Top 10 stories of 2014: Open carry advocates take aim on Austin

Fourth in a series of the top stories of the past year.

Though they’ve gone on dozens of walks in cities across Tarrant County with black powder pistols on their hips and semiautomatic rifles slung across their backs, local gun-rights activists have gotten the most attention this year from small slips of paper.

In May, Open Carry Tarrant County took aim at the Arlington’s sidewalk ordinance, persuading a federal judge to block the city from enforcing new rules regulating how pedestrians can interact with motorists at traffic lights. Members say the ordinance, amended by the City Council twice this year on the grounds of improving public safety, violates their First Amendment free-speech rights by prohibiting them from handing out literature and pocket-size copies of the U.S. Constitution to motorists during their open carry walks.

Open Carry members say that they haven’t faced such pushback in other cities but that the ongoing lawsuit, demonstrations in front of Arlington City Hall and resulting media coverage have helped them raise awareness about their cause and gain supporters. The group is lobbying state legislators to legalize the open carrying of modern handguns.

“We aren’t trying to glorify guns,” said Kory Watkins, an Open Carry Tarrant County leader and spokesman. “If you look at the statistics and the facts and you ignore emotional fear … criminals are cowards. They want the easiest person to attack or victimize. If they see someone who is armed and ready to defend themselves, they will find somewhere else to go. I like no crime at all. That is what open carry does.”

Arlington city officials have said the sidewalk ordinance is designed to improve public safety for pedestrians and motorists, not to punish open carry supporters. The ordinance prohibits people stepping into the street to hand out material or solicit donations at intersections controlled by traffic signals, but not at corners with stop signs.

“We think this ordinance is a common-sense ordinance,” Assistant City Attorney Robert Fugate told the Star-Telegram in October. “It applies to every intersection controlled by a traffic signal. It’s easy for the police officers to understand. It’s easy for residents to understand.”

The city is seeking to have the federal law suit filed by Watkins and Open Carry Tarrant County dismissed.

Pushing for pistols

Open Carry Tarrant County members say that the group is peaceful and that their rallies are designed to educate the public about Texans’ constitutional right to carry. But while members once held as many as three walks a week, the group is turning its attention on bringing about change in Austin.

Though Texas allows open carrying of long guns, such as rifles and shotguns, it is one of six states that specifically prohibit openly carrying handguns. Handguns can be carried with a license, but they must be concealed.

Legislators have already filed bills for the upcoming session, which begins Jan. 13, designed to allow Texans to openly carry handguns either with or without a license.

Chris Donawho of Arlington said he believes that Texans should be allowed to openly carry side arms to prevent crime, something he says a concealed weapon can’t do.

“For me personally, once we do get open carry passed in this state, you won’t see me walking around with an AK-47. It’s a clunky piece of equipment,” said Donawho, who has participated in about 150 Open Carry Tarrant County walks with his assault rifle or black powder pistol. “I’d rather have my Sig on my side.” Sig Sauer is a handgun maker.

Political or criminal?

Though open carry members have often received thumbs up and honks of support from passing motorists, their roadside rallies in Arlington have also generated 911 calls from some concerned about spotting armed people on the streets.

Members have also found that their guns aren’t welcome at all businesses. Police, for example, were called to a Wendy’s restaurant near Interstate 20 and Matlock Road in south Arlington in April after management reported that some of the activists, who were carrying long guns in the parking lot, were scaring off customers.

Angela Turner, a gun owner and spokeswoman for the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said it can be difficult for the public to discern whether a person carrying a loaded weapon is a criminal or someone making a political statement. That’s why the group has pushed for businesses such as Target and Starbucks to ban open carry in their stores and parking lots.

“We’re used to seeing a police officer or someone in uniform with a gun,” Turner said. “When you see a regular person walking down the street, you don’t know why they have that weapon.”

The safety issue

Turner said she also has safety concerns about public rallies where numerous participants are armed.

“I have a healthy amount of respect for guns. But some of the behavior by individuals of this group in Arlington and Tarrant County is very intimidating and doesn’t represent what responsible gun ownership is,” Turner said. “I don’t know that they are practicing gun safety. I don’t know if they’ve had any training. If I have my child and we are walking on the same street, I don’t know if one of them might make a safety mistake and fire a weapon. It’s just not responsible.”

Donawho said group members do not wave their guns around or point them at people during events and outings to local businesses. But while gun safety in public and at home is a top priority, so is the need to be prepared to protect oneself against threats, he said.

Donawho joined the movement after his father, Jimmy Donawho, was brutally stabbed to death during a home invasion in September 2012 in Richardson. It’s also one of the reasons he carries an assault rifle and has taught his daughters how to shoot and responsibly handle guns.

“It’s a harbinger of death. Nothing but death comes out of the end of my gun. I hope I never have to use it. If I do, I suspect that is what the result is going to be,” Donawho said. “That is why I carry it to protect me.”

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published December 25, 2014 at 7:31 AM with the headline "Top 10 stories of 2014: Open carry advocates take aim on Austin."