Gun Owners of America responded to the arrest of Cleveland Cavaliers’ James Harden by noting “Texas allows constitutional carry” and opining the government’s role is not in “micromanaging” our lives.
Breitbart News reported that Harden was arrested in Houston early Saturday morning. TMZ noted that he was “charged with the unlawful carrying of weapons.”
The New York Post pointed to a California Post report which indicated Harden allegedly had a handgun in his vehicle which “was in plain view” and “was not carried in a holster.”
GOA criticized Harden’s arrest, saying, “Texas allows constitutional carry, yet James Harden was arrested because his legally owned firearm wasn’t in a holster in his vehicle.”
They added, “The government has no business micromanaging how a law-abiding citizen secures their own gun.”
The National Association for Gun Rights also criticized an arrest based solely on the presence of a handgun:
Breitbart News observed Texas is one of 29 constitutional carry states, which means no permit is required to concealed carry a handgun for self-defense for people 21 and older with a clean criminal record. Moreover, Texas is an open carry state and that, combined with constitutional carry, means no permit is required to open carry a handgun for self-defense either, provided there is nothing prohibiting the carrier from legally possessing a gun.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. He is a lever action man in an AR-15 world. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.