Cases of 'Open Carry' Violators Growing

NORTH AUSTIN-PFLUGERVILLE, TX -- Since the “open carry” law was ushered in on New Year’s Day, there have already been reported cases of gun owners emboldened enough to take their holstered handguns into business establishments opting out of allowing such open firearm displays on their premises.

At least two of those cases were in the Austin area.

On the day the law took effect in Texas Jan. 1, Jecovi Dequeric Taylor, 34, entered a bar in North Austin when a “group of Arabs” (as he described them) quarreled with him. That’s when he exited the Rack Daddy’s bar at 1779 W. Wells Branch Parkway to retrieve his Smith & Wesson--for protection, he told arriving police officers summoned to the scene.

A Travis County Sheriff’s Office spokesman later told KEYE-TV that Taylor appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. He was charged with unlawful carry of a weapon.

Two days later in Round Rock, an HEB employee called police to report a man entering with his holstered handgun--in defiance of posted signs indicating the retailer had opted out of the new law and bans open firearm displays.

Unlike the incident in North Austin, local police opted not to report to the scene at the HEB despite the concerned employee’s call from inside the store.

“The person openly carrying was not breaking any laws,” police spokeswoman Angelique Myers later explained to the Austin American-Statesman. “We can’t do much at that point.”

Her comment echoes the largely supportive stance Round Rock police have adopted toward gun owners expressing their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms--which they can now do out in the open by virtue of the new “open carry” law.

“One of the concerns we have is people are trying to attach a hostile thing to someone having a weapon on them because it’s new,” officer Jim Stuart told the audience at a recent “open carry” public meeting. ”They’re just exercising their right to carry their weapon in the open.”

The unidentified man left the HEB premises at 1700 E. Palm Valley shortly after the 12:30 p.m. call to police was made, according to a KEYE-TV News report.

Just south of Austin, a man in San Antonio was escorted out a public meeting on Tuesday--a symposium on the “open carry” law, no less--when he tried bringing his gun into the building.

“All I wanted to do tonight was inform the people about what they’re not going to be informed about,” Roger Mendez said in defense of his action.

While Mendez has a license to carry, he seemed unaware the place in which he took his gun--the Blanco Bingo Ballroom--derives at least 51 percent of its sales through alcohol sales, thus not allowed to let in holstered-up patrons.

While Mendez’s intentions seemed benign, he was outgunned given heavy police presence at the Bingo hall--the setting for a discussion on the new law attended by assistant police chief and district attorney.

Anticipating a surge in such cases, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has stepped up its efforts to urge more businesses to ban open firearm displays. Despite passage of the “open carry” law, businesses are allowed to opt out.

In a recent telephone interview from her San Antonio base, volunteer and spokeswoman Angela Turner was palpably excited over the growing list of business deciding to opt out of the law. Most such business cite the need to not make other customers uncomfortable at the sight of openly carried guns as the reason for their gun bans.

“There’s a long list of businesses opting out, and it’s growing by the minute,” Turner said.

But the signage requirements for businesses wanting to opt out are onerous and expensive, particularly for small businesses with limited resources. As a result, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America plans to urge lawmakers to ease signage requirements for small business owners, she said.

“The signage is deliberately cumbersome and difficult to work with,” she said. “We think there is a lot simpler way to clearly designate a business as a place where people can’t carry.”

The signs required for Texas businesses opting out are large--some 18 inches tall--with each of its letters having to be at least an inch tall and text and in both English and Spanish.

The signs are so big, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense members have taken to photographing a sample next to objects for context: a child, a pony and even the 5’ 7” Turner herself, using one as a mock dress over her clothing to show it’s big enough to completely cover her extremities.

What’s more, separate signs are required to be installed for businesses wanting to ban either open carry guns or concealed guns, the so-called 30.07 and 30.06 signs, respectively, referencing applicable sections of the penal code.

The price of each sign is upwards of $100, making it cost-prohibitive for many small business owners who nonetheless frown upon the open display of guns, Turner said.

Absent the right sized signs or unable to afford them, many small businesses owners have crafted their own homemade versions--only to have pro-gun forces take to social media encouraging fellow firearm aficionados they’re legally entitled to enter such establishments given the non-compliance, she said.

In response, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has become something of a clearinghouse for information on how businesses can opt out. They also provide business owners unable to afford required signs contact information for state representatives Diego Bernal and Trey Martinez Fischer--both providing law-compliant, gun ban signs free of charge for whoever needs them.

“We’re a pro-business state, right?” Turner asked rhetorically. “We should be supporting all of our business owners.”

The group of organized moms would like to meet with the GOP-led Legislature that pushed for the new law to discuss easing sign rules, Turner said. But they’ll have to wait until the next legislative session (in Texas, lawmakers meet every other year) to voice their concerns.

No anti-gun advocate, Turner enjoys hunting with her husband and the two keep guns safely stored in their home in a manner that’s inaccessible their three young children.

“If you’re a gun owner, you should be advocating for gun safety,” she said. “Open carry is not the agenda that everyone shares.”

Others seem to share the view.

On social media forums such as Facebook, a facsimile of a printer-ready card has been widely circulating as a gentle way customers can urge businesses to ban firearms inside their stores or dining areas.

“Sorry, but we had to leave,” the card, intended to be handed to a manager or employees, reads. “We saw a person openly carrying a deadly weapon in your business and we do not know their intent.

“Being confronted by armed strangers in what should be a secure place is not a risk our family will absorb. Please get a 30.07 sign so we can return as patrons.”