What to Expect From the First SXSW Under Texas' Open Carry Law

KUT 90.5 | By Syeda Hasan

Published March 7, 2016 at 7:34 AM CST

Open carry demonstrators outside the Texas State Capitol during the legislative session in 2015. With the new law in effect this SXSW, the Austin Police Department says it doesn't expect an uptick in calls related to the controversial law.

With the Texas open carry law in effect, visitors at this year鈥檚 South by Southwest festival could see more guns in public.

For the third year in a row, gun rights activists are planning to take to the streets at SXSW, openly displaying their firearms. Before this year, they could only legally carry long guns like rifles and shotguns. But Texas' open carry law, which went into effect in January, allows license holders to visibly wear a wide range of firearms, as long as they鈥檙e in a holster.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any change to our security plans based on the open carry law,鈥� says Chris McIlvain, assistant chief at the Austin Police Department. He says officers won鈥檛 be taking any extra steps to warn visitors that they might see guns in public.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 anticipate doing so at this time. We really haven鈥檛 seen much of an increase in call volume within the city with relation to the open carry law, so we really don鈥檛 see that being much of an issue.鈥�

McIlvain says APD will respond to calls from concerned citizens, but he suggests that those people may just need more education on the law.

鈥淥bviously, if someone gives us information that it鈥檚 more than someone just openly carrying 鈥� that there might be some threat associated with the individual 鈥� then we will respond accordingly.鈥�

SXSW organizers declined to comment, but did point to the festival鈥檚 . It bans guns at any official SXSW event and warns that violators could have their credentials revoked. But, that policy won鈥檛 apply to the dozens of demonstrators who plan to openly carry their guns down on Sixth Street.

Businesses like the Wheatsville Co-Op on Guadalupe can opt-out of open carry by posting proper signage to effectively ban open carry and concealed carry on their premises.

鈥淥ur little tagline is that open carry isn鈥檛 scary,鈥� says C.J. Grisham, president of . The activist group plans to have gun-toting members present every day at SXSW. Grisham says they鈥檙e trying to change public opinion about firearms.

鈥淪eeing a gun in public doesn鈥檛 always equate to the fact that someone鈥檚 going to get shot. We鈥檙e trying to show the lighter, the friendlier side of gun ownership.鈥�

Grisham will join other Open Carry Texas members to pass out flyers and answer questions. He鈥檚 hoping to break the ice with some open carry skeptics.

鈥淲hen people actually look at the person and not look at the object that they鈥檙e so focused on, I think those people will realize that there鈥檚 nothing to be afraid of.鈥�

South by Southwest Interactive kicks off this Friday and continues through March 19.