It is a new year, and many are already aggressively tackling their resolutions, as am I. On the very first day on January 2016, I spent the entire morning on assignment photographing for a friend who leads organizations Open Carry Texas (Dallas Chapter) and Texas Universal Carry, both civil liberties groups that push for gun rights here in Texas. I had the pleasure of being able to witness history as I was on the very stage where Texans hold rallies for a variety of issues ranging from abortion (another rally is coming soon), to anti-Muslim protests (remember the viral video where a deranged lady stole the microphone from a speaker during the Muslim capitol day?) and many other issues. January 1st was no different, as the new open carry law took effect, allowing all licensed handgun owners (those with either a Concealed Handgun License or a License to Carry permits) to openly display their modern handguns in most places. There are regulations to this new law, of course, stating that the handgun must be holstered on a belt (doesn't seem to define where the gun has to be however). Business owners have the choice to allow open carry on their property, only through use of proper signage, which can be legally purchased online.
Epitacio Camacho, a public transit operator from Dallas, enthusiastically unveils his Glock 23, becoming one of the first four Texans to open carry at the state capitol, Austin, TX, in almost 140 years. January 1, 2016
Media, journalists, and activists gather around as C.J. Grisham, a retired Army seargant, as he gives his thoughts on the open carry law and about his further push for what he calls "constitutional carry." January 1, 2016
Open carry activists carry large posters and flags in favor of the new open carry law. January 1, 2016
Hundreds of activists gathered while exercising their new right to open carry. January 1, 2016
"To Conquer a Nation, First Disarm its Citizens," a quote said to be expressed by Adolf Hilter, German dictator, leader of NSDAP during the 1940s. January 1, 2016
Murdoch Pizgatti (alias), writer for DontComply.com, re-enacts a familiar scene from weeks prior, where a mock mass shooting was staged a few blocks from the University of Texas at Austin. January 1, 2016
Murdoch Pizgatti (alias), writer for DontComply.com, re-enacts a familiar scene from weeks prior, where a mock mass shooting was staged a few blocks from the University of Texas at Austin. January 1, 2016
More body outlines were drawn with chalk, symbolically referencing the mock mass shooting that was staged near the University of Texas at Austin weeks prior. January 1, 2016
After the rally, the 2nd amendment activists split into groups for lunch, with a majority of them going to a Subway a few blocks from the capitol, where the owners welcomed the gun carriers for a warm lunch. No reported shootings or counter protests were held.
Edited on October 11, 2017.