Mayor Of Dallas Says Texas Open Carry Laws Are A Threat To Cops And The Public

In the chaos that erupted Thursday evening in Dallas as a sniper began shooting police officers–killing five and wounding another seven–the situation was complicated even further by the fact that some people who had shown up for the rally were openly carrying weapons, which is their right under Texas law. But as Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings noted yesterday on “Face the Nation,” it complicated the matter for police:

“You know, in 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.”

Rawlings also said open carry laws increase the danger for all involved:

“I wasn’t there real time to kind of see it go on, but the common sense would tell you, 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 a moment. We got them out of the way, we figured out what was happening, and we did our business.”

Dallas Police Major Max Geron agreed with Mayor Rawlings, telling the Dallas Morning News:

“There was also the challenge of sorting out witnesses from potential suspects. Texas is an open carry state, and there were a number of armed demonstrators taking part. There was confusion on the radio about the description of the suspects and whether or not one or more was in custody.”

So while the ammosexuals love to proclaim that people who carry guns are a deterrent to crime (which has never been proven), more guns clearly mean less safety and security, especially for law enforcement officers when someone begins shooting. Yet the NRA peddles the same old lie about how more guns make us all safer. That’s bullshit, and those who enforce the laws we live by know it just like the majority of rational Americans do.

Here’s Mayor Rawlings on “Face the Nation” yesterday:

Featured Image Via YouTube Screengrab