TexasCHLforum.com

So I know many here are annoyed by OCT antics and feel that they have been detrimental to Texans making further progress on gun rights issues. I tend to agree and I feel nationally and in Texas the NRA & TSRA have been most helpful to our cause. That is why I am a member of NRA and not other gun rights organizations.

With that said, in the last 15 years or so I have been closely following gun rights organizations in other states to see how their actions have effected legislative and judicial change. Those of you that remember the old packing.org forum, may recall the Virginia Civil Defense League (VCDL), formed by a former Texas LEO BTW. VCDL staged quite a few open carry "events" in VA in order to establish that open carry was in fact legal (w/o a permit) and until recently the only way you could carry in a location that served alcohol.

Also, PA Firearms Owners Association has held several events in Philadelphia to protest harassment of legal open & concealed carry in the city. In many cases some legislative progress was made because of their tactics. On the other hand they managed to get carry by a PA resident on a OOS permit declared illegal by the courts (even though that's not the plain meaning of the law). And they even got FL to refuse to issue non-RES permit to PA residents who don't have a PA permit.

Anyway, are there proper ways to exercise our firearms rights here in Texas to help fight against arbitrary and sometimes illegal tactics by TX governments?

Example: Who wants to (politely) open carry with me at the Ft. Worth Zoo after Jan. 1? Or should we wait for someone else to be the "test case"?

I certainly appreciate the efforts of those that have been protesting the illegal 30.06 signs posted by government entities. I'm even working up the nerve to insist on conceal carry at a gun show in a government venue, but again, not sure if I want to be the proverbial test case. Strength in numbers though...

What do you all think?

I agree. I was a member of VCDL for years, and participated in many "events" -- that were for the most part just an organized effort to get a bunch of locals together to eat at a 2A friendly restaurant. It was, in my opinion, a very effective way to slowly turn the culture. It was effective enough that one particular event, situation, trend...happened when one restaurant decided that since there were several of us eating there that they would come right out and give a 10% discount to anyone carrying (OC or CC). The place was packed. It got on Piers Morgan's show -- who is not a friend to 2A -- but frankly he made such a jerk of himself that it helped to further generate publicity, further packing the place....both times he talked about it!

One thing that I loved about VCDL is the local emphasis on folks getting together. A lot of the membership is made up of folks who get together locally. And those get togethers are announced on another gun forum, and then folks talk about it after the fact. I liked that a lot. But on a local basis folks identified those places that were not just tolerant, but 2A friendly, and then we patronized them. They loved it. Not once that I can recall did one of those places then decide to prohibit after having a whole bunch of folks spend lots of money there.