Open Carry in Full Affect - Texas

by Laura Thompson

I haven't written a blog in a while. As a matter of fact the very last blog that I wrote is when Texas passed the open carry law.  Now, as of January 1st, the open carry law has gone into effect.  I don't know how anyone else feels about the law, but I feel a little uneasy, a little vulnerable, a little afraid...I can't shake it.

Fortunately for me, I haven't actually seen anyone carry openly, but I must admit I expected to see a lot of people showcasing their new freedom to carry a gun in public.  I didn't go out new year's eve or the whole weekend for that matter because I was under the weather, but Monday I fully expected to see a strong display of people carrying guns....I was again, very afraid.

I personally don't like guns, but there are some that do.  I do however think that we've jumped the gun (no pun intended) on passing the law before we implemented a plan to really educate people on what the law means, how to deal with it, prepare merchants, businesses, schools, parents, and more.

As a former media and public relations executive, I feel that it is imperative to educate, inform and communicate major changes effectively to the public...prior to a major change, at the onset of the change, so that people can really grasp what's going on and what the new law really means.

Maybe I'm just a fraidy cat, but in light of all the gun violence that has taken place across the globe and even in my own home town, I don't like the way I feel about this particular change.  I'm usually very flexible when it comes to  change and I bounce back and adjust pretty easily, but this just doesn't set well with me.

I know that the law has already gone into affect, now what?  This law has been an initial shock to a lot of Texans.  How do we move forward to make people feel more at ease.  The major law "open carry" is in place, now we have to put regulation and compliance laws in place...then make sure we educate Texans on how they should proceed.