in the state capitol that culminated with Texas becoming the 15th state to allow the open carry of handguns with proper licensing. "

Neither of those explain the difference in the signs. It's explained further down the article. It's not "ludicrous" or anything, but it is a key bit of info that leads to the second block of text reading as mostly gibberish to those unfamiliar with the signs.
The second sentence of what OP wrote hinself, after the article snippets. He wrote quite a lot to exactly explain this.
 

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
The second sentence of what OP wrote hinself, after the article snippets. He wrote quite a lot to exactly explain this.

That's nice. Doesn't change its positioning or anything. No need to get upset or anything, but the info was edited in and it was further down. It's not a big deal, but is not, by definition, the second sentence in the OP. Just saying, maybe stow the snippiness when people are justifiable confused. Again, OP edited so it's moot now.
 

lednerg

Member
Funny enough, 30-06 is a type of rifle and ammo!

Exactly. So imagine my confusion.

Guys I explain what it is in my second sentence:
A 30.06 notice allows business to prohibit concealed carry, while a 30.07 notice prohibits open carry.
I'll add the quote from the article to the OP though

I'm not saying I'm a smart person. Thanks.

EDIT: Did anybody actually watch this video?
https://youtu.be/Ktjb443NAYo?t=3m57s

Dude literally says @ 3:57 "My name is Michael Cargill, and we're going to keep our foot on their throats."
 

Madness

Member
So whereas there was concealed carry allowed before, rather than risk it, most private businesses are not only prohibiting the new open carry laws but concealed carry as well.

I like how shocked some gun owners are as well, as if they truly thought everyone wants Johnny Cowboy carrying a concealed or open handgun on them in their private businesses. Gun owners are rarely heroes, even trained police officers returning fire routinely hit civilians or make mistakes.
 
This article is based on a message board?

On a popular message board though? They couldn't get something better?

Yes. I was considering putting a full disclosure on the fact that 1) the site in general leans on anti-gun-violence (not entirely anti-gun from what I can discern, though), and 2) it's largely based on forum posts a.k.a. anecdotal evidence. Important to keep in mind that these new rules have gone into effect as of Jan 1, meaning in-depth investigative pieces and, most importantly, verifiable data on the economic/behavioral effect of this isn't going to be measured for quite some time. 30.06 and 30.07 notices are definitely popping up in a lot of businesses now, though.

That's nice. Doesn't change its positioning or anything. No need to get upset or anything, but the info was edited in and it was further down. It's not a big deal, but is not, by definition, the second sentence in the OP. Just saying, maybe stow the snippiness when people are justifiable confused. Again, OP edited so it's moot now.

Yeah sorry, I figured explaining it in plain text rather than having it as a quote would make it stand out more, but the opposite turned out true. Explaining it after all the quotes doesn't make much sense either in hindsight.

I shouldn't make threads late at night :p
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
I would be nervous as fuck going into a bar or whatever full of people with guns. That's just so far outside my experiences as a Swede, where we crazily don't allow any of this shit AT ALL.
 

lednerg

Member
I would be nervous as fuck going into a bar or whatever full of people with guns. That's just so far outside my experiences as a Swede, where we crazily don't allow any of this shit AT ALL.

The majority of Americans (and Texans) aren't into this shit. That's why so many businesses in Texas are putting up these signs, asserting their rights as the lawful owners of their property. As it turns out, placating to these gun cosplayers isn't as important to business as having a non-threatening space for the majority of the customers.
 
gonna guess that businesses put up both signs because if you put up just the no open carry, customers will be nervous about everyone anyway because they think they're all concealed carrying and be watching every bulging cellphone and wallet.
 
I want to start open carrying riot shields in Texas like the one introduced in counter-strike 1.6, just to make a political statement
 
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