APNewsBreak: Wendy Davis supports open carry law

[DonViejo]

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

JIM VERTUNO, ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis says her support of expanding gun rights in Texas includes allowing people with concealed handgun licenses to openly carry their weapons in public.

The concept is known as “open carry” and it essentially allows license holders to carry a pistol on their hip without having to hide it. The issue has been a popular gun rights position in the Republican primary. Davis’ position aligns her with her Republican rival, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Abbott’s position was well known. Davis gave her support for open carry in a statement to The Associated Press.

Abbott already has a concealed handgun license, and Davis has said she wants to get one.

Read more: http://www.salon.com/2014/02/06/apnewsbreak_wendy_davis_supports_open_carry_law/

[marble falls]

1. I'd much rather have open carry vs conceal carry. I wouldn't carry either way but I do want to ...

know who's carrying.

[hack89]

3. Not a big proponent of open carry - it upsets many people. nt

[PatrynXX]

7. She's from Texas go figure

I don't think she'd desecrate the Alamo like some Republican did by holding a gun rally there

I'm not really anti gun. It's not my thing. arrows or swords ( Kitana's?? ) better arrows for hunting..

[greiner3]

26. I'm a pacifist;

But if I had my druthers, I'd rather know afore hand if the person I was face-to-face with was/was not carrying a gun.

In fact, this might stop many fools who do try to bring their 'knuckles' to a gun fight.

[marble falls]

30. Pretty much my thought.

[Cha]

67. that's what I was thinking.. as long as they're

going to pack their big bad guns.. nice to know who's carrying.

[monmouth3]

2. If she wants to get elected in Texas, this is a must for her..n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

5. I'm sure this has a lot to do with it.

[onehandle]

4. Yes, but she probably is against Assault Weapons in Kindergartens, so the NRA will trash her.

Being a Democrat being reason #2 to trash her.

[MannyGoldstein]

6. This story is the highlight of my morning

It makes me realize how fortunate I am to live in Massachusetts!

[ancianita]

21. Massachusetts is the #2 manufacturer of guns in the US. Just sayin'.

[MannyGoldstein]

33. Weird! We have the lowest rate of gun deaths in th country.

And arguably the toughest gun laws.

[ancianita]

36. Because of tough gun laws. But still, high sales in the rest of the country.

[okaawhatever]

8. Open carry doesn't bother me. I'd rather know who is carrying. nt

[Javaman]

9. it is Texas after all. nt

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

10. She pretty much has to, at least for the foreseeable future

I always believed that Ann Richards lost to W because of her honest statement about the conceal carry stuff being pushed at the time. She said that it was stupid (and bad and would lead to bad things later) and those pushing the bill were stupid.

That's all it took to derail her governorship and unfortunately put W on the path to the Presidency.

[beachbum bob]

11. she has to support it

its Texas afterall

[heaven05]

12. well, if I lived in Texass

I would, at least, know who to stay away from. Seems like she is a good ole alamo revering texan though.

[Avalux]

13. Unfortunately, if she wants to win in Texas she has to do this.

I don't agree with it, and when I have dinner with her will definitely let her know.

[HockeyMom]

14. I prefer open carry also

I would leave their presence if I could see somebody carrying a gun.

[groundloop]

16. I imagine someone contemplating robery would like to know who's armed also....

They'll know who they have to shoot first.

[7962]

23. I agree. I dont want anyone to know I'm carrying; it just allows for a different approach

A crook who sees you have a gun on your waist could avoid you, or he/she could just go for the gun instantly. I'd rather no one know I have one. Doesnt make anyone uncomfortable that way either.

[justabob]

43. That is what I don't get about open carry

You may as well paint a target on your back as far as the bad guys go, and you make yourself a target of law enforcement by being visibly armed too... Seems silly to me, but what do I know?

[former9thward]

57. Open carry does not require that you carry guns openly.

It merely means you can carry them concealed or openly.

[otohara]

15. Well That Didn't Take Long

seriously Wendy - you need to run out and get a gun now?

I will save my donations for candidates who give a shit about all this gun violence.

[LynneSin]

18. Obama also didn't support marriage equality or use of marijuana

He's done a turn around on the first and slowly doing the same for the 2nd.

Wendy Davis can't win in Texas if she is anti-gun. I don't even think she could win the Texas Democratic primary being anti-gun - at least for a statewide race. That doesn't mean if she's elected she'll allow Texas to become a free-for all shoot-em-up gun state. Just means she's smart enough to know what's important to win Texas and what needs to be secondary.

For me this is a non-issue. THe rights of women, poor, LGBT and immigrants are on the line with this governors race. Personally I find those people way more important than the gun issue.

If she was running for governor in my state there would be at least a dozen other democratic choices who would be opposed to open gun carry and every one of those candidates would win the general election. But then again I live in Delaware and we're pretty damn blue. I would say that statement is true for many solidly blue states.

[otohara]

22. You're Equating Pot & LGBT w/ Guns?

for me this is a huge issue - I see my neighbor everyday on her daily walk still looking sad, depressed, broken - since her ex husband, the 60 year old responsible guy took their 9 year old kid and blew his brains out.

Then there was that time my 7 year old was at a neighbors home and no one was answering the phone, so I walk down there and see through the window three boys oogling 3 guns on the table. The mother had left and told them not to answer the phone or the door. The minute she walked out....out came the guns. Open carry - FUCK THAT.

The gays and the pot aren't killing people on a daily basis.

I live in the city where we've had two mass shootings. I'm terrified of guns.. we don't go out much anymore. Especially
to movies, malls and i oh so glad my kid graduated with out being killed or had to witness a mass shooting from a Littleton HS school years ago.

[LynneSin]

25. I live in a city with one of the highest rates of gun violence and I am still ok with it

So please don't even begin to tell me about gun violence - I know it just as well.

But Wendy Davis doesn't stand a chance of even winning the democratic primary in a state like Texas if she doesn't show support for gun laws. And honestly if assholes are carrying gun I'd rather see them out in the open then wonder what's hidden in someone's jacket or bag.

The concept of Pot/LGBT rights to what Wendy Davis has done is this - it is possible for politicians to change their minds after they are elected. What works for Texas doesn't work for other states. And I know for me to hold one stance about gun rights could be the difference between allowing rights for women, LGBT, the poor and immigrants in the state of Texas or keeping Texas the way it is.

I respect that Ms Davis's stance would not work well in solidly blue states but for Texas I have to weigh the issues. Wendy Davis can do far more good as governor than any republican governor.

[otohara]

28. How Many People Do You Know Who Have Been Killed?

Any 9 year old's?

Gun violence happens and it's easy to ignore until you knew the victim(s).

[LynneSin]

59. Really? Do we need to go down this path

Sorry but I'm not going to play this game where i have to prove who has seen more gun violence - it's immature. Would you feel somehow better if I listed all the gun violence I have seen and perhaps felt like a better, smarter person if your list was longer than mine? To me if you've witnessed once you've witnessed it more than enough times!

I'm not worried about the idiots carrying their guns out in the open. More than likely they are law abiding citizens who purchased their guns legally. I'm more worried about how the illegal guns get out there that cause the gun violence in the inner city and why people are taking guns to school to play violent games.

But I know the type of voter you are. You'd rather suffer under republican rule than to give into that one key issue that makes you tick. And the Republicans thank you for that because they know it too and they'll do all they can to peel away those single issue voters. If you feel the rights of the poor, of immigrents, of minorities, of women and of LGBTers are less important that the rights for a law abiding citizen to carry guns then by all means don't vote for Wendy Davis and let more republicans win office.

I use to be like that until Bob Casey Jr. ran for US Senate. And I realized that fighting against Casey and his history of anti-choice stances (he's very catholic) would mean that Pennsylvania would end up with Rick Santorum for another 6 years. In fact Santorum even tried to play on Casey's stance by getting a Green candidate on the ballot to shave away some of the people who would have considered voting for Casey.

In the end Casey won. And one thing he did say was there was enough laws on the books about abortion. But outside that issue he has been one of the more progressive candidates in the Senate. Things like Education, Labor and Healthcare have been very important to him although I'm not in Pennsylvania anymore I would still vote for the guy even though I am pro-choice.

I am not belittle the issue of gun violence but in the end this is Texas and what Wendy Davis said was smart.

[sked14]

66. +100.

[freshwest]

65. Agree with 'the rights of women, poor, LGBT and immigrants' surpass one issue.

Those who aren't affected by the outrageous stances that Abbott advocates may feel free to live under his rule. Those who will be hurt, will vote for Wendy and not go after this one issue as a deal-breaker.

I don't mind seeing a person with a properly strapped and holstered pistol walking about any more than a policeman. You know where that gun is, and what might occur. If the person is behaving, fine. Both require a license and training and accountability.

It's the RWNJs walking around in public with automatic rifles, promoting killing the Kenyan President, who have declared 'liberal hunting season' that I can't stand.

Texas virtually allows this right now, it's the status quo.

Would I like to see it national?

No.

Do I want to live under a GOPig who sees so many of us as less than human elected?

Hell no.

Abbott will support the same if elected. Withholding a vote for Wendy over this is a vote to subject Texans to Abbott's draconian policies. If I was there, she'd get my vote.

[LynneSin]

71. It was the same thing back in 2006 with Bob Casey Jr.

Here was this amazingly progressive candidate in issues regarding Education, Labor and Healthcare yet Casey had a huge strike over his head. His family is devoutly catholic (his father was the former Governor of Pennsylvania) and they were all anti-choice. For the longest time I would not support anyone anti-choice end of discussion.

But as I read more about Casey I learned about his other progressive leanings and he did say in 2006 there were enough laws on books about Abortion. Casey has been a good US Senator and although I am not in PA anymore I was glad to have helped out with his campaign!

BTW if Casey had lost - 6 more years of Rick Santorum.

And in the end to me, if one is unhappy with a candidate the primaries are the time for this discussion. But general election it's time to support the candidates. Casey beat Santorum by 19 points.

[freshwest]

75. It's important to know all of it... Just as you did. n/t

[old guy]

19. Damn!

I would have beat you to that but my keyboard froze. I feel the same way. Well said.

[LynneSin]

17. If she was running for governor in a solidly blue state I would vote for someone else. However....

but in Texas you can't be anti-gun and think to even have a chance to win statewide.

[cali]

32. in Vermont you can't get elected if you're anti-gun. Period.

It's as blue as it gets and it has the laxest gun laws in the country and has long had those laws.

[LynneSin]

60. Point well taken

In the end the people running for office know what key issues would alienate their voters. This is why ages ago I stopped being a single-issue voter. If I want to vote for someone who has the same exact politicial ideologies that I have then I should run for office myself - everyone else out there is a compromise. If I eliminate any candidate who disagreed with just one issue, even one high on my list of things important to me then I probably wouldn't find many people to support.

What Wendy Davis could do for women, the poor, minorities, immigrants and LGBTer in the state of Texas far outweights allowing law abiding citizens to have open carry permits. I can't stand guns, I think people who carry them for no reason other than to say 'I'm carrying a gun' are a bit a-hole like but I'll cede on that to give more rights to the rest of Texans.

[Le Taz Hot]

20. As a person who is vehemently against anyone but LE carrying guns around in public

I recognize this to be a political reality in Texas. If she were running for national office it would be a deal breaker but in this case, well, it's Texas.

[L0oniX]

24. Where's all the haters now? No bus either? Wow ...Lots of hypocrites.

So if its a Dem then its ok to be a "gun lover (add all the other usual degrading insults)"? O well. Here's where you really vote Dem no matter what. Bitter pill for all.

[cali]

34. Bernie is a "gun lover".

[L0oniX]

41. Rated F by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun control voting record.

http://www.ontheissues.org/domestic/Bernie_Sanders_Gun_Control.htm
scroll down

Yep he's a gun lover ...some what

[cali]

46. bernie won his first race for the House because the repub he was running against

was pro-gun control.

The NRA's rating was just knee jerk against "the socialist"

[840high]

55. Amazing - isn't it.?

[crim son]

68. She wouldn't get my vote.

I'd abstain, if it came to that.

[sked14]

70. Which would be a vote for Abbott.

[L0oniX]

73. Yes ...it would be an actual vote for Abbott.

[HoosierCowboy]

27. Some Democrats need to get over their fear of firearms

and understand that some in our Party have different experiences. Open carry and concealed carry laws work to prevent violence and crime. In Nevada 85% of the eligible adults have concealed carry permits and those that don't can open carry where it is not expressly forbidden. If you have a criminal record and carry you go to jail.

In many parts of this State when you are in the wilderness you are not at the top of the biological food chain.

[frylock]

39. i don't think that dems are fearful of firearms..

speaking for myself (although i'm not a dem), i'm more fearful of the people that feel a need to carry them everywhere they go. in the interest of full disclosure, i own three firearms.

[crim son]

69. It's more like disgust,

not fear.

[frazzled]

29. Very sad

There are some lines that shouldn't be crossed. This is one of mine. Your mileage may differ.

Somehow, women's rights and gun "rights" just don't mix in my book. Ever hear the one where the man with the gun on his hip walks up to a lady .... ?

[hughee99]

47. Is that anything like the one where the man doesn't walk up to the lady

with a gun on her hip?

[Android3.14]

31. It's a female conspiracy

to identify the men with the smallest dicks.

[Larkspur]

35. She sounds like Brian Schweitzer

who was gov of MT.

I love Schweitzer and Davis, but am not a fan of guns. Yet as a progressive I can acknowledge their limits based upon the states they come from. In Brian's case, can he transition to the national stage with a gun policy that makes sense for his kind of state and areas like Chicago, where guns are a plague?

The Wild West was tamed when towns demanded that guns be checked in at the town's borders.

[SoapBox]

38. +100

[Lurks Often]

44. The REAL Old West was a much, much quieter then movies portray it.

http://www.unpopulartruth.com/2009/04/myths-of-old-west.html


Maybe we should stop viewing the Old West based on fictional movies meant to be popular and make money.

[AnneD]

48. Not in my neck of the woods......

Look up your history......

It was not like you have to have you gun on you all the time but you had better have it close by and not to do so was at your own peril. It was not too long ago that Texas had to deal with Apaches and Comanches raiding parties. It wasn't until the Texas Rangers and the development of the Colt 45 that peace was brought to the frontier. I grew up around some old timers that still referred to the October full Moon as the Comanche moon because the Comanche would make their way to their winter hunting ground raiding for horses and killing cattle along the way.

This was in North and West Texas.

I edited this to mention your source mentions nothing about the Indian Wars. Texas was the location of some of the last skirmishes.

[Lurks Often]

49. Granted, although the link referred mostly to crime and how little there was of it in the Old West

compared to what Western movies made us believe.

Hostile American Indian tribes and cross border raids by Mexican bandits would be a different subject and more regional in nature then crime in the "violent" cow towns or mining towns

[AnneD]

51. My point exactly....

Last edited Thu Feb 6, 2014, 05:13 PM - Edit history (1)

this is Texas and we are not too far removed from that time. In my youth, it was nothing for guns to be present. I also grew up on a farm and we frequently had to ward off bobcats, deer, opossum, crows, raccoons, javelinas, etc, etc, etc. A certain amount of loss to predators is acceptable but not to the point of taking food from your family's mouth. I was a fairly good shot and had gun safety drummed into my head before I even picked up a gun. It is one thing to grow up with it and another thing not to.

I never did shoot to kill as I never felt directly threatened, but tin cans quaked when I went out to the corn fields.

[SoapBox]

37. wow...

Looks like the "Liberal" crowd has been convinced about having guns, guns and more guns.

I'm a bit surprised by the amount of indifference.

[Democat]

42. What's the alternative, concede all red states governorships?

Not sure this is indifference. Maybe it's just accepting reality.

If it needs to be changed, the changes will take time.

[fbc]

40. I support gun laws by state/municipality

If Texans want open carry, I say let them have it. But I also believe that if another state or city wants stricter regulations then they should be allowed to do that without interference from absolutist interpretations of the 2nd amendment.

If there's anything we should have learned from debates about guns it's that one-size-fits-all regulations won't work. There are different attitudes about guns throughout the United States. I think we should stop trying to address guns at the federal level with regulations that apply everywhere.

[sakabatou]

45. *sigh*

[Lasher]

50. Texas already has concealed carry by permit.

Looks like this would allow those permit holders to openly carry if they wish.

[VanillaRhapsody]

52. Okay I guess DU'rs will toss her under the bus now too!

[Paladin]

53. A number of DU'ers already have. (nt)

[VanillaRhapsody]

54. sooo predictable...

Well I guess THEY like the status quo!

[DonViejo]

61. She's not perfect, she's not perfect....

wah, wah, wah, wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[VanillaRhapsody]

62. I know right....

purge purge purge....purity party rages on!

[LynneSin]

72. Waaaahhhhhhh another republican was elected

Your post summed it up perfectly!

Republicans love progressives who thrive for single issue voting. I can see it now. The republicans will use some of that dark money to run negative adds against Wendy Davis making it sound like there will be shoot-outs at the local grocery store should she get elected because of her stance on open carry laws. Since we won't really know where the money is coming from it'll be easy for them to do it in hopes of pealing off the single issue voters.

[840high]

56. If she was a Republican -

you would, too.

[Botany]

58. She is running for Governor of Texas

n/t

[KansDem]

63. Okay, but they'll have to check their guns when they come into town.

Just like the Old West.

[ileus]

64. Finally a true 2A progressive...

[cprise]

74. Open carry = Intimidation and Escalation

IOW, the Wild West concept of rough justice.

It doesn't work to keep the peace, unless you consider genocidal tendencies to be peaceful.