I saw my first "open-carrier" yesterday. It was on my way into Kroger. It looked a bit like this:

Naturally, I didn't take a photo because he was armed and of course I have no idea if he was a good guy or bad guy.

So the message had got out: As from 1st January 2016, Texas became the 45th state in the USA to allow "open carry". Yes, Texas, hub of the Western movies of the 60s is one of the last states to allow gun owners to carry their handguns in a holster on their hips or shoulders.

What about rifles and other "long guns" you ask? What if I feel the need to go to Chipotle but am worried about a rebellion breaking out while they are making my beef burritto? Well, good news for you as "long guns" have never been subject to restrictions. So you can do this:

Yes, carrying long guns was already allowed unless "in a manner calculated to cause alarm." Obviously seeing the above in Chipotle does not "cause alarm".

But, fear not. Only responsible individuals carry guns (see above for example of responsible individuals). In order to open carry, you have to have a Concealed Handgun License (CHL). No license is required for a long gun, because (I assume) they aren't dangerous and therefore don't need any additional ownership oversight.

To get a CHL in Texas you have to:

• Be a citizen or legal resident
• Not be a criminal, drug addict or alcoholic
• Not have certain "psychiatric diagnoses" (note the need to carry a gun into Chipotle or Kroger does not qualify)

and so on.

Plus you have to do a course. This used to be 10-15 hours long, but it seems that instructors filled in a lot of the time with non-gun related things. For example "Concealed handgun instructor Michael Cargill said he’s filled some time in the required 10-hour course with lighter material, such as videos of a bruiser chimpanzee that springs from car trunks at the touch of a button to thump people." I suppose he could have filled the time in giving the students more time to practice and learn about handling an inherently dangerous machine, but good news for him and other instructors: In 2013 Texas cut the required instruction down to 4-6 hours. To make things even easier, in 2014 Texas reduced the application fees and no longer requires an applicant to provide a Social Security Number.

At least Texas keeps a careful eye on CHL carriers to make sure that even though they weren't bad when they first applied, if they go bad later they will not be able to renew their license (every 5 years), right? Well, actually no: there is no requirement to retake a test when renewing a license.

Think Texas goes easy? Of the 45 states that allow open carry, 26 of them don't require any form of license at all. So thank goodness Texas has some controls then? Well, not really. Texas has reciprocal agreements with other states allowing their license holders to carry in the state of Texas. And, just when you thought it couldn't get any crazier, you can get a CHL from some states, even if you don't live there. This excellent Mother Jones article describes a resident of Washington DC who got his from Utah. He then went to a four hour CHL course in Maryland and passed, despite never having shot a gun before.

What's next for Texas you ask? August 1st 2016 sees the introduction of "campus carry". All public universities in Texas will be forced to allow CHL holders to carry their guns almost anywhere on campus. They will allow a few restrictions but blanket restrictions are not allowed, so classes and dorm rooms will be allowed in almost all cases. Private universities in Texas are allowed to enact the same rules and, surprisingly, all have declined.

In response to the plans, a group at University of Texas in Austin created a movement called "cocks not glocks", which involves openly carrying dildos, like this:

Why dildos? They are one of many items that are banned on campus. The list also includes crock pots, electric woks, rice cookers, toasters and bread makers. When the new civil war starts, no-one will be able to make a quick loaf to throw at the enemy.

'Texas campus carry day", August 1st 2016 also happens to be the 50th anniversary of one of the most infamous college shootings. On 1st August 1966, Charles Whitman climbed the tower on UT's Austin Campus:

He shot and killed 16 people and injured 32 others. Charles Whitman was a marine who was court-martialed for gambling and (ironically) possession of a firearm on base. He became addicted to amphetamines and before he climbed the tower he stabbed his wife and mother to death and wrote a note asking that an autopsy be performed on his body to understand what was wrong with him.

Apparently, the introduction of campus carry will help avoid another Whitman incident, because, according to Wayne LaPierre (NRA Executive Vice President) "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." Unfortunately it seems determining who is good and who is bad will continue to be impossible.