And kick myself for not doing due diligence.  My only excuse is that my feeble brain failed to process sporadic information till it was too late. Yes, back to the kerfuffle of the Open Carry in Texas with Fat Slob and Reefer Boy…this crap has developed some serious legs.

Yesterday, in between breaks of the Honey-Do-or-Die marathon, I happened to finally click on the new guidelines for Open Carry demonstrations in Texas.  The initial read was quick and as I returned to the jigsaw and a bunch of boards, I was mulling how come these common-sense steps, already taken in the past by other OC groups in other states were not considered by the Texas folks.  There was something else, a small warning bell that kept ringing way way down there in the back of the brain between the cerebellum and the hippocampus telling me that something I read was not in sync with what I had accepted as fact on this mess.

Later I got back and re-read the guidelines and the little bell became Notre Dame at Resurrection Mass:

Whereas, our mission is to get open carry of handguns passed in Texas, we must once again adjust in a way that shines a positive light on our efforts, our members, and our respective organizations. We have decided the prudent path, to further our goals, is to immediately cease taking long guns into corporate businesses unless invited. Black Powder revolvers have proven to be very effective and align with our goal of legalizing open carry with a handgun. We do understand that not everyone will be able to afford one, but if you can, we are requesting you do so. Almost every leader has gone to Black powder for a reason. It works.

Stop the mother-loving presses! You can actually OC with an old Cap and Ball revolver? Even with a modern-built replica? And you chose not to but rather go with the most controversial way? And you know that going Black Powder Handgun has been effective and frigging chose NOT to use it? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

But in like any good infomercial, that was not all. I re-read the paragraph and this struck me as weird:

 Black Powder revolvers have proven to be very effective and align with our goal of legalizing open carry with a handgun. We do understand that not everyone will be able to afford one, but if you can, we are requesting you do so.

I had not checked the prices of ball & caps in a very long time so I did a Google search and found them in Cabelas. Not only found them but I was amazed at the price: a Pietta Model 1851 Confederate Navy .44 caliber working (as in it will go bang) replica goes for $199 and they even throw a free “starter kit” with it.
In the same Cabelas’ site, you will find a simple leather holster by Triple K for $25 and a nice looking leather belt by Hunter for $50. So basically, under $300, you can affordable do Open Carry and by their own words “proven to be very effective.” So the question now in front of me is: Why the misleading statement that you may not afford it when they are parading about with modern rifles topped with optics that themselves are way more expensive than the kit mentioned above?

A possible answer and I admit sheer speculation on my part is this:

This was posted in the Open Carry Texas Facebook page sometime around 9:00 pm, May 23, 2014 (Last night.) Do notice the type of firearm he is brandishing.

If you haven’t heard of C.J. Grisham, I would urge you to do your own research. Basically he was arrested one day for “interfering with duties of a public servant’ while carrying an AR on a public road with his son. Open Carry Texas was founded after that incident. I was unaware/not paid attention that Grisham was OCT’s president. till I saw the photo but I did know who Grisham was and what had occurred.

Now I am forced to wonder if the “strategy” of openly carrying rifles that seems to be the policy of OCT till recently has more to do with perhaps Grisham’s desire to “stick it to the Man” rather than purely obtaining Open Carry for the Lone Star State. Both are noble quests but they do not necessarily go together or are healthy to mix.  If anything, it has been proven that their methods have been counterproductive delighting the Opposition (always looking for excuses to “stick it” to us) and garnering a massive amount of anger from Gun Owners who are tired of getting typecasted as brutish & dangerous people, undeserving of the right to Keep and Bear Arms. And they (we) are right to be pissed.

So, I apologize for not doing my Due Diligence on this matter.  My only (lame) excuse is that I am not up to Texas Gun Laws and internal Gun Politics as I am with Florida…which does not mean I am a venerable fountain of information on that particular subject matter either.

The ball now resides with Texas Gun Owners. I don’t feel that the Open carry organizations as they stand now will be able to clean the mess they have in their hands and a necessarily shake up of not only strategies but leadership might be prudent and urgent.

You can use a hammer to drive a screw into wood, but you get better results with a screwdriver even if it takes longer.