What I was not prepared for was the owner of a local gunshop to invite a camera crew into his store (I recognized it) and tell all the world that open carry would be a detriment to the person carrying the firearm and everyone around him, as opposed to concealed carry (the classes for which are offered at his store).
The first thing that I thought of - besides drinking heavily - was, "God, I hope his email address is on his website."
Well, I guess God really does love me and want me to be happy.
Mr. (redacted, for now),
My name is (Speakertweaker). I am a firearms enthusiast and Texas CHL holder.
I was intrigued by a story on (the local news) this evening regarding open carry in Texas. As I expected from the media, the idea of openly carrying a firearm, even by people who were otherwise licensed to do so concealed, was not shown in the best light.
Then the worst happened. What I imagine was a small portion of your interview was shown, in which you made it perfectly clear what your position is on open carry (that it would be more of a detriment to the person carrying and those around it vs. concealed carry, if memory serves).
Whatever the content of your interview was, that part was the ONLY part shown, and it clearly painted you in the light of opposition to open carry.
And this is where I fundamentally disagree with your actions. We are all entitled to our opinions, and while I rather strongly disagree with your position on open carry, I do not criticize you for having that position. However, I would expect someone who's been involved in firearms sales and training and operates a firing range to be more cognizant of their words and actions regarding the forward movement of firearms laws, whether you agree with their practice or not. I'm sure that many gun owners had no intention of concealed carry when the issue originally came up in Texas, but can you imagine the damage done to the movement if gun store owners were openly admitting to the world that they opposed the law as a danger to the person carrying the gun?
Whether or not you plan to practice open carry, you have done a disservice to the gun owners of Texas by allowing yourself to say that you oppose others' right to do so.
In light of recent events, and with our Second Amendment rights being threatened on a national level, I would expect more from someone in your position in defense of those rights on the state level.
I would understand if something you said was taken completely out of context, but know that that would still show carelessness on your behalf.
I would like to know officially where you stand on the issue. Please feel free to respond to this email.
We'll see if I get a response. I'll let you know.
And here I was all set to tell y'all what the Big Brown Truck Of Happiness brought me today. Oh, well. I guess I know what tomorrow's post will be;)
tweaker
1 comments:
Well-written email. I personally might have also added that I wouldn't be spending any additional money in his establishment since he feels justified in participating in the reduction of my rights. That, however, could wait for his response (or lack thereof).
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