Was A Texas Veteran Wrongfully Arrested in Open Carry Stop?

By Bob Owens | 8:57 PM | July 11, 2015

We tend to be generally understanding and supportive of law enforcement here at Bearing Arms. Law enforcement officers have a very tough job to do, in what is increasingly a hostile environment.

We say that to preface a disgusting incident in Texas where it a retired Air Force veteran, James Speight, Jr., was arrested on trumped up charges for a “crime” that isn’t even a crime during an open carry walk.

The arresting officer asserted that it was illegal to open carry with a loaded firearm. This is untrue, at least according to state law.

Sadly, I fear that Mr. Speight may be correct in his assessment that he was arrested on a trumped up charge merely for being a black man with a gun, and hope that these charges are dropped.

Bob Owens is the Editor of BearingArms.com. Bob is a graduate of roughly 400 hours of professional firearms training classes, including square range and force-on force work with handguns and carbines. He is a past volunteer instructor with Project Appleseed. He most recently received his Vehicle Close Quarters Combat Instructor certification from Centrifuge Training, and is the author of the short e-book, So You Want to Own a Gun. He can be found on Twitter at bob_owens.