Lumberton, TX Resident had Rifle Confiscated after LEGALLY Open Carrying in Beaumont

A Lumberton Texas man, Derek Poe, was walking to his Golden Triangle Tactical gun shop in Parkdale Mall in Beaumont, TX. He was legally open carrying his AR-15 rifle across his back with the barrel facing down. He had done this many times before.

On December 28^th, 2013, the Beaumont Police confiscated Poe’s rifle and told him that he would have charges pressed against him for disorderly conduct (see video of incident below)

This incident with Lumberton Resident Derek Poe hits close to home because I am a fellow Lumberton resident and I am running for Hardin County Judge.

If this incident were to have happened a few miles over into Hardin County, the misdemeanor charge would be heard by the Hardin County Judge. I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. If I become elected as the next Hardin County Judge, I, David Bellow, would ensure that laws are being followed properly while at the same time not infringing anyone's second amendment rights.

According to the Beaumont Enterprise, there is an open carry gun rights rally planned for Jan 18^th in Beaumont.

Let me make one thing very clear. Open carrying a rifle in a non-threatening manner in Texas is LEGAL. Just the simple fact that someone sees the rifle and gets scared is NOT legal grounds to charge someone with carrying the open rifle in a threatening manner. Open carrying of rifles is legal and cannot be considered disorderly conduct unless the rifle was being carried in a threatening manner. Open carry means people can see the rifle. I do not know of any less threatening of a way to open carry a rifle other than slung behind your back with the barrel down. That is the way Derek Poe was carrying his rifle.

I have written many articles about this issue. Unfortunately, many of the articles involve Texas officials taking away rifles and charging people for doing nothing more than legally open carrying a rifle. You would think that of all places, Texas would be more gun friendly. Open carrying a rifle might not be normal, but it is not illegal. The liberal media has pounded their anti-gun agenda so much that people are frightened by even the sight of a gun. The solution is not to charge the person legally carrying the gun. The solution is to educate American citizens that carrying a gun is legal. We need to educate so that they know gun control measures will only keep guns from law abiding citizens and will not stop mass murderers from going to a mall and shooting people. The only thing that will stop a mass murderer from killing people in a mall is if a law abiding citizen in the mall has a gun and shoots back to stop the mass murderer.

I do not fault anyone for seeing the gun and being scared, and I do not fault the police for questioning Mr. Poe. There was no legal grounds to charge him though and he should have never had his gun confiscated.

The courts and the laws have clearly established that the simple sight of a rifle does not constitute alarm. It is the way the rifle is carried. If the simple sight of a weapon was the basis of not allowing weapons then your neighbor could call the police to take away your guns because she saw you with one though your window and she was alarmed. The fact that someone was alarmed cannot be the legal reason to say someone was using their rifle to alarm or threaten. I admit, I would even be a bit surprised if I saw someone with a rifle on their back in the mall because it is not something you see very often, just because I am surprised does not make what the man is doing illegal though and the laws and Constitution of the County and State must be upheld

I take threats and gun violence seriously, but I also take the 2^nd Amendment seriously. Mr. Poe has a Constitutional right to bear arms and there is no evidence that what he did was illegal or threatening. He should have never had his rifle confiscated and should have never been charged.

Barry Smitherman ONLY Texas AG Candidate w/ CHL - More Trusted on Gun Rights than Ken Paxton or Dan Branch

Barry Smitherman is the ONLY candidate in the Texas Attorney General race with a Concealed Handgun License (CHL). The fact that Barry Smitherman actually packs heat, on top of the fact that he got an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA), is why I believe that Barry Smitherman is clearly the best gun rights Texas AG candidate over Ken Paxton and Dan Branch. Anyone can talk a good talk about supporting gun rights, but Barry Smitherman actually practices his right to bear arms. Anyone can say they understand the importance of gun rights and anyone can say they defend the right to bear arms, but at the end of the day, if you have never even gotten a concealed handgun license then you DON'T really fully understand the importance and need to protect gun rights. If you did really understand the importance of guns and gun rights then you would ALREADY have a concealed gun license.

One of the biggest issues facing America right now is an unprecedented attack on the 2nd amendment rights of Americans. Obama and the Democrats are doing everything they can to strip away our gun rights in exchange for gun control. The Texas Attorney General will need to protect and defend the 2nd Amendment rights of Texas. The Texas Attorney General will need to protect and defend the gun rights laws that the State of Texas has passed. It is not a matter of if. It is a matter of when. So the question is, when the time comes for Obama and the Democrats come after our guns, who do you want "behind the barrel of the gun" firing back at the liberals? I want Barry Smitherman.

When it comes to voting for the person who I can trust most to understand and defend gun rights, I pick the guy who actually packs heat instead of the guys who talk about the right to pack heat but have never felt it to be important enough to actually pack heat.

Furthermore, the State of Texas is actually NOT even the most gun friendly state in America. Texas does not even allow any open carry handgun laws even though MANY states DO have open carry laws. These laws to allow open carry in Texas have been pushed in recent years, but the Senators and State Representatives have blocked the laws. I would be willing to bet that most of those legislators do not have a concealed handgun license and therefore do not really understand the importance of gun right. They certainly do not understand that open carry is no more dangerous or alarming than concealed carry. Just look at the other states with open carry rights, no one is getting into shootouts in the middle of the streets or anything and I would be willing to bet that a criminal who sees someone with a gun is less likely to commit a crime in the first place knowing for sure someone has a gun and will fire at them.

Because Texas has a long way to go to be even more of a gun rights state, it is imperative that the next Texas Attorney General be someone who goes above and beyond just supporting the current Texas gun rights laws. The next attorney General for Texas should be someone who will push for even more gun rights than what we currently have in Texas.

The list of Texas Concealed Handgun License holders is not a public list. So how do I know that Barry Smitherman is the only candidate with a concealed handgun license? It is simple. Barry Smitherman has talked about having a CHL in public with the other candidates around and the other candidates have not chimed in about them having a CHL. Furthermore, Barry Smitherman has actually come out and said that he believes he is the only candidate in the race with a CHL and neither Ken Paxton nor Dan Branch have disputed this statement from Smitherman. You don't allow someone to say they are the only candidate with a CHL unless they actually are the only candidate with a CHL.

Texas Open Carry Come And Take It Gun Rights Rally At THE Alamo 10/19/2013

Only in Texas.... well, actually I should correct myself to say that rallies like this only happen in Texas. People open carrying guns happens all over America. Surprisingly, open carrying modern handguns in Texas is illegal even though many other states have some form of open carry gun rights. It is legal to open carry a rifle in Texas though and that is what will happen this Saturday at the Alamo in San Antonio, TX.

The rally will be Saturday, October 19th, 2013 starting at 10a.m. at the Alamo in San Antonio, TX.

The purpose of the rally is to protest the San Antonio Police Department's ticketing of law abiding citizens who openly, and legally, carry their rifles.

Fear is really the only thing that causes people to want to deny law abiding citizens their second amendment rights. The liberal media has trained people to be shocked when they see someone in public with a gun in a holster or over their back. Funny, I have never heard of a shooting at any of these gun rallies or at gun shows. There was just recently an open carry BBQ in Michigan and no one got shot.

Jerry Patterson, the Texas Land Commissioner who oversees the Alamo grounds, will be one of the main speakers at the event.

According to the event flyer:

We will gather for an armed march in response to the San Antonio Police Department policy of harassing law abiding citizens and gun owners. We cannot stand by any longer in silence. They have been left unchecked too long. This day we will stand under weight of arms and declare: "This Is Our Line In The Sand!" We will stand as free men and women. And we will take back the rights that Chief McManus believes he can revoke. Our right to bear arms shall not be infringed!

Sponsored by:

DontComply.com
OpenCarryTexas.org
Texas Open Carry
Gun Rights Across America
ComeAndTakeItAmerica.com
William Barret Travis

Men Legally Carrying Firearms Arrested at Texas Capitol 9/13/2013 – Troopers Not Aware of Gun Law Exemption

Update: Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Governor Candidate Tom Pauken have demanded that the charges be dropped against these men because it is not illegal to open carry the guns the men had in the manner they carried them. Also, it has been confirmed that it was three men who were arrested, not just two. Also, it has been confirmed that the group of men were part of an organization called Open Carry Texas.

At least 3 men (one a war vet in a wheelchair) were arrested today, 9/13/2013, at the Texas Capitol in Austin, TX after Texas DPS State Troopers, not aware of the law, arrested them and then had to think of other charges to put on the men after finding out that it was not illegal for them to open carry the guns because pre 1899 black powder pistols are expressly exempted from the firearms law. It was humorous to see (at about 8:50 into the arrest video below) the State trooper start reading the Texas firearms law and then go silent when he got to the part about pre 1899 black powder pistols being exempts from the law. Instead of admitting the mistake, they go ahead and charge the man with disorderly conduct/causing alarm with a gun. I completely support law enforcement and the Texas DPS Officers are a good group, but they are not perfect and this was wrong.

For a self-proclaimed super conservative, gun-rights haven, it is shocking that Texas is one of the minority of states who do not allow some form of open carry for handguns. Yep, you can have a concealed handgun in Texas and pass all the background checks and shooting qualifications just like a police officer, but you cannot open carry like an officer or like citizens in several other states can. Rifles are ok to open carry in Texas, and Texas law also specifically exempts pre 1899 black powder pistols from being defined as firearms.

To exercise their rights, and make a statement that you can carry guns in Texas and be safe, a group of guys went walking around the Texas Capitol LEGALLY open carrying. They knew of course that the police would likely arrest them even though they were not breaking the law, so they had their cameras with them. Sure enough, the Texas State troopers, carrying handguns openly on their hips themselves, came and started making arrests. Two men, Terry Holcomb and Gary Hays, were arrested. After finding out that the pre 1899 black powder pistols were exempts from being considered firearms, the troopers went ahead and charged the men, not for open carrying a handgun, but for disorderly conduct/causing alarm with a firearm. Neither of those laws were broken because in Texas, the simple sight of a gun on someone’s hip or being carried cannot cause alarm. The person has to be doing something with the gun to intentionally cause alarm with the gun like pointing it at people. This reminds me of the recent story of the Master Sergeant in Texas who was legally carrying his rifle on a road march. A police officer did not like it so, even though it is legal to carry a rifle, the soldier was arrested and charged with the same type of disorderly conduct/alarming others with a gun like what these men in Austin were charged with today.

At least the State Troopers at the Capitol today knew enough to know that they group of men COULD have the rifles they were open carrying at the Capitol. That just makes the troopers look even sillier because they claimed the sight of a handgun caused alarm, but the rifles on the men’s back did not cause alarm? It does not make sense. It is not illegal what these men did, but Texas is still stuck in gun control land when it comes to open carrying. That leads to men getting arrested on ridiculous, trumped up charges even though they were legally carrying. It is time for Texas to really act conservative, and join the many other states who allow open carry.

Below are more of the pictures (from Facebook) and video from the arrests today of Gary Hays, Terry Holcomb and Scott Smith at the Texas State Capitol:

If video does not show below then click here to watch video

Texas Bill Proposed to Allow Open Carry of Handguns - 2013 Legislative Session

I had no idea so many other states allowed some form of Open Carry but Texas of all places does not!

from article on Dallas Morning News by Wayne Slater:

The Legislature passed a law in 1995 allowing Texans to carry handguns concealed under coats, in purses, or in glove compartments. But it’s still against the law to carry pistols where people can see them.

Rep. George Lavender, a Texarkana Republican, wants to change that. When the Legislature convenes in January, he says, he will push for an “open carry” law. His plan is to give the more than 500,000 Texans who hold concealed-weapon licenses the option of carrying holstered pistols out in the open.

Lavender said he finds it ironic that freedom-loving Texas is one of just six states not to allow some form of open carry. The others are Illinois, New York, Arkansas, South Carolina and Florida. An open-carry law went into effect in Oklahoma on Nov. 1.

Lavender and other gun rights advocates argue that law-abiding citizens openly carrying pistols in public places pose a deterrent to criminals.

“This is Texas, and we should be the leader,” said Lavender, who was re-elected without opposition on Nov. 6. Support for his proposal, he said, “is very wide and deep. I think we are fixing to get there.”

read rest of the article here:
http://pushjunction.com/l/CTM