Open carry is now legal but the details surrounding the law are still a little fuzzy for some. Many grocery stores and restaurants in Texas are choosing to allow only concealed carry rather than open carry. APD Sgt. Lynn Beard said it’s up to citizens to check for signs at the entrance of a business before openly carrying.
“The open carry law went into effect on January 1, and since that time, just in the last few days we’ve only really had one minor incident at a local grocery store where a citizen walked in openly carrying and wasn’t aware that the grocery store didn’t want to allow open carry,” Beard said.
Police responded and contacted the individual who was very apologetic. Beard called the whole scene a “non-event.” The new law provides the ability for a business to choose what’s allowed on the premise regarding carrying firearms.
“Most places are allowing concealed carry and prohibiting open,” Beard said. “I know there are some restaurants in town that are allowing it either way and that’s kind of what we want, we want our local businesses to make the choice on what they believe is in the best interest of their business. So far, I think Abilenians especially are fairly considerate and intelligent people so I don’t suspect we’re going to have many problems.”
In addition to open carry, another new law called campus carry will go into effect later this year. It allows licensed owners to carry guns on public college campuses. Many of the colleges and universities in Abilene are still seeking feedback from faculty and students before deciding what to allow.
