A Line Crossed When Advocating For Gun Rights; Intimidation Factor

I am all for gun rights, and I am all for having people in office who are going to fight for those rights. However, I do not believe that this is how you try and get things changed in your favor:

This is strong-arming, and the people in this office had every right to feel intimidated.

Kory Watkins of the group Open Carry Tarrant County, visited Texas lawmakers on Tuesday to speak with them about House Bill 195, which looks to overturn the state’s ban on the open carry of handguns.

While speaking with Congressman Pancho Nevarez (seated in video), things get a little tense in the office, and the group is eventually asked to leave.

It’s evident that Nevarez isn’t going to change his mind on the topic, and the whole exchange ends up doing nothing except making gun owners look bad.

Sticking your foot in the door so it can’t be closed? Are you a 3rd grader?

These actions by a small group of people set the entire cause back years. Even Eric Reed, the outspoken founder of Gun Rights Across America, agrees that these tactics are unnecessary and damaging to the cause.

Reed spoke with CJ Grishsm, leader of Open Carry Texas. Grisham stated,“Kory Watkins has set back the progress of the last 18 months in getting legislation passed to recognize our rights to keep and bear arms. He is a malignant cancer to the gun rights movement in Texas.”

As a result of the encounter, the House OK’d the use and installation of panic buttons.

Watkins and his group are the same folks who forced Target to make a decision on open carry inside their stores, giving Mom’s Demand Action some ammo to support their own agenda. At that time, Watkins was a member of Open Carry Texas and has since started his own thing.

A few people can have a big impact on any cause, and the impact can go either way. In this case, Watkins and Co are destroying the public’s perception of the responsible gun owner.

Do you agree or disagree with my assessment of this incident? Chime in below.