More than a dozen men and women walked through the historic Fort Worth Stockyards armed with shotguns and semi-automatic rifles. But it wasn't an Old West re-enactment -- the group was there to push for the right to openly carry a handgun in Texas.
"It's part of my Second Amendment right," said Derek Hall, of Fort Worth. "It's written in the Constitution."
He brought along a semi-automatic Smith and Wesson M&P 15 and a Mossberg shotgun.
"They shouldn't have the ability to take it away from us or limit what we can have," Hall said.
Andy Welch, of North Richland Hills, also brought his semi-automatic rifle. He said he is worried that the current administration in Washington is trying to take his gun rights away.
Hall and Welch, along with other men and women of varying ages, brought along their weapons for a peaceful walk through the Stockyards. The group did a safety check beforehand to make sure the weapons were not loaded before the march started.
The march took place at a time when a bill in Austin, House Bill 700, would allow concealed handgun license owners to openly carry their weapons in public instead of concealing them.
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Hall said it is a bill he can support.
"If you can conceal carry, why wouldn't you be able to open carry?" he said. "If the law tells you you're legal to own one, and you've gone through the classes and you're not a felon and you don't have everything against you, why shouldn't it be legal?"
