AS a gun owner (and NOT a member of the nra), I find the actions of open carry proponents in Texas repulsive. I also consider these people cowardly, they use their fear of daily life as justification for their need to carry guns everywhere. The majority are obviously men insecure about their masculinity, who were not raised properly and taught that a real man is not determined by the size of the gun they carry, but by the quality of their being. The men wannabes from the open carry movement in Texas could use some introspection and concentrate on improving their personal lives and accept the fact the bigger the gun one carries doesn't increase the size of a man's genitalia. Come on boys, grow up. AND to the women (a minority in the movement) I hope you remember your actions when your kids accidentally (or not) shoot you, themselves, and / or some innocent person with your gun. From +Mother Jones .....
As a backlash grows, open-carry groups in Texas beat a retreat.
| Tue May 27, 2014 6:00 AM EDT
It would be an understatement to say that the tactics of gun rights
activists have been backfiring of late. The showdown has taken place
foremost in Texas, where in recent months groups such as Open Carry
Texas have conducted provocative demonstrations in which armed men
exercise their right under state law to carry semi-automatic rifles in
public. No fewer than five national food and beverage chains have now
told them to get rid of their guns or get lost, including Starbucks,
Wendy’s, Applebees, Jack in the Box, and Chipotle.
And now Chili's and Sonic have effectively joined the list: Two
videos posted on YouTube on May 19 by the San Antonio chapter of Open
Carry Texas—since removed from public view but obtained by Mother Jones—show
its armed members being refused service at both restaurants. The two
companies have not made official statements on open carry but have since
indicated that they are reviewing their policies. [See updates below.]
From the nervous and angry reactions of some patrons to comments from
some of the gun activists themselves, it's not difficult to see why
these spectacles haven't been winning many people over.
Open Carry Texas' hostility toward Moms Demand Action, which has pressured corporations over the demonstrations using social-media campaigns, has been displayed in more disturbing ways. As I detailed in a recent investigation, members of Open Carry Texas have been involved in harassment, bullying, and degradation of women.
In the Sonic video, as the thwarted gun group lingers in an adjacent parking lot, one member says: "I just wish I had my kids in there when that one dumb chick come up and started rattin' her mouth."
Though probably few if any patrons regularly worry about their personal safety as they order Bacon Ranch Quesadillas or double cheeseburgers and shakes, gun activists in both videos comment about the apparent danger of not allowing open carrying on the premises. One says he told his daughter, "It's not safe to be here—we gotta go," while another comments, "This Chili's is no longer the safest Chili's to eat at."
Open Carry Texas and other gun groups, whose common goal is legalizing the open carrying of handguns in their state, evidently have concluded that none of this is helping their cause. On Friday, four of the groups released a joint statement asking supporters to retreat from such tactics. "We have decided the prudent path, to further our goals, is to immediately cease taking long guns into corporate businesses unless invited," the statement said.
For open carrying going forward, their new "unified protocol and general policy" advises supporters to avoid corporate businesses altogether, and not to post pictures if they do get permission and decide to go in. "If at all possible," it says, "keep to local small businesses that are 2A friendly."
It remains to be seen whether the rank and file will stand down. As one Texas commentator focused on open carry noted about the move: "As expected there are those who object to this new policy because they feel it is a form of surrender."
Update May 27, 2014, 6:15 p.m. EDT: Patric Lenow, VP of media relations at Sonic, told Mother Jones: "There is no [gun] policy at this point; we've traditionally relied on local and state laws. We see the situation has changed and there's new tactics being employed and businesses are being pulled into this debate. That's really what prompts the need to consider it." Lenow did not say specifically when the company would reach a decision on a gun policy, but said that it would be "in the month of June, certainly."
Update 2, May 28, 2014, 1:45 p.m. EDT: A spokesperson for Brinker International, the corporate parent of Chili's, told Mother Jones:
"Given the recent attention to open carry laws, we continue to evaluate
[our] policy to ensure we provide a safe environment for our guests and
team members." Moreover, the activists who brought their weapons into
Chili's were pushing the boundaries of state law and putting the
restaurant in jeopardy: "Long guns are not permitted in our restaurants
based on regulation from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission," the
spokesperson said, "which prohibits a business that is licensed to sell
or serve alcoholic beverages from allowing shotguns or rifles into the
building."
According to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission: "If an individual does choose to carry a rifle or shotgun into a TABC-licensed business, the individual is placing the business owner's TABC license at risk....a business owner may ask a patron to leave the premises. If the patron refuses, that individual may be subject to criminal trespassing charges under Texas Penal Code Section 30.05."
Additional reporting contributed by Julia Lurie.
"I just wish I had my kids in there when
that one dumb chick come up and started rattin' her mouth," said one of
the gun activists.
When a young woman approaches the group in Chili's and expresses her
dismay, a guy with an assault rifle strapped across his back offers her a
flyer. "Um actually, there's children here," she replies, "and you're a
dumbass." As she walks away one member of the group comments mockingly,
"Yes, I'm a dumbass," and then says of her, "must be Moms Demand
Action," referring to the national gun reform group.Open Carry Texas' hostility toward Moms Demand Action, which has pressured corporations over the demonstrations using social-media campaigns, has been displayed in more disturbing ways. As I detailed in a recent investigation, members of Open Carry Texas have been involved in harassment, bullying, and degradation of women.
In the Sonic video, as the thwarted gun group lingers in an adjacent parking lot, one member says: "I just wish I had my kids in there when that one dumb chick come up and started rattin' her mouth."
Though probably few if any patrons regularly worry about their personal safety as they order Bacon Ranch Quesadillas or double cheeseburgers and shakes, gun activists in both videos comment about the apparent danger of not allowing open carrying on the premises. One says he told his daughter, "It's not safe to be here—we gotta go," while another comments, "This Chili's is no longer the safest Chili's to eat at."
Open Carry Texas and other gun groups, whose common goal is legalizing the open carrying of handguns in their state, evidently have concluded that none of this is helping their cause. On Friday, four of the groups released a joint statement asking supporters to retreat from such tactics. "We have decided the prudent path, to further our goals, is to immediately cease taking long guns into corporate businesses unless invited," the statement said.
For open carrying going forward, their new "unified protocol and general policy" advises supporters to avoid corporate businesses altogether, and not to post pictures if they do get permission and decide to go in. "If at all possible," it says, "keep to local small businesses that are 2A friendly."
It remains to be seen whether the rank and file will stand down. As one Texas commentator focused on open carry noted about the move: "As expected there are those who object to this new policy because they feel it is a form of surrender."
Update May 27, 2014, 6:15 p.m. EDT: Patric Lenow, VP of media relations at Sonic, told Mother Jones: "There is no [gun] policy at this point; we've traditionally relied on local and state laws. We see the situation has changed and there's new tactics being employed and businesses are being pulled into this debate. That's really what prompts the need to consider it." Lenow did not say specifically when the company would reach a decision on a gun policy, but said that it would be "in the month of June, certainly."
According to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission: "If an individual does choose to carry a rifle or shotgun into a TABC-licensed business, the individual is placing the business owner's TABC license at risk....a business owner may ask a patron to leave the premises. If the patron refuses, that individual may be subject to criminal trespassing charges under Texas Penal Code Section 30.05."
Additional reporting contributed by Julia Lurie.
Fact-checking some of the gun lobby's favorite arguments shows they're full of holes.
| Thu Jan. 31, 2013 7:01 AM EST
By cutting off federal funding for research and stymieing data collection and sharing,
the National Rifle Association has tried to do to the study of gun
violence what climate deniers have done to the science of global
warming. No wonder: When it comes to hard numbers, some of the gun
lobby's favorite arguments are full of holes.
Myth #1: They're coming for your guns.
Fact-check: No one knows the exact number of guns in America, but it's clear there's no practical way to round them all up (never mind that no one in Washington is proposing this). Yet if you fantasize about rifle-toting citizens facing down the government, you'll rest easy knowing that America's roughly 80 million gun owners already have the feds and cops outgunned by a factor of around 79 to 1.
Sources: Congressional Research Service (PDF), Small Arms Survey
Myth #2: Guns don't kill people—people kill people.
Fact-check: People with more guns tend to kill more people—with guns. The states with the highest gun ownership rates have a gun murder rate 114% higher than those with the lowest gun ownership rates. Also, gun death rates tend to be higher in states with higher rates of gun ownership. Gun death rates are generally lower in states with restrictions such as assault-weapons bans or safe-storage requirements. Update: A recent study looking at 30 years of homicide data in all 50 states found that for every one percent increase in a state's gun ownership rate, there is a nearly one percent increase in its firearm homicide rate.
Sources: Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Myth #3: An armed society is a polite society.
Fact-check: Drivers who carry guns are 44% more likely than unarmed drivers to make obscene gestures at other motorists, and 77% more likely to follow them aggressively.
• Among Texans convicted of serious crimes, those with concealed-handgun licenses were sentenced for threatening someone with a firearm 4.8 times more than those without.
• In states with Stand Your Ground and other laws making it easier to shoot in self-defense, those policies have been linked to a 7 to 10% increase in homicides.
Myth #4: More good guys with guns can stop rampaging bad guys.
Fact-check: Mass shootings stopped by armed civilians in the past 30 years: 0
• Chances that a shooting at an ER involves guns taken from guards: 1 in 5
Myth #5: Keeping a gun at home makes you safer.
Fact-check: Owning a gun has been linked to higher risks of homicide, suicide, and accidental death by gun.
• For every time a gun is used in self-defense in the home, there are 7 assaults or murders, 11 suicide attempts, and 4 accidents involving guns in or around a home.
• 43% of homes with guns and kids have at least one unlocked firearm.
• In one experiment, one third of 8-to-12-year-old boys who found a handgun pulled the trigger.
Myth #6: Carrying a gun for self-defense makes you safer.
Fact-check: In 2011, nearly 10 times more people were shot and killed in arguments than by civilians trying to stop a crime.
• In one survey, nearly 1% of Americans reported using guns to defend themselves or their property. However, a closer look at their claims found that more than 50% involved using guns in an aggressive manner, such as escalating an argument.
• A Philadelphia study found that the odds of an assault victim being shot were 4.5 times greater if he carried a gun. His odds of being killed were 4.2 times greater.
Myth #7: Guns make women safer.
Fact-check: In 2010, nearly 6 times more women were shot by husbands, boyfriends, and ex-partners than murdered by male strangers.
• A woman's chances of being killed by her abuser increase more than 7 times if he has access to a gun.
• One study found that women in states with higher gun ownership rates were 4.9 times more likely to be murdered by a gun than women in states with lower gun ownership rates.
Myth #8: "Vicious, violent video games" deserve more blame than guns.
Fact-check: So said NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre after Newtown. So what's up with Japan?
Sources: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Small Arms Survey (PDF), UN Office on Drugs and Crime
Myth #9: More and more Americans are becoming gun owners.
Fact-check: More guns are being sold, but they're owned by a shrinking portion of the population.
• About 50% of Americans said they had a gun in their homes in 1973. Today, about 45% say they do. Overall, 35% of Americans personally own a gun.
• Around 80% of gun owners are men. On average they own 7.9 guns each.
Myth #10: We don't need more gun laws—we just need to enforce the ones we have.
Fact-check: Weak laws and loopholes backed by the gun lobby make it easier to get guns illegally.
• Around 40% of all legal gun sales involve private sellers and don't require background checks. 40% of prison inmates who used guns in their crimes got them this way.
• An investigation found 62% of online gun sellers were willing to sell to buyers who said they couldn't pass a background check.
• 20% of licensed California gun dealers agreed to sell handguns to researchers posing as illegal "straw" buyers.
• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives did not have a permanent director for 7 years, due to an NRA-backed requirement that the Senate approve nominees.
This article has been updated.
Icons in gun ownership chart: Handgun designed by Simon Child, rifle designed by Nadav Barkan, shotgun designed by Ammar Ceker, all from the Noun Project
Front page image by konstantynov/Shutterstock
Myth #1: They're coming for your guns.
Fact-check: No one knows the exact number of guns in America, but it's clear there's no practical way to round them all up (never mind that no one in Washington is proposing this). Yet if you fantasize about rifle-toting citizens facing down the government, you'll rest easy knowing that America's roughly 80 million gun owners already have the feds and cops outgunned by a factor of around 79 to 1.
Myth #2: Guns don't kill people—people kill people.
Fact-check: People with more guns tend to kill more people—with guns. The states with the highest gun ownership rates have a gun murder rate 114% higher than those with the lowest gun ownership rates. Also, gun death rates tend to be higher in states with higher rates of gun ownership. Gun death rates are generally lower in states with restrictions such as assault-weapons bans or safe-storage requirements. Update: A recent study looking at 30 years of homicide data in all 50 states found that for every one percent increase in a state's gun ownership rate, there is a nearly one percent increase in its firearm homicide rate.
Myth #3: An armed society is a polite society.
Fact-check: Drivers who carry guns are 44% more likely than unarmed drivers to make obscene gestures at other motorists, and 77% more likely to follow them aggressively.
• Among Texans convicted of serious crimes, those with concealed-handgun licenses were sentenced for threatening someone with a firearm 4.8 times more than those without.
• In states with Stand Your Ground and other laws making it easier to shoot in self-defense, those policies have been linked to a 7 to 10% increase in homicides.
Fact-check: Mass shootings stopped by armed civilians in the past 30 years: 0
• Chances that a shooting at an ER involves guns taken from guards: 1 in 5
Myth #5: Keeping a gun at home makes you safer.
Fact-check: Owning a gun has been linked to higher risks of homicide, suicide, and accidental death by gun.
• For every time a gun is used in self-defense in the home, there are 7 assaults or murders, 11 suicide attempts, and 4 accidents involving guns in or around a home.
• 43% of homes with guns and kids have at least one unlocked firearm.
• In one experiment, one third of 8-to-12-year-old boys who found a handgun pulled the trigger.
Myth #6: Carrying a gun for self-defense makes you safer.
Fact-check: In 2011, nearly 10 times more people were shot and killed in arguments than by civilians trying to stop a crime.
• In one survey, nearly 1% of Americans reported using guns to defend themselves or their property. However, a closer look at their claims found that more than 50% involved using guns in an aggressive manner, such as escalating an argument.
• A Philadelphia study found that the odds of an assault victim being shot were 4.5 times greater if he carried a gun. His odds of being killed were 4.2 times greater.
Myth #7: Guns make women safer.
Fact-check: In 2010, nearly 6 times more women were shot by husbands, boyfriends, and ex-partners than murdered by male strangers.
• A woman's chances of being killed by her abuser increase more than 7 times if he has access to a gun.
• One study found that women in states with higher gun ownership rates were 4.9 times more likely to be murdered by a gun than women in states with lower gun ownership rates.
Myth #8: "Vicious, violent video games" deserve more blame than guns.
Fact-check: So said NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre after Newtown. So what's up with Japan?
| United States | Japan | |
| Per capita spending on video games |
$44 | $55 |
| Civilian firearms per 100 people |
88 | 0.6 |
| Gun homicides in 2008 |
11,030 | 11 |
Myth #9: More and more Americans are becoming gun owners.
Fact-check: More guns are being sold, but they're owned by a shrinking portion of the population.
• About 50% of Americans said they had a gun in their homes in 1973. Today, about 45% say they do. Overall, 35% of Americans personally own a gun.
• Around 80% of gun owners are men. On average they own 7.9 guns each.
Myth #10: We don't need more gun laws—we just need to enforce the ones we have.
Fact-check: Weak laws and loopholes backed by the gun lobby make it easier to get guns illegally.
• Around 40% of all legal gun sales involve private sellers and don't require background checks. 40% of prison inmates who used guns in their crimes got them this way.
• An investigation found 62% of online gun sellers were willing to sell to buyers who said they couldn't pass a background check.
• 20% of licensed California gun dealers agreed to sell handguns to researchers posing as illegal "straw" buyers.
• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives did not have a permanent director for 7 years, due to an NRA-backed requirement that the Senate approve nominees.
This article has been updated.
Icons in gun ownership chart: Handgun designed by Simon Child, rifle designed by Nadav Barkan, shotgun designed by Ammar Ceker, all from the Noun Project
Front page image by konstantynov/Shutterstock
