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NRA, Gun Rights Groups Tell Open Carry Advocates To Cool It

Photo Credit: ScreenshotThe National Rifle Association is warning gun rights supporters that recent controversy surrounding the activism of open carry advocates in the Lone Star State could provide fodder for anti-2nd Amendment groups looking to place new restrictions on responsible gun owners.

“Here at NRA, we are big fans of responsible behavior … legal mandates, not so much. We think the Founders of this country were right to trust its people with the freedom to make their own choices,” the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, said in a recent open letter to supporters. “We also think they were wise to build checks into our constitutional system so that one view could not easily dominate the others and so that officials could be held accountable for their decisions.”

For every poor decision that gun owners make, the letter goes on, there are consequences.

“These consequences could be simple and transitory, such as watching a trophy buck bound away into the woods after a missed shot from an improperly sighted rifle,” NRA-ILA said. “They could also be lasting and consequential, such as turning an undecided voter into an antigun voter because of causing that person fear or offense.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Armed Protest at Alamo Ends Quietly

Photo By Lisa Krantz/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWSSAN ANTONIO — Gun enthusiasts gathered at the Alamo Saturday to rally for the right to openly carry firearms, without state and local restrictions that are now in place.

Demonstrators, many carrying rifles, shotguns or 19th-century pistols, cheered speakers who urged them to hold tight to their firearms, as their protected Constitutional right.

Featured speaker Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a candidate for lieutenant governor whose General Land Office oversees the Alamo, approved the use of the Alamo grounds for the event. Until 2011 the Alamo was overseen by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, which limited demonstrations at one of the state’s most recognized landmarks.

Police Chief William McManus said this week that police would oversee the protest, which he expected to be peaceful.

Update 3:05 p.m.

Police have threatened to cite remaining protesters who are armed for a violation of city ordinance that bans weapons in city parks. Police did not enforce the ordinance during the demonstration, but told a small group of armed protesters who declined to leave they would be cited if they stayed.

Read more from this story HERE.

Starbucks CEO: If You Have a Gun, We Don’t Want Your Business

dump starbucksThe day after the mass shooting at the Naval Yard in Washington, D.C., Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced that guns aren’t welcome at Starbucks. With Schultz’s unfortunate comment to a traditional marriage supporter just six months ago, many conservatives will undoubtedly regard this as yet another slap against them by the world’s largest coffee retailer.

In his “Open Letter,” the CEO acknowledged that Starbucks’ past approach to open-carry was to “follow local laws [and] permit it in states where allowed and we prohibit it in states where these laws don’t exist.” Then, without citing any specific instance, Schultz said the open-carry debate was becoming “increasingly uncivil” and “even threatening.”

Although Schultz suggests that the “presence of a weapon in our stores is unsettling and upsetting for many of our customers,” he doesn’t explain how a concealed weapon would bother anyone. Nor does he examine whether gun-free zones – like the Naval Yard in DC – actually encourage the type of violence and bad press he is trying to avoid.

Schultz concludes that he is proud of our nation and its first amendment heritage. With the likely fall-out from his announcement, Schultz may regret not giving more consideration to the very amendment that guarantees that heritage.

Video: Police Chief Addresses Girls Open-Carrying in a Walmart (+video)

Gun Open CarryIn this video, Police Chief Doug Fannan, discusses the situation from Part 1. While there WERE errors committed by both me and the Marshfield PD, Chief Fannan strikes me as the type of individual who would recognize his mistakes and adjust his department according to the Constitutional, Freedom-protecting perspective. This is all a HUGE learning curve, and we need to combat the YEARS of Brain-washing that Statist agendas have foisted on our liberties.

The goal here is NOT to trash anyone, but to open an honest dialogue with those in law-enforcement who are serious about keeping their Oaths-of-office and safeguarding the freedoms of those they have sworn to protect and serve.

When cops become thugs and citizens don’t exercise their rights, freedom deteriorates and tyranny advances. There ARE a FEW good cops out there who REALLY care about the FREEDOMS of the people they serve. Our country certainly needs them to hold the line in this critical time on our country’s history!

Watch what Happens when a Pair of Girls Open-Carry in a Walmart (Updated)

semi-autoA video uploaded to YouTube on Friday night appears to show a group of young women being hassled by a police officer for open-carrying their firearms into a Missouri Walmart.

According to the video’s description, the “four young ladies went for a quick bite to eat in Marshfield Missouri at a local Walmart.” A police officer, who said he was responding to a call, then showed up on the scene and demanded the group of women — even those not carrying a firearm — immediately produce identification.

Even a U.S. Passport from one of the individuals doesn’t satisfy the officer, who demands to know if she has any other form of identification.

The video then shows the unidentified officer appear to detain the girls outside. [Click HERE for the Police Chief’s professional response to the situation].

Read more from this story HERE.

Three Men ‘Illegally’ Arrested for Openly Carrying Civil War Era ‘Black Powder’ Pistols in Texas (+videos)

Photo Credit: YouTube

Photo Credit: YouTube

Three people were reportedly arrested on Friday for openly carrying Civil War-era pistols during a pro-gun protest outside the Texas Capitol. Gun rights activists tell TheBlaze the arrests were unlawful as it is legal in Texas to openly carry a pre-1899 antique firearm.

Terry Louis Holcomb, 44, identified as a Huntsville-area pastor, and Scott Douglas Smith, 50, a military veteran from San Antonio, and Gary Hayes, a quadriplegic, were reportedly arrested by state troopers in Austin and charged with disorderly conduct, which is defined, by law, as an action with a firearm “calculated to alarm.”

However, witnesses say the men, one of which was in a wheelchair, had their “black powder” pistols holstered and weren’t causing alarm in any way. More than a dozen other gun-rights activists openly carrying rifles walked free.

Under Texas law, a gun manufactured before 1899 isn’t even considered a “firearm,” therefore not subject to open carry laws…


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Read more from this story HERE.

Men with Rifles Charged in ‘Open Carry’ Demonstration at Starbucks (+video)

open carry at starbucksAn “open carry” demonstration outside of a local Starbucks was broken up by police after passersby complained about the three men and their rifles.

The demonstrators, who posted a video of the entire encounter to YouTube, claim they were within their legal rights.

According to Texas law, this type of conduct isn’t illegal as long as the weapon is not loaded.

However, San Antonio police Chief William McManus explained that the gun holder can still be charged with disorderly conduct if anyone, at any point, feels threatened.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video Appears to Show Activist Adam Koresh Loading a Shotgun in Washington, D.C.’s Freedom Plaza

Photo Credit: YouTube An activist who planned, and then canceled, an armed march into the District on July Fourth posted online what appeared to be a video of himself loading a shotgun in Freedom Plaza.

Adam Kokesh can be seen in the 22-second YouTube video in a suit jacket and an open collar loading four shells into a shotgun and pumping a shell into the chamber.

The video is stamped with the date July 4, 2013.

As he loads the shotgun, Mr. Kokesh recites the closing lines of his Final American Revolution Pledge of Resistance, which was posted on his website Wednesday.

“We will not be silent. We will not obey. We will not allow our government to destroy our humanity. We are the final American revolution,” he said, before closing with, “See you next Independence Day.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Talk Show Host Headed for Trouble With His DC Open-Carry March (+video)

Last week, Restoring Liberty posted a story about talk show host Adam Kokesh’s intent to march into Washington, D.C., with over one thousand armed Americans. Their stated intent is to carry rifles – loaded – into a city that prohibits open-carry.

This week, the chief of the District of Columbia police force, Cathy Lanier, stated that the marchers would be arrested and charged criminally upon stepping into DC.

She goes on to state that civil disobedience by protesters is fine, as long as such civil disobedience is not in violation of the law:

Radio Host to Lead Armed, Open Carry March from Virginia into Washington DC on July 4th

Photo Credit: Facebook In a Facebook post that has garnered national attention over the last several days, radio talk show host Adam Kokesh has announced an open carry march from Virginia into Washington, D.C.

Mr. Kokesh is advocating that participants carry their guns – loaded – on their backs and that they demonstrate peacefully, no matter what law enforcement does in response to their presence.

Although Virginia apparently allows open carry under certain circumstances, it appears demonstrators will run afoul of DC ordinances if they openly carry loaded firearms into the city.

Kokesh says he does not know what law enforcement will do but that he’ll “volunteer . . . to determine what their actual course of action with someone crossing the line will be. [A]t which point fellow marchers will have the choice of joining me one at a time in a peaceful, orderly manner, or turning back . . .”

Here’s his Facebook post in its entirety:

On the morning of July 4, 2013, Independence Day, we will muster at the National Cemetery & at noon we will step off to march across the Memorial Bridge, down Independence Avenue, around the Capitol, the Supreme Court, & the White House, then peacefully return to Virginia across the Memorial Bridge. This is an act of civil disobedience, not a permitted event. We will march with rifles loaded & slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated & cower in submission to tyranny. We are marching to mark the high water mark of government & to turn the tide. This will be a non-violent event, unless the government chooses to make it violent. Should we meet physical resistance, we will peacefully turn back, having shown that free people are not welcome in Washington, & returning with the resolve that the politicians, bureaucrats, & enforcers of the federal government will not be welcome in the land of the free.

There’s a remote chance that there will be violence as there has been from government before, and I think it should be clear that if anyone involved in this event is approached respectfully by agents of the state, they will submit to arrest without resisting. We are truly saying in the SUBTLEST way possible that we would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.

You are welcome to attend unarmed as a supporter, or armed with a recording device.

We especially invite law enforcement officers to stand with us armed however they feel is appropriate.

If this page gets to 10,000 attendees by June 1st, & we have the critical mass necessary to pull this off, (1,000 actual attendees) we will march. Please spread the word, share this event, & invite all your friends.

UPDATE Now that it’s undeniable that this is going to happen, allow me to make clear how. There will be coordination with DC law enforcement prior to the event. I will recommend that they do the best they can to honor their oaths and escort us on our route. Failing to provide that commitment to safety, we will either be informed that we will only be allowed up to a certain point where we would be arrested. If this is the case, we will approach that point as a group and if necessary, I will procede to volunteer myself to determine what their actual course of action with someone crossing the line will be at which point fellow marchers will have the choice of joining me one at a time in a peaceful, orderly manner, or turning back to the National Cemetery.