Last month, advocates of the Second Amendment pulled out their red, white and blue, descended on the Alamo and set their sights on making a statement. The rally is one of many events that have recently placed San Antonio on the state and national political radar.

The demonstration, entitled the “Come and Take it Rally,” was attended by proud supporters of open carry laws, which have come under greater attention recently.

The most notable San Antonio story in the open carry controversy took place on Aug. 24, when three men bearing rifles set up shop outside a San Antonio area Starbucks. Their “demonstration” resulted in numerous calls to the local police. It would seem that afternoon coffee goers feared a shot coming in a form other than espresso.

The calls received a response from police. Their interaction with the men is chronicled in a 23 minute long YouTube video, entitled “Open Carry Texas Harassed by SAPD…”

This incident resulted in police issuing the men citations without violence. The men did not go to jail, but this event served as ammunition for the protesters at the rally. Texans who are passionate about their right to carry long guns openly jumped on the chance to wave their firearms in unity.

The fact that this is what the gun debate in the United States has come down to is disconcerting. The interest of the far right to display their right to poses and display deadly force as a warning to a 200 plus year old government that has displayed no signs of sliding into tyranny is alarming. Although with those new health care laws, one had better keep an eye out for the expansion of “socialism.”

Even on a legal basis, the arguments of Second Amendment defenders start to lose traction. Before claiming this as renunciation of the Second Amendment, read on.

Pro-gun rights activists cry foul at the effort of the federal government to pass common sense gun legislation, citing the Bill of Rights in their defense. However, this is the same bunch that will toss out Article Six of the Constitution, declaring the authority vested in the federal government as the “Law of the Land,” when states such as our glorious Lone Star home, propose legislation in favor of disregarding any federal gun laws that are passed.

It seems that if the aim of gun rights advocates, be they in San Antonio, this state or elsewhere, desire to display their right to carry pursuant to the law, they ought to be willing to accept the variability of laws. Common sense gun control legislation could come once the midterm election shifts Congress into better leadership.