Texas Open Carry going into effect January First | Homestead Security | Forums

Well this should be interesting, wonder if they will release how many calls they do get.

Police across Texas are bracing for a spike in 911 calls when the state’s open carry law takes effect Jan. 1 and panicked citizens start seeing handguns on people’s hips.

“For a while we’ll be in a transition period, but it’s something everyone’s going to have to get used to,” said Lt. Pedro Barineau, a Garland police spokesman.

Police will have to contend with the law’s gray areas that experts say will have to be settled in court. The law is unclear, for example, on when officers can demand to see a gun owner’s license or whether they can arrest people who refuse to show the license.

About 5 percent of Texans 21 and older have handgun licenses. Though the rate is lower in Dallas County — about 3 percent — the county still accounts for nearly 6 percent of active licenses in Texas.

“The law is drafted so simply, it’s really placed a huge burden on the shoulders of law enforcement in Texas to parse through these issues,” said Emily Taylor, an independent program attorney for Force Law Shield, a gun owners’ legal defense group. Taylor trains police on open carry.

Legislators created the new law by taking the word “concealed” out of the state’s concealed carry handgun law and adding that openly carried handguns must be in a belt or shoulder holster.

more http://www.dallasnew.....-texas.ece