I just saw this story on The Blaze about a guy carrying an AR-15 on his back at Parkdale Mall in Beaumont, TX. Apparently several people were scared by this and called the police.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCZBg2i7Rxk&w=640&h=360]
This police officer talking to the Gun Store owner is dead wrong on the charges. It is completely legal to carry a rifle openly in Texas as long as you’re not threatening anyone.
The legality of carrying a weapon into the mall is void… His gun store is IN THE MALL!!! If people are going to feel threatened by the sight of a firearm (slung across his back with both of his hands full), they should move out of Texas.
The police should have responded to those who called in that he was not breaking any laws.
If a few people can get upset, make a call to police, and take away a person’s constitutional (federal and state) right, then is it truly a right?
I find it absolutely amazing that so many police officers can be so ignorant about Texas laws, especially when the issue comes up so often on national news coverage.
They took his property ILLEGALLY because someone was scared by it. Police officers are the only people in Texas who are allowed to open-carry handguns. If I call the police every time I see a police officer with a handgun strapped to his/her side because I am scared, or I think I’m gonna die, will they stop letting police officers carry handguns? I find it even more hilarious that in the above video you can see two men carrying handguns on their waists.
If I find out that this guy does not get off, I’m seriously considering to start calling 911 every time I see a police officer openly carrying a handgun, especially when I’m in Beaumont.
I want to add a comment Daphne made on Facebook to add a little to this story…
“NOPE!!! There’s a lot missing to this story.
First, he owns a tatical store in the mall and carries his weapon, unloaded, everyday back and forth. He also has permission from the mall to do so. The BMT PD auxiliary office is adjacent from his store, no less. He is well known in the mall.
On this day, he did venture a little further down from his store to the Gamestop where a friend was, on the way in. On the way, he was also walking and chatting with a BPD officer, there was NO alarm. An off duty cop from another area saw him in the Gamestop and called it in. He admitted that he knew that the guy (Derek) was within his constitutional rights and he wasn’t alarmed, but thought he better call it in. Within minutes, 8 BPD ( who don’t work at the mall) were there and a lady cop grab his gun and slammed the muzzle into the ground and broke it.
At this point, they did not arrest him, but would not give his gun back. Therefore, this was and is an illegal confiscation. They said he could pick it up the next day. (This is the video you have above of him going to retrieve it.) As you see, he still didn’t get his gun back.
By this point, it has gone viral and Open Carry has gotten involved. The BPD then decided they needed to charge him with disorderly conduct because they still have his gun. Charges will not stick, because he was not doing anything in a threatening manner. There were NO scared people, no civilian called in anything. He had a cup in one hand and a bag of stuff in the other, gun slung with muzzle pointing down and unloaded. NO disorderly conduct. BPD are sensationalizing the story, to get their butts out of a jam because the officer acted illegally”
Thanks for adding to the story and giving us a little more perspective, Daphne.