Open carry and concealed carry gun laws proven to be a hindrance in Dallas.
Good Guys with guns afforded by open carry gun laws failed
The head of the NRA once said the solution to a bad guy with a gun are good guys with guns. Dallas proved the open carry is dangerous. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said as much in the measured language on uses when discussing guns in Texas. Following is the transcript of the interview.
John Dickerson: There were others arrested immediately afterwards on the scene. What can you tell us about those arrests?
Mike Rawlings: You know, in kind of dealing with the law of gun- holding, you can carry a rifle legally. And when you have gunfire going on, you usually go with the person that’s got a gun. And so our police grabbed some of those individuals, took them to police headquarters, and worked it out and figured out that they were not the shooters. But that is one of the real issues with the gun right issues that we face, that, in the middle of a firefight, it’s hard to pick out the good guys and the bad guys.
John Dickerson: Did that complicate the issue at the moment?
Mike Rawlings: Well, I think so. I wasn’t there real time to kind of see it go on. But the common sense would tell you don’t know where the gunfire’s coming from. There were individuals that ran across the gunfire. They were in the body armor, camo gear with rifles slung over their shoulders. So it sure took our eye off the ball for the moment. We got them out of the way. We figured out what was happening and we did our business.
Texas and many other states have allowed the fad of some to endanger the many. Open carry did not help police. In fact, they caused police to use resources that could otherwise stop the carnage earlier. Laws matter. Bad laws can cost lives. Politicians who pass bad laws should pay the price.
For all those who continue to press the second amendment issue, they must remember that even within the text of the amendment the word regulated is used. In other words, it is constitutional to regulate guns.