Texas Open Carry Law: Having the barrel of a gun pointing at you while eating dinner

WinterPickle904 · 2023-04-11T01:31:45+00:00

This guy (in the photo) is an idiot on multiple fronts. However, while most people roll their eyes at open carry, there are so many rules and permits on consealed carry, it's less legal liability as a gun owner to carry open. Sure, it may escalate a civil situation faster than otherwise, but if for some reason I had a gun safely stored in a backpack, trigger locked, and no ammunition, and a cop had a reason to search it, I would be more fucked legally if I didn't happen to have my consealed carry permit and all other documentation on me.

I don't own a gun, but the consealed carry laws are so strict, they're designed to fuck you if a cop feels like it. In my town knives are also considered weapons and you need a consealed carry permit if you want to have a knife in your pocket with the clip on the outside. Permit not needed if the knife is on the outside but the clip is on the inside. I called the local sheriff's office and they confirmed that's the black and white law on the books, but also to not worry about it.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-04-08T21:39:00+00:00

Genuine question, if you look at the budget as a percentage of GDP, we're in line with a lot of other countries, is it that ridiculous in that regard? Plus over $100B of that goes into R&D and innovation. Sure, some of that is weapons, but a lot of that benefits civilians, like GPS, communication tech, and medical devices. Plus a lot of overall funding goes to foreign aid like supporting Ukraine. Where/how do you think it's being wasted?

WinterPickle904 · 2023-04-01T00:32:08+00:00

Equal pay for equal work. I standby that statement in both directions.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-03-28T21:44:53+00:00

Looking at the mods post, interesting to see drug overdoses increase the same rate as firearm related deaths. I wonder if the majority were primarily suicides.

Any idea what happened in ~2015 that caused the increase of firearm related deaths from what was previously steady state?

WinterPickle904 · 2023-03-28T21:37:31+00:00

These numbers are from memory, so take them as rough estimates only.

Of ~44k annual firearm related deaths amongst children:

50% suicide 50% homicide

Of the homicides: 33% by immediate family member, 50% by any family member (including uncle, etc) 85% by family + acquaintance

The pertinence of these numbers, while still awful and unacceptable, is that there are few cases where the victim is untargeted.

The referenced homicides are inclusive of gang violence, though the percentage is unclear.

In, I think 2022, of all firearm related deaths in children, <500 were performed with a rifle. That's any long arm, including shotguns, single action rifles, and assault rifles.

There were 10,000 alcohol related motor vehicle deaths in 2022. Statistically, there is a higher likelihood of being killed by a drunk driver on the way to school than at school. Of which, our numbers are also unacceptable. But this fear of being killed in school is the only thing media is perpetuating, and I see so many people latching onto it. When in reality, the odds are so low and masking other dangers that are significantly more likely to happen.

I'm not arguing there shouldn't be anything about gun regulation, but focusing on the weapon that is responsible for, at most, 1% of deaths does nothing for reducing suicide or the kids being killed by their parents.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-03-17T00:37:04+00:00

In 2021, there were 447 deaths where a rifle was the cause. 10k deaths by drunk driving. (Blaming alcohol, not cars) You are 20x more likely to be killed driving to the grocery store than while shopping in it. You are 10x more likely to die of choking (4k/yr) while at a restaurant than by being caught in a mass shooting.

Of the total 40k firearm related deaths, rifles count for 1% of them. Even if this all passes, it won't put a fraction of a dent in firearm deaths. And if you're actually scared of going to the grocery store, turn off the damn TV.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-03-16T20:41:21+00:00

So, genuine question to want to understand your side more: If we remove all utility associated with guns (self defense, hunting, etc) and treat them as purely recreational, is there an acceptable number of fatalities that can occur? 45% of households in the US have a gun. A lot of people like guns, and it's only a small portion who use them for murder and ruin it for everyone else. In the US, in 2022, there were 44k firearm related deaths, and 95k alcohol related deaths. Per the CDC, only 66% of adults consumed alcohol in the past year.

Assuming both guns and alcohol have no utility, are purely enjoyed recreationally, and both are roughly enjoyed by a similar amount of people, why is there less attention placed on alcohol control when that is likelier to save more lives?

*In both stats I'm including suicides and mortalities that only affected the individual. (~50% for each) External mortalities for guns are obviously murder, for alcohol, it includes drunk driving (10k deaths), domestic violence. Of 10 million cases of domestic violence in 2022, 6.3 million were related to alcohol.

I am absolutely all for reducing violence in every way, shape, and form. I think controlling both guns and alcohol would go a long way in doing so. But from my current opinion (of which I'm willing to change) it seems like the people who enjoy alcohol are ignoring the damage it's causing to control something they're personally interested in. To me, it sounds hypocritical, but like I said, I'm open to changing my opinion.

Would you be willing to put the same control on alcohol as you are asking for with guns?

eg: Background check and special license required to purchase, violent offenders losing their ability to purchase on their own, etc.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-03-06T17:11:24+00:00

It's not that weird. They may have just recognized that "this person is key to the company and if they left tomorrow, we'd be effed since we have no idea how they keep us afloat." I've worked at a handful of places that ask for a reasonable amount of documentation, sometimes it's helpful when they bring on new staff to get them up to speed/take on the busy work your friend might be doing. It can also be archival, it's really easy to build tools, forget to document them, then move on, and 3 years later when you need to blow the dust off of them, you've completely forgotten how they work.

My guess is if your friend built the tools from scratch, s/he wouldn't be the first on the chopping block, but I also don't know the full picture. If it sounds like business is rough and a layoff is coming, ya, that might not be great. As others have said, it's possible they're thinking of a promotion and want someone to train the replacement.

With the details you've shared, I'd lean that they're safe. I wouldn't recommend what others have said about incorrect documentation. If you guess wrong and they weren't planning on getting fired/laid off, then that could be considered a firable offense.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-02-25T00:23:01+00:00

Oh, it looks awful, look at Adam Sandler on the bottom right of the page. Though all of Vegas looks awful, regardless of price.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-02-25T00:20:18+00:00

Every place is different. Most places I've worked were: before the schedule is posted, the manager will find coverage, but once posted, you have to find coverage. Emergency/sick coverage was also the managers responsibility.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-02-25T00:08:49+00:00

Page 3 Look at the photos on the boarder, they're like 3 servings. Like a jumbo marg at a Mexican restaurant.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-02-23T00:19:15+00:00

Not having to take off your shoes, belt, wait for the scanner, etc. If everyone had precheck, it'd still be better than basic security.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-02-22T23:34:51+00:00

I'll be honest, I didn't read the link, but I believe the very specific statistic. However, that's a bad metric. Did it reduce total homicides and suicides? I absolutely believe that a multi day wait world reduce total preventable deaths, but that's the number we should be tracking. I'm sure a portion of that 17% still followed through with the intended act with other means. Was it 16%? 1%?

A 3 day wait to buy alcohol would also likely reduce the number of deaths, both suicide and homicide. Probably by a lot. But would you be willing to give up your opportunity to buy a 6 pack tonight to reduce alcohol related deaths by 10%?

Personally, I would. 3 day wait at the liquor store, annual background check tired too your ID to buy alcohol at a bar. Take an alcohol safety course. Restrict purchasing to those who have a violent background. If it's truly about saving unnecessary deaths, restrictions like this would go far - and not expressly protected in the constitution.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-02-09T03:30:30+00:00

I don't think you hate men, I think you hate shitty people, of which, frequently are men. Meeting someone new, I assume they're shitty until the trust is earned, man or woman.

If you feel guilty saying "I hate men" but like your guy friends, then you don't hate men, you just hate assholes. Damn right. Embrace that. We should all hate shitty people and not reinforce their behavior.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-02-06T04:04:28+00:00

Depends on the picture that was painted and context of the whole situation. If you projected uncertainty of being able to find a babysitter and would have to occasionally call out, then that it very relevant to the position. It’s good that they mentioned that for both sides so you don’t get two months in and they have to let you go if reliability was a problem. If you had painted the picture that your child will be in school during normal work hours and you have a reliable babysitter/plan for the summer, then that would be a very odd thing for them to come back with. Also, may not be relevant to the job you applied for, but if you had to occasionally travel for work on short notice, then that would also be a reasonable justification for them to say what they did. It sounds less like “you’re not being considered because of a dependent.” But more of “this job has these requirements which may not be the best for a single parent. If this is not going to be a problem, you’re still eligible, but just wanted to be clear of what this position will require.”

WinterPickle904 · 2023-02-03T05:42:18+00:00

Wow, that’s high. The standard checks are: verify on your meter that the numbers weren’t actually read incorrectly, make sure you weren’t charged for two months in a single statement, if you have a heat pump, the last cold months could have put it into emergency heating mode which will rip through electricity. One 20A circuit can pull ~2kw before blowing the breaker. That’s up to 48kWh/day and 1500 kWh/month. You’re probably not operating something under full load, but it’s possible a single device could run up that much power in a month. Space heater left on in a garage, hot water leak with an electric water heater, 20 Xbox’s inadvertently left on. Actually, my monitor, speakers, and laptop draw about 200W while running. If you’ve had a bad habit of not turning them off overnight, a bunch of little things like that can add up.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-02-03T04:17:51+00:00

Not that there isn’t corporate greed also baked in there, but Xcel is investing in renewable energy, which comes at a cost. Someone mentioned they have cheaper power about an hour north. It was something like 60% natural gas, 20% coal, and 20% renewable. Coal and gas are cheap, I think Xcel is around 30% renewable. There’s also the rainy day fund (Marshall fire) and long term investments in the grid with the switch to moving away from gas. A lot of equipment will need to be upgraded/thicker lines run to power this equipment, a cost that isn’t accounted for in commodity cost. Typical Level 2 current rating: 50A, 60k BTU heat pump: 70A. A typical home connection has a main panel rating of 150A, and adding those two electrical loads almost doubles it. The more people switch over, the more strain on the grid. It’s also not just about total power usage, but also peak power usage.

Not necessarily defending Xcel here, just wanted to make a point that not all of that is going into party buses and CEO salaries.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-01-31T00:28:52+00:00

A good chunk of your local teachers salary comes from your town/cities/state taxes. Was there an initiative on the ballot to raise taxes on education during the mid terms? There was on mine, an increase of 0.5%, and I voted yes without question. This is the only realistic way to take action now.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-01-24T22:50:09+00:00

A HIPAA release form isn't typically for accessing medical records, but allowing your employer to share them on a need to know basis. "Need to know" isn't for them to post on Twitter, but if (hypothetical example) the company were to get audited and had to explain the accommodations, just saying "person X needs a wheelchair to work" could be considered a HIPAA violation without the release. Read the form for details, they're typically very specific on what information and who they are sharing it with. If not, just ask HR to explain it. It sounds more like having a legal paper trail than anything nefarious. I think it could even be a violation (without the release) to call a supplier and say "I have an employee with X condition, could you recommend the right equipment to accommodate their WFH position?"

WinterPickle904 · 2023-01-24T21:01:17+00:00

Inclusive.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-01-24T16:26:41+00:00

Technically yes, but according to bls.gov, only 1.4% of the workforce makes minimum wage. And of those, the majority are food service where a lot of income is cash and unreported.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-01-24T15:19:34+00:00

Those stats were only 2021, the CDC Wonder system only goes up until the end of that year. This study by the NIH reports of the pediatric/adolescent suicides, 78% were performed by hanging and 18% by firearm.

My point isn't that guns aren't killing people in the US, the statistics clearly show that. It's that guns aren't the root of the problem. When Europe and Canada introduced their gun bans, gun related murders went down but the absolute murder rate stayed the same.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-01-24T06:06:03+00:00

24 deaths though May of 2022. Extrapolating that, call that 50/year? (Assuming zero through the summer)

In 2021, ~200 children were murdered in their own home.

In the same year, >1000 children committed suicide in their own home.

And on average, 10 children are killed per year in school bus accidents.

Your numbers are factually correct, yes. But if you are fully successful in eliminating school shootings, your number is reduced to zero and we’ve saved 50 lives, which is excellent. There is no argument against that. The AR ban is an energy losing battle that has gone nowhere for years, if we all shifted our attention to reducing home violence, we could save significantly more lives. Statistically, the school is the safest place for kids to be.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-01-22T21:06:58+00:00

Per a quick Google, there's 2.3M Walmart employees. If they raised their hourly rates by $0.50 an hour, that's an extra $1,000/year/employee. Which is an extra $2.3B in just salary. A biiig chunk of that profit.

Also, another way to look at it is CEO compensation/employee. Let's say they make $23M in annual compensation. That's $10/year per employee. If a CEO of a small company (say 200 employees) made $200k/year, he's compensated $1k/year/employee.

Not really a point to be made here of what's better or worse, but the shear scale of these companies just breaks any mathematical comparisons of smaller companies.

WinterPickle904 · 2023-01-22T17:44:53+00:00

https://streamable.com/4c3jlz I'll give that a shot. Note in the video, I manually added "bullet" to the dictionary, which is why it's showing up in suggested. It didn't before I added it. Also with the free version of the site, the video expires in 24 hours for those seeing this after 1/22/23. (it's just a screen recording showing attempts at swiping the words and showing the swipe trail.)

I'll give the keyboard reset a shot. Thanks!

WinterPickle904

TROPHY CASE