Open Carry Texas announced this week on its Facebook page that it would be canceling a gun rights march it had planned to hold on Saturday in Houston’s Fifth Ward.
KTRK reported that residents of the Fifth Ward, a historically black neighborhood, had opposed the march saying that it was an unnecessary demonstration. On Thursday, residents met with members of OCT to broker an agreement about the proposed event but were unable to do so, according to KTRK.
After the meeting, OCT released a statement about the cancelled march, which is below, from The Rancher newspaper:
“Open Carry Texas is dedicated to the safe and legal carry of firearms. We believe that the Second Amendment is color blind and that everyone should be allowed to exercise this fundamental right without fear of retribution, harassment, or threats of violence.
“Since the joint meeting in 5th Ward on Wednesday, several members of the community have reached out to us with a heartfelt desire to work together to make a 5th Ward event possible. It became obvious over the past few days that certain individuals in the area were intentionally pitting us against the community. After numerous phone calls and exchanges of emails with community leaders, the OCT board voted unanimously to postpone the event for a future date in order to give OCT and 5th Ward leadership an opportunity to overcome the controversy associated with this event.
“Our goal has always been to hold this demonstration with 5th Ward, not just in 5th Ward,” said OCT President CJ Grisham. “We have an opportunity to correct all the lies, miscommunication, and vitriol associated with this event and express our true intent. I’m more than happy to push this event back to make that happen.”
“Open Carry Texas’ mission to educate the public about the need for lawful open carry will continue throughout the state. We will always face opposition to our goals and efforts, but we never stop finding ways to ensure our efforts are understood by those with whom our members come in contact.
“We look forward to holding a peaceful demonstration with the historic 5th Ward in the near future. We will work with residents and leaders to pick a date that is conducive to a peaceful, friendly event. No new date has been chosen for the event at this time.”
