Texans want to be free. If any state in the country would be expected to tell a tyrant to shove it, it’s Texas. And we’re trying to live up to our reputation but Republican Governor Greg Abbott and his shutdown aren’t making it easy. What’s worse, some Texas Judges have even gone above and beyond Abbott’s restrictions to all but strangle small businesses.
Monday morning in West Odessa, TX, Gabrielle Ellison, owner of Big Daddy Zane’s Bar, defied the state’s shutdown order. Worried she was going to lose her bar if she didn’t get some income, she opened for business. Keep in mind that Texas has already opened sit-down restaurants at 25% capacity. Why were bars exempted from this opportunity?
Gabrielle Ellison wasn’t going to wait to find out.
She reached out to a Facebook group of Texans opposed to the shutdowns and asked for help. Several members offered to come stand guard while armed to make sure nobody tried to intimidate her into closing again.
Roughly twenty protestors came, most armed.
But then the Ector County Sheriff and his SWAT team came to break up the protest. Check out this footage:
https://youtu.be/fvvvgJHtdzo?t=20
All the protestors and the bar owner were arrested and charged with felonies. The Sheriff argued that standing in the parking lot adjacent to the bar (also owned by the bar owner) was a felony since the men had brought guns onto a property that got more than 51% of it’s income from selling alcohol. More on that later.
That was his legal hook, but in interviews, the Ector County Sheriff didn’t mention that crime. Instead, he objected to the fact that the protestors were not protesting so much as “they were just standing around with guns.”
In our mind, that’s all the more reason to leave them alone, right? They’re just standing around?
The Sheriff said in another interview, “I understand their side of it. Defying the governor’s orders is one thing, but when you bring a bunch of armed vigilantes in from other parts of the state for a show of force, I just got a problem with that.”
But Sheriff…that’s not illegal.
The head of Open Carry Texas made a YouTube response later on Monday that seems to our minds to shoot all kinds of holes in the sheriff’s case against the armed protestors. It’s 12 minutes long, but if you care to watch it, it rounds out the picture a bit. We think those boys the Sheriff arrested have a heck of a chance with a lawsuit.
Now, some armchair quarterbacks will say they shouldn’t have brought guns. Others will say they shouldn’t have let themselves get arrested.
Our policy on events like this is this: if our butts were safe at home in our lazy boy recliner, we’re not going to tell them what they ought to have done. If we were there, then we can talk. People doing nothing shouldn’t sit back and lecture those trying to do something–even if we wouldn’t necessarily do what they’re doing.
The Real Lesson
But the biggest take away from this is that this next election cycle had better be a political clearing house. The stakes are getting higher and fuses shorter.
Gun owners nationwide must take note of every elected official who used Covid-19 as an excuse to trod on the citizens or their rights. Don’t forget at election time, either! These people have showed their hand! Let’s show them the door!
Entire states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey and more are seeing their governor’s true colors. But even in your local areas, with your local officials, throw the mini-tyrants out!
These judges here in Texas that are going far above and beyond the Governor’s shutdown orders are up for reelection at some point. They must NOT get the vote of a single gun owner in Texas when election day! Keep track of who has shown themselves to be a tyrant, watch their election cycle, and let’s pour on the heat! Find a Second Amendment group that fights as hard as you do and give them your support.
If America is to be saved peaceably and intact from the hard leftists who want to rule us, then our side needs to fight hard and fight dirty and we need to stand up and fight now.