Open Carry Texas SXSW Drama: Obama Visit Marked By Protest

Open carry advocates in Texas appeared at SXSW on the same day as President Obama. According to the Open Carry Texas members, this is the third year they have gone to the gathering to educate people on the law, and they were not going let the Obama event change their plans.

Open Carry Texas SXSW

Open Carry Texas members were at SXSW on the same day as Obama because it could “be interesting,” according to the leader. For the third year in a row, a handful of Open Carry Texas members showed up at the South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas to educate the attendees about the new law that makes it possible to carry rifles and shotguns almost anywhere.

Despite the fact that the organizers of SXSW have a very strict no weapon policy at the week-long event, C.J. Grisham, the leader of the gun rights group, announced that he would be “packing.” He shared on his Facebook page:

“I’m going to open carry my rifle and hand out literature at SXSW Friday. I just found out Obama is going to SXSW. This may get interesting.”

Indeed, things did get interesting, and the FBI contacted Mr. Grisham after Kriss Elliott, a member of Open Carry Texas, posted a threat towards Obama on the organization’s Facebook page:

“If you get a clear shot, please fire for effect!”

Grisham said the group has banned Elliott, and he went on to add:

“I don’t condone violence against anybody unless it’s in self defense. Anybody who calls for the death of anybody else without legal justification is aberrant to me.”

On Friday, President Obama spoke at the annual music and technology festival about “civic engagement in the 21st Century before an audience of creators, early adopters and entrepreneurs who are defining the future of our connected lives.”

About two hours before Obama’s speech, Grisham, and his crew tried their best to reach out to the more than 33,000 participants from 85 countries at the event. Asked what did he tell the people he spoke to, he replied by saying:

“We’re focused on getting people used to seeing what a holstered handgun looks like and focus on the person not just a piece of metal on my hip. It allows us to really engage with a younger population of people. SXSW attracts a lot of the younger generation.”

The retired U.S. Army First Sergeant, who is running for state Senate, added:

“We will be handing out educational literature and constitutions, talking about the new law, and basically showing attendees that gun owners are no different than anyone else. We simply refuse to be victims.”

Now, this is where the story takes a very strange turn – Obama fans did not confront Grisham, nor Bernie Sanders supporters – he clashed with a topless woman – yes a semi-naked lady! A topless woman, who called herself Austintatious Babe and is against Open Carry Texas, carried a sign that read “More Boobs, Less Guns.” She slammed Grisham, and screamed at him:

“You are assaulting my senses right now.”

When tourists told her that her behavior was inappropriate, she yelled back:

“Bite me, baby.”

Grisham fired back:

“You are an embarrassment to boobs everywhere.”

She responded with:

“Sorry about your small penis issues.”

The woman would not give her name, but was happy to reveal that she is 56 years old. Again, this is a true story, this exchange really happened in Texas during a presidential visit.

What are your thoughts on Texas’ open carry laws?

You might like