Note that a court decision favoring these three gents will send a terrifying message to U.S. Gun-Grabbers, and thus may be the reason for the Navy-Yard shooting.
Three Men Arrested (Including One with Quadraplegia) For Openly Carrying Legal Antique Black Powder Pistols On Texas Capital Grounds; These Antiques Are Exempt From Open-Carry Laws
September 15, 2013
Three people were reportedly arrested on Friday for openly carrying Civil War-era pistols during a pro-gun protest outside the Texas Capitol. Gun rights activists tell TheBlaze the arrests were unlawful as it is legal in Texas to openly carry a pre-1899 antique firearm.
Terry Louis Holcomb, 44, identified as a Huntsville-area pastor, and Scott Douglas Smith, 50, a military veteran from San Antonio, and Gary Hayes, a quadriplegic, were reportedly arrested by state troopers in Austin and charged with disorderly conduct, which is defined, by law, as an action with a firearm “calculated to alarm.”
(YouTube)
Pastor Terry Holcomb (YouTube)
Military veteran Scott Smith (YouTube)
However, witnesses say the men, one of which was in a wheelchair, had their “black powder” pistols holstered and weren’t causing alarm in any way. More than a dozen other gun-rights activists openly carrying rifles walked free.
Under Texas law, a gun manufactured before 1899 isn’t even considered a “firearm,” therefore not subject to open carry laws:
(3) “Firearm” means any device designed, made, or adapted to expel a projectile through a barrel by using the energy generated by an explosion or burning substance or any device readily convertible to that use. Firearm does not include a firearm that may have, as an integral part, a folding knife blade or other characteristics of weapons made illegal by this chapter and that is: (A) an antique or curio firearm manufactured before 1899; or (B) a replica of an antique or curio firearm manufactured before 1899, but only if the replica does not use rim fire or center fire ammunition.
All three of the arrests were reportedly caught on video and uploaded on YouTube. In the first video, an individual presses police to clarify how the pro-gun activist was carrying his pistol (holstered) in a way “calculated to alarm.”
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Please note that a favorable court decision out of this will send instant feelings of horror and terror to the gun grabbers of Congress and the White House (AND ESPECIALLY THE BANKS. HOW ELSE CAN THEY GRAB PENSION FUNDS TO COVER LOSES WITHOUT ANY SERIOUS COMPLAINTS FROM DEPOSITERS?)