On Thursday, there were almost a dozen members of Tarrant County Open Carry standing across the street from the Fort Worth Convention Center, some carrying signs, some carrying semi-automatic rifles and some, impressively, carrying both. So the open-carry protesters stood outside. Like the previous convention, posters were tapped to every single entrance stating that it was illegal to open-carry inside. It wasn’t after a bit of hand-wringing and finger-wagging from top Republican officials that everyone came to an understanding (thanks to rules already mandated by the state’s booze overlords): No open-carrying of any guns inside the convention center except for old black powder pistols, revolvers long exempt from any such laws. Problems followed the open-carry advocates all the way to the Texas Republican Convention, where they had promised to demonstrate. Then there was the NRA’s statement late last month condemning the efforts, followed quickly by a retraction. After almost every demonstration, the businesses have publicly “asked” open-carry demonstrators, with their long-gun AKs and ARs, to please stay away. The biggest hoopla came after a group of open-carry advocates decided to load up with assault rifles before loading up their bellies with burrito bowls from a Dallas-area Chipotle. To protest the state’s 170-year-old ban on open-carry pistols, groups like Tarrant County Open Carry and Open Carry Texas have been brandishing their long arms at local businesses, attracting the attention not only of state and national media, but anti-gun groups like the Michael Bloomberg-funded Mothers Demand Action. After all, an AR assault rifle can weigh about nine pounds and make reaching for the wallet rather difficult. Open-carry advocates want to be able to parade with their pistols in plain site too (currently, handguns must be concealed). Under current Texas law, gun owners can carry long guns, like AKs and ARs, just about anywhere not selling alcohol. In the past year, open-carry laws have become a rallying cry for the state’s gun-rights advocates.
The platform pushed the party’s immigration plank further right and endorsed ex-gay therapy for men and women “seeking escape from the homosexual lifestyle.” Most of these issues garnered widespread support from convention delegates, but none was as confusing and seemingly contradictory as gun rights. Last week, the Texas Republican Party Convention featured plenty of controversial issues.