A first sighting of Texas open carry – pudgy, sort, side arm makes him think he’s taller
*For some people in Texas open carry is hilarious and scary at the same time. Our friend Tomas Ricardo says there should be a height restriction for open carry permits. VL
By Tomas Ricardo, Friend of NewsTaco
Happenstance, like serendipity, happens. It is the first day of a new year, and we are in the parking lot of a national outdoors fishing/hunting megaplex just south of Austin. We are there because the children, ages 8 and 12, love the displays, the stuffed animals, the overall outdoors feel of the place.
As we walk to the entrance, I remark to my 12 year-old grandson that “it’s the first day of open carry in Texas” adding that we should be on the lookout for our first sighting. No more than ten seconds later, there he is. All of 5’6’’, definitely pudgy, decked out in jeans with a wide belt, a holster, and a gun at his hip. His walk is confident, cocky, he’s carrying. His walk is that of a short guy who thinks he’s 6’2’’.
Like a cowboy movie swagger
Grandson suggests that the busiest section of the store will be the “gun department.” I tend to agree. It is the first day of Open Carry in the State of Texas.
Inside, we are greeted by a kiosk directing us to “check your guns in…” I am taken back to my own childhood and black and white Cowboy movies. As the cowboy walked in, the saloon keeper asked him to check his gun in. Oh, those were the days. Open Carry. Someone rubbed you wrong, you challenged him…fisticuffs if you checked your guns at the door. Otherwise, one drew his gun faster than the other, and the loser lay dead on the floor.
I was disappointed to learn on closer reading that the kiosk is only for those who wish to repair or replace their guns. There is also a disclaimer that the notice does not apply to concealed carry. Still, open carry in this business establishment is the norm.
[pullquote]. . . why would you carry, if you’re not prepared to use it?[/pullquote]Disneyland for rednecks
As we climb to the mezzanine, or second floor, we look down at the gun department. Twelve year-old was right. The place is shoulder to shoulder packed, mainly male, but a few females help crowd the gun and ammo shop. The place appears all white. A few Latinos may have mingled in, we didn’t look closely enough. But plain to see was a total absence of African Americans. “Disneyland for rednecks,” is how a close friend cheerfully remarked on her first visit to the megaplex.
As we walk down to the gun section, my grandson whispers he’s seen another open carry. I look. Standing in line is beer belly guy, gun on his hip, standing tall, but also several inches short of 6 feet.
“Open carry works,” I tell grandson. “He scares me; I don’t want to mess with this guy. He’s got a gun, and he’s itching to use it…prove that he’s a man.” I heard growing up that at Police Academy, a cadet was instructed not to take out his weapon if he wasn’t prepared to use it.
Looking at open carry, I ask “why would you carry, if you’re not prepared to use it?”
[pullquote]I have come face to face with open carry, and I am scared.[/pullquote]For some, gun-toting is better tan sex
I take a second look at this Texan. Rapture would probably exaggerate the look on his face. It might be more accurate to say that his face resembles that of a forty-something man who has just experienced the best sex of his life. He is in a public arena, in the gun section of this nationally- recognized store. Smug. Satisfied. He has a gun at his side, and he is prepared to use it.
I fear he is looking to use it, prepared to do so. Otherwise, what’s the point? Why carry if you’re not prepared to fire? Make no mistake, open carry will fire, if only to prove his point that open carry will make us all safer.
I have come face to face with open carry, and I am scared. In closing, I ask only that please, please, you see an open carry guy, don’t provoke him. He will shoot you.
Better yet, for those in authority who issue open carry licenses, if the cowboy in question is less than six foot tall, please deny.
[Photo curtesy of gconew.com]
